ITV

Tag: Biswa Majumdar

  • News18 Bangla’s flagship show ‘Soja Sapta’ to host Mega Debate on May 31

    News18 Bangla’s flagship show ‘Soja Sapta’ to host Mega Debate on May 31

    Mumbai: News18 Bangla is thrilled to announce a special debate session named ‘Soja Sapta-Mega Debate’ under the banner of its flagship show ‘Soja Sapta.’ The channel’s most popular debate show ‘Soja Sapta’, marks its fifth year of broadcast. It continues to gain popularity among viewers for its fearless coverage of various aspects of our society.

    The ‘Soja Sapta – Mega Debate’ will be hosted by News18 Network’s editor east Biswa Majumdar, and will feature renowned politicians from various backgrounds. ‘Soja Sapta’, which translates to ‘Straight Forward’ in English, aptly captures the show’s direct and candid approach. This unique debate show addresses the concerns and challenges faced by the common man, ensuring their voices are heard by politicians and policymakers. The debate will serve as a platform for policymakers, opinion leaders, and prominent voices to engage in thoughtful conversations, alongside Bengal’s most trusted news team.

    The mega debate will highlight a thought-provoking exchange of ideas, aiming to foster critical thinking within the audience. The show will focus on the quality of discourse, ensuring that viewers receive informed conversations and well-considered opinions on the issues that matter most to them as well as the country.

    Presenting sponsors for the event are Meghbela Broadband- Banglar Ghore Ghore, Emami-  “Healthy & Tasty -Kacchi Ghani Shorsher Tel,  Skipper Pipes – India’s Safest Pipes. The event is powered by Reliance Industries Ltd. Special partners are International Institute of Hotel Management, JIS Group Educational Initiatives, Bengal Tiles- Ab Ghar banana Baccho Ka Khel Hai. Narayan Memorial Hospital- Behala is the health partner, real estate partner is Merlin Group, Bharati Diagnostic Centre is the associate partner.

    Tune into News18 Bangla on 31 May at 7:00 pm to witness the Soja Sapta – Mega Debate.

  • Focus TV network is on the right track: CEO Neeraj Sanan

    Focus TV network is on the right track: CEO Neeraj Sanan

    KOLKATA: Barely five months after NE Bangla rebranded itself to Focus Bangla due to a change of ownership, gossip has been doing the rounds that the Bengali News channel’s survival is a big question mark. For starters, its chief editor Biswa Majumdar has left for rival ETV Bangla as senior editor.  Then the  channel has yet to rake in the money and sources say that it was preparing to  hand out pink slips and employee compensations.

     

    However, when Focus Network group CEO Neeraj Sanan was contacted, he firmly asserted that any talk of the channel being shut down was baseless.  In fact, he says there is no question of pulling down the shutters. “We are pretty bullish and are correcting everything that was wrong. We have just invested in a seven storied building in Odisha which will function as our office,” he says. “We have taken 30,000 square feet of space in Noida and our Agartala operations have restarted,” he says. “We are investing further: increments are slated to be  handed out to our Bengal channel staff over the next couple of days and I will be personally going to Kolkata for the same.”

     

    But even then media expert Swaraj Mukherjee told indiantelevision.com that  “the Jindals are still negotiating with an NRI buyer to sell Focus Bangla but so far that’s in limbo.”

     

    Sanan rubbishes all this as corridor talk. He says a new chief editor will be hired soon to replace Majumdar at Focus Bangla.

     

    Although 2013 wasn’t a very productive year for Bengali channels, Ethical Media Trust (EMT) that owns the Focus News network is looking at actively investing in its six channels. The Trust has Matang Singh, who was the former owner of the network that was erstwhile called as Positiv TV, as the majority shareholder with several others pumping in money as well.

     

    The Harvard educated Sanan admits that cash flows and revenue inflows could be better, but he points out that “they are at significantly better as compared to the zero levels they were earlier. Eventually, things will really look up.”

     

    In an earlier interview with indiantelevision.com, Sanan had said that the network’s aim is to have an honest channel without any worry about the money required to run it. 

     

    (Updated on 4 August 2014 at 16:00 hours)

     
  • Biswa Majumdar to join ETV News Bangla as senior editor

    Biswa Majumdar to join ETV News Bangla as senior editor

    KOLKATA: Network 18 controlled ETV News Bangla that launched around four months ago, will be appointing veteran journalist Biswa Majumdar as senior editor from August, highly placed media sources from the company have confirmed.

     

    Currently Biswa Majumdar is the editor-in-chief of Focus Bangla, another 24-hours Bengali news channel from Kolkata.

     

    Dhrubajyoti Pramanik was appointed as editor of ETV News Bangla earlier this year. ETV News Bangla was launched in the presence of West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on March 15 this year.

     

    More than 40 journalists had joined in the editorial team from the Zee group, ABP Anando, News Time, 24 Ghanta among others.

     

    ETV News Bangla is trying all the means to capture the news market in Bengal. Experts say that the investment by Network 18 in this channel is big and it expects a bigger return too.

  • Focus Bangla in talks with Tata Sky, Dish TV to increase penetration

    Focus Bangla in talks with Tata Sky, Dish TV to increase penetration

    KOLKATA: The erstwhile Northeast Bangla (NE Bangla), recently rechristened Focus Bangla, is in talks with direct-to-home (DTH) players like Tata Sky and Dish TV to increase penetration. At present, only cable TV subscribers and Airtel Digital TV customers can view the channel.

     

    The 24×7 Bengali news channel also plans to put up 200 hoardings across the state of West Bengal from mid-April to send out the message that the channel is neutral and believes in airing unbiased news. It has even changed its logo to suggest that it will be more ‘focussed’ in presenting news from all angles.

     

    “We are in talks with Tata Sky and Dish TV though nothing has been finalised. We aim to reach 95 per cent TV homes in the state sooner,” Focus Bangla editor-in-chief Biswa Majumdar told indiantelevision.com.

     

    He also said that last week, the viewership of the new channel increased by around 22 per cent as compared to the week before. “Focus TV is in focus now. Focus Bangla is a news broadcasting and entertainment network,” he said and added that the channel would focus on political news with the impending elections and would interview most of the big names in the polls.

     

    Focus Bangla has more than 150 employees on board and is further recruiting people to cover all aspects of news, current affairs and especially, the Lok Sabha elections, to make a mark all over again on the Bengali audience.

     

    “For elections, we have 14 special programmes. Celebrities will go to places and interact with people,” Majumdar said.

     

    Apart from the ‘Khabar Aajke’ section, the channel has a separate Bollywood entertainment section.

     

    According to sources, Matang Sinh, a former minister of state for parliamentary affairs in the PV Narsimharao government owned Focus TV and NE Bangla. Last year however, Naveen Jindal, chairman of Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) bought a stake in the channel through his family and associates. “Jindal had taken over Focus TV in Delhi last year,” said one of the sources.

  • NE Bangla becomes Focus Bangla, changes logo

    NE Bangla becomes Focus Bangla, changes logo

    KOLKATA: News channels across the country are gearing up for one of the biggest events of the country – the Lok Sabha elections – and that’s the reason even the 24-hour Bengali news channel, Northeast Bangla has made changes in its overall look and feel. Two weeks ago, the channel switched to a new name – Focus Bangla – with an aim to reach more viewers in the region. It has also changed its logo with a promise to be “focused” in presenting unbiased news and create better impact.

     

    The channel, with 150 employees on-board, is strengthening its position and is also recruiting more people in order to cover all the aspects of news, current affairs and the upcoming elections to make a mark in the region.

     

    The new logo, unlike the old one which was simple and straightforward, is very symbolic – just a box with a red outline – bringing across the message that the channel has a “focused” approach.

     

    The seriousness to create an impact on its audience is evident from the fact that the channel is even planning to move to a bigger studio at Topsia Road very soon.

     

    “With the right team and the right programmes, we are now poised to execute on the near-term opportunities that will provide the foundation for our future growth and success,” says Focus Bangla editor-in-chief Biswa Majumdar.

     

    Few years ago, the channel had created its own space with shows such as Khas Khabar. However, with the emergence of newer channels presenting better programmes, it soon lost its sheen.

     

    However, in September 2013, NE Bangla inducted veteran journalist Biswa Majumdar, who was helming the operations of Kolkata TV, as the editor-in-chief. Majumdar is now set to bring on “impactful news” and interviews of big shots from the political arena to take the news broadcasting and entertainment network to another level.

     

    Apart from the Khabar Aajke segment, the channel will have a separate Bollywood entertainment section and also a segment on health – Doctor Online.

     

    To get a grip over the audience, the channel needs to work on its programming, believe media analysts. “It will all depend on the content of the programme and how biased they are towards parties and how different they can be from others in the fray,” he remarks.