News Broadcasting
Endemol sets shop in India; inks 2-year deal with SET
After FremantleMedia, it’s now Who Wants To Be a Millionaire format rights holders Endemol N.V. to set shop in India.
The company announced its first subsidiary in Asia and India will be the 23rd country that Endemol operates in.
Endemol India’s office will open in Mumbai on 2 January, 2006 and will be headed by Rajesh Kamat as managing director. Kamat was previously Star India senior vice president and executive committee member.
Endemol plans to exploit its intellectual property within the Indian market in line with its international expansion strategy.
Endemol CEO Joaquim Agut Bonsfills said, “We are excited to announce the launch of Endemol India, which will play an important role in India’s vibrant entertainment industry. Our formats have already proved their quality with broadcasters and viewers around the globe and we are delighted that Indian viewers will now have the chance to watch our groundbreaking shows.”
Kamat added, “I am happy to be part of the Endemol family. Endemol with its formats – Operacion Triunfo (Fame Gurukul), Night Fever (Kisme Kitna Hai Dum) and Deal Or No Deal has already developed a strong bond with Indian viewers. Having demonstrated the strength of the intellectual property, the task is now to demonstrate our production expertise by providing the Indian audiences with interesting and innovative content.”
Endemol India will launch with eight full-time local staff, comprising production and creative Indian talent, in addition to freelancers from Mumbai.
While Endemol is currently in negotiations with several Indian broadcasters to produce local versions of its formats, Endemol India will open with a two-year output deal with Sony Entertainment Television (SET). The deal follows the success of Fame Gurukul and Deal Ya No Deal, which have significantly increased SET India’s market share in their respective timeslots.
SET India executive vice president and business head Tarun Katial said, “With Endemol coming to India, we are happy to cooperate with them to provide our viewers with programming, which has never been experienced or seen on Indian television. We look forward to a long and fruitful future with Endemol and their world-renowned catalogue as well as their local production expertise.”
ABOUT ENDEMOL
Endemol (Euronext; EML) is a global leader in television and other audiovisual entertainment. The Company creates premium entertainment ideas and sells them to the world’s leading broadcasters. Endemol then produces shows based on such ideas to high standards, creating hits with strong brand value. Subsequently, the Company exploits the value of its brands across other media and communications platforms, including, for example, mobile phones and the Internet.
Endemol, with its head office in Hilversum, the Netherlands, now has subsidiaries and joint ventures in 22 countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands, as well as in Latin America, South Africa and Australia. Endemol is a publicly traded company on Eurolist by Euronext Amsterdam. For more information, please visit www.endemol.com.
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to air live counting day coverage for five state election results on May 4
The channel is rolling out its biggest election coverage machinery yet for results day on 4th May
NOIDA: The votes have been cast. Now comes the reckoning. CNN-News18 is pulling out all the stops for results day on 4th May, when counting begins across five battleground states — West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry — in what promises to be one of the most closely watched electoral verdicts in recent memory.
The channel’s coverage, titled Battle for the States: The Verdict, kicks off at 7am and runs through the day across linear TV, connected television and YouTube. It is the culmination of CNN-News18’s multi-format editorial initiative, Battle for the States, which has tracked the polls from the beginning under the theme Road to Power.
At the operational heart of the coverage will be the Live Results Hub, the channel’s central command centre built to collate, verify and process real-time data flowing in from reporters stationed at counting centres across constituencies. The hub combines newsroom intelligence, analytics and on-the-ground reporting to deliver what the channel promises will be the fastest and most accurate results coverage in English news.
Leading the on-air charge will be primetime anchors Rahul Shivshankar, Anand Narasimhan, Aman Sharma, Nabila Jamal and Shivani Gupta. They will be joined by a wide panel of commentators including author Chetan Bhagat; GVL Narasimha Rao, senior leader of the BJP; Smita Prakash, editor of ANI; activist Saira Shah Halim; political analyst Sumanth C Raman; Abhijit Iyer Mitra, senior fellow at IPCS; Amitabh Tiwari, founder of VoteVibe; columnist Abhijit Majumdar; Nalin Mehta, managing editor of MoneyControl; political analyst Tehseen Poonawalla; senior journalist Subir Bhaumik; and political analyst Manojit Mandal.
Shivshankar, who serves as editorial affairs director at CNN-News18, set out the stakes plainly. “Counting day is one of the most watched events in the electoral cycle, where speed and credibility are tested in real time,” he said. “Battle for the States: The Verdict is built on that promise, combining ground reporting, sharp analysis and cutting-edge election technology to give viewers the clearest and fastest route to the verdict. On May 4, CNN-News18 will once again be the nation’s most trusted channel to witness democracy in action.”
Smriti Mehra, chief executive of English and Business News at Network18, framed the coverage in broader terms. “Elections are defining national events, and audiences turn to brands they trust in moments that matter,” she said. “CNN-News18 has consistently led from the front in every election coverage, and this special programming reflects the scale of our ambition and editorial strength.”
The channel has form here. It claims to have been India’s most preferred English news destination for election results for the past 20 years, covering everything from the 2024 general elections to the Delhi, Maharashtra, Bihar and BMC polls on the back of what it calls an “Always First, Always Right” record. Five states, one day, and a nation waiting for answers. The clock starts at 7am on 4th May.
