Tag: CNN

‘Channels building bouquets to provide the advertiser discounts is an unfortunate and shortsighted perception’ : Sunil Lulla – Times Now CEO

Times Now CEO, Sunil Lulla has been associated with the business of television over the last two decades. His strength lies in building brands from scratch. And the channel is going to need all that experience as it continues to find its feet. 30 January would mark the completion of one year for Times Now but the man at the helm knows that he still has a long way to go.

Indiantelevision.com’s Sujatha Shreedharan caught up with Lulla to discuss the channel’s performance over the past year and how it hopes to take on the competition in what is turning out to be the most fiercely competitive space on television.

Excerpts:

What’s the big picture in the news broadcast industry as you see it?
While news channels are trying new formats, there are certain restrictions as an English news channel that we have to contend with. Our audience is niche, the kind of formats they have adapted to so far dictate our content too. We need to break out of that mould.

That said, is there space for a focused or niche channel? Yes of course there is. While weather does not play such an important part in our news unlike the US – there is a space for a specialized Weather news channel or Sports news channel. But as of now we are confined to the (general) news space and this is where we will bat it out. There was a time when we had five channels gunning for about 80 per cent viewership. Today we have over 30 channels looking at the same viewership. There is audience fragmentation but that has also meant a certain rating system and therefore a certain level of accountability. Look at our ad to GDP ratio. It is perhaps better only than a Bangladesh.

As the market grows, the consumer will have more choice. This proliferation is necessary as it will grow the ad curve. One of the more underleveraged areas in my knowledge is India’s ability to produce content for international markets. We need to take our content and license it to other players.

The last year seems to have been as much about sorting out what exactly is the personality of the channel as anything else. Have you arrived at clarity on this?
We were always clear that we were and are a general news channel and as such our competition is also in the general news space. When we started out NDTV was the only dominant player and our natural competition in this space. The launch of CNN IBN was a surprising entry. This meant that there was a huge amount of viewership traction.

So in terms of competition you would name NDTV 24×7
I have no problems naming NDTV 24×7 as our competitor. I think NDTV 24×7 being the first English news channel in India and the vast experience it has behind it will remain a competition and a benchmark for all the following channels.

But you were also competing with the English business news channels in the 8 to 4 band?
Yes, we do have a business band that we took a re look at and decided to restructure it. We have now made our business band slimmer. The restructuring of the business band happened around 16 July and I think we’ve bounced back pretty fast.

Our focus is on the ‘Big story’. This is what has worked for us. So if that big story is Abhishek and Aishwarya, then we’ll cover that. If it is Sourav Ganguly and cricket then we will track that.

What improvisation is being made on the content side to build up a loyal audience?
On the cusp of our one year completion, we can only plan things for ahead. But using this as an anchor point, we will have announcements and changes to make on the content front. We are in the process of launching an entertainment based show to air during prime time weekend. We are already experimenting with different formats. We have our sports show ‘The Game’ repackaged and presented in a fresh format especially focusing on the World Cup.

We will start the new entertainment based show in February while March and April will see us beefing up and fine tuning the weekend programming. Prime time for the weekend would be a combination of news and programming. Wraparounds are the way forward.

Times Now will also launch its campaign coinciding with its completion of one year on 31 January called ‘One year: In tune with what’s next’. It will be launched as both a print and television campaign.

Speaking of content, due to cut throat competition, news channels are increasingly resorting to sensationalizing what they broadcast and even becoming quite sordid. This is only giving a greater handle for regulation to come into the sector which is hardly what anyone wants. Isn’t this a cause for concern for all news broadcasters?
Within the breaking news format, it has always been the combination of activism, regulation and media that has pushed up the immediacy of news. So whether it is Bollywood or cricket – both of which have shown pretty dismal performances – is always covered by the Indian media. I think where the idea of sensationalizing news needs to be questioned is by the news network itself. That is a matter or an individual call of what one must not do. There is a certain sense of values the news network follows or maturity it shows in handling issues.

Then there is regulation. Sure it’s a concern when it becomes interfering but the regulation is simple, lucid, clear to understand and detailed. We live in what is called the ‘google world’; we have information at the tip of our fingertips. So to shy away from news, whatever the content would not be fair. How we approach it is another issue.

Now that Times Now has settled down, what’s the strategy to take it forward and drive up ad sales?
There are a few things which come together to create ad sales – performance in a genre in which you are perceived to be a habit, traction in terms of ads, to hold prices and take them up, offer properties which will attract the advertiser. For instance, we will have a budget special coming up soon. But by the first week of January we had already sold that. Similarly we have the ET Awards. The idea is to ROS advertiser for which you are a reach vehicle. We need a pipeline that’s full but at a healthy price. We need to identify tent pole properties which will rope in the advertisers. Obviously we accept that NDTV has more advertisers than us.

What do you think is the number of channels that are practically sustainable in each genre of news?
Just last week, as I was talking to someone, the whole discussion about the number of channels in India came up. There was this realization that we are about 300 channels short. Within the next three years, there will be about 250 million homes with television out of which about 71 million homes have cable and satellite while about 30 million of these are what we know as urban homes. And these are only homes that are reported. The number increases as more and more black and white television sets are replaced by colour television. So we are talking here of a paucity and not an overcrowded situation.

One unique aspect of the news channel business is that buyouts are the exception. The only one that comes to mind is Channel 7 in the recent past. Is that about to change soon? And if and when Times Now does view the regional market how would you go about it? Would you look at acquisitions or developing your own channel?

You are right when you say that buy outs and acquisitions are new to the Indian news space. But if you are talking growth then we believe in both organic and inorganic growth. We have no phobia to either approach. But the reason for such growth should be stronger and better shareholder value.

I personally think channels building bouquets to provide the advertiser discounts is an unfortunate and shortsighted perception. The priority should always be the value. I would rather have one channel at a good quality pricing than have 10 channels.

That said, I think Zee has done a better job at being a bouquet. I wouldn’t count the regional channels because they are almost stand alone channels in that region. Star Plus and Star One again leave their other channels far behind.

This is not the kind of orientation we have at Times Now.

‘Turning pay may have hurt us as a business’

As management head of Times Now, what’s your priority — toplines or would you rather watch the bottomline?
What is important is to generate quality content, build relative rank and close the distance between us and our competitor. We understand it’s not about a short term game. The more often we manage to satisfy our consumer or advertiser, revenue growth will increase accordingly. Right now the priority is to get the content mix right and secondly to get the channel across. This does mean investing in distribution.

What sort of investment has gone into Times Now up until now?
Blood, sweat, grime and lots of hard work and planning …. (Refuses to state numbers)

Has the channel reached breakeven yet?
Honestly, it won’t happen so soon. It will take at least 4-7 years.

News channels no longer run on televised content alone. It has to have value add like online, mobile or on ground properties. What are the other revenue streams being tapped by Times Now? What is the overall percentage of revenue likely to come from these subsets?
There is a need to develop our web property and that will be our focus in 2007. The web strategy was not focused because there was a need for monetizing opportunity. At that point, TV was a more important monetization opportunity so concentrated on getting that right.
Now we will focus on building a stronger web connect for our advertiser and viewer.

As for mobile properties we were the first to tie up with a telecom company, Reliance Infocomm and are in talks with Idea as well. The format will be similar with streaming feed and select videos. But if you ask me what the revenue we accrue from them is, well it is very marginal. The telecom operator keeps the majority chunk. If this needs to be explored as a prospective revenue stream, we will have to work out better partnerships.

All indications are CAS will be spreading to cover the metros fully and later at least the Tier 1 cities. In such a scenario isn’t it better to stay in the pay tier rather than take the short term (some would say short-sighted) approach of going FTA?
First of all, if you read the fine print on CAS, it clearly mentions that the channel can opt to a pay status given four weeks of notification. So it’s not like we are risking anything. We are just saying that given the situation today and subscription offers being limited we thought it best to stay FTA. In case you noticed, by January a whole lot of unprepared viewers were staring at blacked out screens. But Times Now was available. When we know that the timing is appropriate we will go pay.

By that you mean that you would have a run a risk by going pay now…
Yes, it may have hurt us as a business. But for now we are available on all platforms – digital, Sky, Dish, analogue…

Times Now consistently topped the most watched news channel by India’s affluent sections in the first findings of TAM’s Elite Panel set up to understand TV viewing habits of the country’s elite…
We are very clear that our ratings don’t begin or end with the findings of the TAM national or elite panel data. Also the Elite panel was set up recently and if you look at the last quarter percentage analysis Times Now has maintained its position between No. 1 and No.2 in the past 13 weeks in a row. (Counting up until the 31st). Look at the sampling used by the peoplemeter – 25+ males, 1 million population cities, etc- whether it is TAM or Amap or other broadcasters – this is how they set their benchmarks.

The advertisers may worry about it but if we look at the news space itself – it started out with being a one horse race, then a two horse race and now they call it a three horse race. Either ways we are benefiting from the category but that does not mean we look at their findings to mould our content.

One of the findings of the Elite panel suggested that most viewers watching English news channels prefer to watch news even on weekends. Has that finding been considered by the channel?
We firmly believe that the heartland of news lies on prime time. But yes, we are bringing a sharper news focus to our weekend lineup.

When Times Now launched it made no bones about the fact that it would be a urban channel? Is there a fear that you might be losing both an audience and an advertiser in a non metro by positioning yourself in this niche bracket?
We maintain that we are a urban channel with a special focus on urban issues. We cannot satisfy everyone, we will have to choose and serve our target audience. The big focus in 2007 will be to prove our presence in the market place. Our intent is to make ourselves a habit.

Every single property from the Times Group is a leader in its field. Does that mean mounting pressure on you?
I think we are allowed to work fairly independently. But yes, we know the baggage we carry. The complexities to be a leader are far more severe in our case.

January 29, 2007

CNN reveals the world of fashion photographer Mario Testino

MUMBAI: CNN will reveal the work of one of fashion’s most sought-after snappers, Mario Testino. He the channel says has never allowed television cameras to witness his photographic sessions – until now. On its show Revealed which airs on 10 Febraury 2007 at 6 pm, 11 February at 2 pm, 8 pm and on 12 February at 8 pm viewers meet the man who has photographed many of the world’s most iconic images.

Testino has captured personalities including Princess Diana for her famous Vanity Fair cover in 1997, Madonna for designer label Versace, as well as playing a pivotal role in the careers of supermodels Kate Moss and Gisele Bündchen. His work is seen worldwide in fashion magazines, at international exhibitions, on the walls of art galleries and in a number of books.

The show offers viewers the opportunity to follow Testino at work, during the life-span of a high-profile campaign for Versace Spring 2007. It begins as models line up for a casting session with the top photographer in Paris, before he heads for a brainstorm with his Art Director and friend of twenty years, Patrick Kinmouth. The two men review their previous campaigns for Versace, which include Halle Berry, Demi Moore and Madonna, and consider whether to use models or celebrities in their latest project.

The fashion spotlight next moves to Italy, for Milan Fashion week, where Testino visits Versace’s head office for a meeting with Donatella Versace, who tells Revealed that her choice of photographer is crucial to her success as a designer, “To me at the moment, Mario Testino is the only photographer with a sense of modernity and a sense of creativity combined with a knowledge of the market of fashion, which no one else has.”

Attending Versace’s packed catwalk show, one of the centrepieces of Milan Fashion week, Testino finds himself amongst pop legend Prince, and with fashion royalty, present in the form of Anna Wintour, Editor-in-Chief of American Vogue. She tells REVEALED, “Mario is one of the very few photographers that we look on as a voice of the magazine photographer. He has such an extraordinary spirit, such a positive energy. The celebrities adore working with him, he loves fashion.”

New York is the next stop, where the Versace fashion shoot takes place, with supermodels Kate Moss – Testino’s favourite model is straight off the red-eye plane from London to attend – and Carmen Kass, Caroline Murphy and Angela Lindvall. Revealed witnesses Testino at work as he coaxes the poses he needs from his supermodel cast, as he explains that models come into the studio with what they have, and, unless a photographer brings something additional out of the session, it remains the model’s photograph, not the photographer’s.

January 25, 2007
CNN to cover Davos World Economic Forum

MUMBAI: CNN’s anchors Richard Quest, Becky Anderson and Charles Hodson will report live on location from Davos all week. The extended coverage will continue on the CNN European shows, ‘CNN Today’, ‘Business International” and ‘World Business Today.

The WEF coverage includes ‘CNN Connects: Our Networked World’, a global forum before a live audience. This special programme looks at the social revolution that is transforming the way we get and use information.

CNN will analyse the digital ecosystem that is Web 2.0; the explosion of social networking sites as a lifestyle and business phenomenon, the vast potential of virtual communities and the growth of blogging and user generated content are all examined. ‘CNN Connects’ also explores the technological advances that help change the user experience in the home and office. The programme will explore the promises and pitfalls of the information revolution.

Panelists on CNN Connects: Our Networked World include Orange Ltd CEO Sanjiv Ahuja, Flickr co founder Caterina Fake, Reuters CEO Tom Glocer Linden Research chairman Mitch Kapor, Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg.

The programme will include reports from Kristie Lu Stout with an overview of Web 2.0; Becky Anderson looks at the ‘silver surfers’ discovering that social networking knows no age limits. Femi Oke in rural Africa looks at the mission of a cyber priest as his uses the digital world to grow his congregation and John Vause in China on self-censorship versus government censorship.

CNN International senior vice president Rena Golden said, “As some of the most powerful political and business leaders in the world gather for the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting, CNN will again provide full and comprehensive coverage from Davos. We will debate today’s important issues and report what the leaders intend to do about them. Their agenda intersects with the issues that CNN examines daily.”

CNN.com will be providing extensive coverage of the World Economic Forum’s annualmeeting while broadband video news service, CNN Pipeline, will allow subscribers access to additional news feeds from Davos.

‘CNN Connects: Our Networked World’ will be broadcast on Friday 26th January at 0330 IST, repeated Friday 26th January at 2330 IST, Sunday 28th January at 0030 IST and Sunday 28th January at 2330 IST.

January 25, 2007
CNN rides high on appeal among Indian elite

NEW DELHI: With a “healthy growth” of 22 per cent in advertising revenue over 2005 in India, Turner International’s CNN news channel is leading the way in the international news channel category in the country, argues Monica Tata, vice president, advertising sales and networks, India & South Asia, for Turner International India.

Speaking to indiantelevision.com in an exclusive interaction, she claimed also that CNN International has a larger audience than all other international news and business channels put together, and that, in fact, “CNN leads a rival channel (BBC) by 82 per cent in terms of retaining weekly viewers” at the Pan Asia level.

In addition to the existing categories of advertisers from India, Indian companies like those from sectors like consulting, corporate, white goods, IT, industrial goods, power and automobiles are on CNN International to reach international audiences, Tata added.

“Some examples are, HCL, the Bihar government, Accenture, Aditya Birla Group, Daikin, Suzlon, etc. And two good examples of the 360 degree approach we take for our clients include CNN International’s “Eye On India” series, which has been held over the past two years in association with Oberoi Hotels & Resorts; and the development of six advertorials, produced by CNN, for the Ministry of Tourism to promote India across the world,” Tata held.

Citing a report from Synovate Business Consulting, the leading market research and intelligence agency in Asia Pacific, Tata said: “Almost half (47 per cent) of weekly CNN viewers watch no other news or business channel, while the year-on-year audience growth is greater than any other news or business channel.”

Tata, though, sought to stress that the focus of its viewership is distinct. “CNN International focuses on the International Indian, or the global citizen as we call them, encompassing frequent travellers, high level business decision makers, and not the mass news market.”

“Online, CNN.com remains the leading regional website, visited by 69 per cent more PAX respondents across a month than the next largest broadcaster or publisher’s website, she said, adding that her channel is 219 per cent ahead of the third closest channel in the international news category in terms or retaining weekly viewers.

Tata says that the popularity of CNN is what brings them more advertisers and added that CNN has tie-ups with 1,000 TV affiliates around the world “who are very much a part of the wider CNN family”.

“Clients and agencies have shown an increasing interest in news channels, and for CNN, the response continues to be positive. With increase in news viewing habits in India, new product categories have started advertising on news channels, such as insurance companies, tourism boards, etc.” averred Tata, who quit the Star group to join CNN as vice president in 2004.

According to Tata, in the recent Global Capital Markets Survey (GCMS) 2006, conducted by Objective Research, CNN International reconfirmed its position as the leading news brand for the global financial community, across all regions (Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America).

“At the same time, the latest Pan Asia Cross Media survey (PAX research Q3, 05 – Q2, 06) underscores the findings by demonstrating that CNN continues to most successfully reach the wider business elite of financial decision makers regardless of rank/seniority across the Asia Pacific region. CNN has ranked first in the news and business genre every year since 1997, according to the latest set of PAX figures,” Tata observed.

(PAX represents a universe of 14.2 million adults aged 25-64 within 11 Asia Pacific markets: – Australia (Sydney + Melbourne), Bangkok, Hong Kong, India (Delhi + Mumbai + Bangalore), Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Tokyo.)

She claimed it is proven that during events of global implications, viewers from around the world, including India, tune in to CNN International, to keep themselves abreast of the latest developments.

The Indian affluent group continues to grow, travel regionally and globally, do more business around the region while Indian companies are increasingly expanding globally, she explained.

“With these developments, we are seeing a growing interest in international news and business. CNN’s “Your World Today” being in a prime time slot is an indication of this growth. We are the leading news provider around the world and will continue to grow our position in India,” Tata says. Tata explained that India has always been a key market for CNN and especially more so now because of the country’s geo-political situation.

“India cannot be ignored by anyone, and is critical from the news point of view. What India does and the developments in this region have repercussions on the international scene, and so it’s natural for us to continue with our focus on India and the region,” Tata stated “We have been covering all major Indian news with international relevance like the Indian elections, the Maharashtra rain catastrophe, the tsunami disaster, important Indian personalities, the Mumbai blasts, IT outsourcing, most recently the, Ardh Kumbh Mela, revival of the Indian railways, the surrogacy report, and many more areas. Besides, the “Eye on India” series focuses on topics like nuclear energy, Bollywood, outsourcing and many more,” she asserted.

Asked what she thinks is CNN’s edge in India, Tata replied: “CNN International is targeted at the global citizen, who is interested in knowing what is happening around the world. Our content reflects this, and we bring viewers coverage of global events with a regional perspective.

“On the news front, CNN’s New Delhi bureau chief, Phil Turner along with CNN’s senior International correspondent, Satinder Bindra and CNN’s New Delhi based video correspondent, Seth Doane, focus on covering domestic news and developments and have filed numerous stories from India.

“In addition, CNN’s feature programmes such as Richard Quest’s ‘QUEST’, Art of Life, Global Office, Global Challenges and Talk Asia have done stories out of India, and we will continue to do many more,” she explained “Actually, we find that the growth of news channels tends to increase the amount of viewers who watch news and business programming, thus creating a bigger audience pool. Through CNN-IBN and CNN International we have a very firm footing in the Indian marketplace. We are constantly exploring business options here and across the region. So wait n watch and stay tuned to CNN!” she quipped.

January 16, 2007
Al-Jazeera English to air ‘Children of Conflict’

MUMBAI: Al Jazeera English announced its four-part series, Children of Conflict, presented by Nadene Ghouri. The series explores the lives of children around the world shattered by growing up in conflict zones.

Ghouri travels to Gaza, Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Lebanon where she meets children growing up in an environment of frequent violence and constant economic depression.
Children of Conflict is broadcast from Doha across the Al Jazeera English channels available on more than 80 million cable and satellite households.

The series will include stories from Gaza where the theme revolves around the women in this region – the oldest Paletinian suicide bomber and profiling the girls who aim to be journalists and the first female Palestinian president.

The series from Lebanon goes back to the teenage survivors of Qana massacre. Afghanistan which has endured almost 30 years of conflict has one series devoted to the suffering of the children in this region. The final and most shocking series takes a look at the Congolese child soldier.

Al Jazeera English follows the model set up by international news channels like BBC and CNN which have an adequate mix of news and documentary series.The channel is headquartered at Doha and broadcasts from studios in Doha, Kuala Lumpur, London and Washington DC, in addition to 20 other countries.

It is currently available in 80 million homes and plans to double its target audience in Europe, Africa and South-East Asia.

January 14, 2007
CNN International head Chris Cramer announces retirement

MUMBAI: Chris Cramer, who has headed CNN International’s operations for the last 11 years, is retiring effective 31 March.

“I shall be saying farewell over the next few months in Atlanta, London and Hong Kong and hope we can raise a glass somewhere along the way,” the CNNI managing director said Wednesday in an e-mail to staffers across the globe.

“In April I will have been at the helm of CNN International for 11 years — and I believe it’s time to retire from the company and look for the next challenge.

“2006 was a record year for the international services, record distribution for CNNI and CNN en Espanol, and record revenues for all of our overseas businesses, including CNNI.com. Each unit is now profitable. It was also a fabulous year for our global journalism with accolades and awards for staff and services alike. Thankfully we also managed to keep our folks safe wherever they were working and led the industry in safety and training for all those who work in the field.”

Cramer joined CNN in 1996 from BBC, where he had worked for 25 years, five of them as head of newsgathering.

CNN is still to name Cramer’s successor.

January 11, 2007
CNN-IBN Indian of the Year awards: nominees for final three categories short-listed

MUMBAI: CNN-IBN has announced the nominees for the final three categories for CNN-IBN Indian of the Year Awards. The judiciary council in accordance with the TV 18 editorial team has submitted its choice of the final candidates for the Entertainment, Public Service and NRI categories.
Nominees for the Entertainment category are:

– Actor Shah Rukh Khan

– Director Raj Kumar Hirani

– Singer and Music Director Himesh Reshammiya

– Producer Gajendra Singh

– Actor Aamir Khan

– Actress Priyanka Chopra

Nominees for the Public Service discipline are:

– Indian social activist Arvind Kejriwal

– Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti president Kishore Tiwari

– IOC sales officer Late. S. Manjunath

– Indian economist and member of Right to Food Campaign Jean Dreze

– Dr Abhay and Rani Dang

– Jessica Lall’s sister Sabrina Lall, Priyadarshini Mattoo’s father CL Mattoo and Nitish Katara’s mother Neelam Katara.

Nominees for the NRI category are:

– PepsiCo worldwide chief Indira Nooyi

– Industrialist Laxmi Mittal

– Author Kiran Desai

– Fiction and nonfiction author and United Nations diplomat Shashi Tharoor.

– Filmmaker Deepa Mehta

– Commander USN, NASA Astronaut Sunita Williams

CNN-IBN and IBN 7 editor-in-chief Rajdeep Sardesai said, “With this we have declared the nominees for all six categories of the CNN-IBN Indian of the Year. Having set the ball rolling it will now be upon the electoral college and the public to decide who are the most deserving of the Indian of the Year title for each of these groups. Regardless of the winner, each of these 36 candidates should be lauded for their efforts and achievements in their respective disciplines.”

CNN-IBN and IBN 7 national sales head Sanjay Dua added, “This esteemed title recognises and felicitates the contributions of Indians not only nationally but internationally as well and is therefore something advertisers will take pride in being associated with.”

January 8, 2007
Lance Armstrong to feature in CNN special on cancer

MUMBAI: CNN will air a special Saving Your Life which will focus on cancer. CNN’s chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Tour de France champion and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong join forces to discuss the killer disease that touches everyone in some way.

Also joining Saving Your Life are cancer experts, Dr. Harold Freeman, associate director of the US National Cancer Institute and medical director of the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention, and Dr. Jim Hotz, an expert on rural health care and cancer whose story inspired the movie Doc Hollywood. The panel also features dedicated individuals who devote their time to educate their community in better understanding cancer.

The special airs on 13 January 2007 at 12:30 pm and 8:30 pm, 14 January at 12:30 pm. It also includes the following segments:

•A discussion with Armstrong, Freeman and cancer survivor and magazine editor Clifton Leaf in which they conclude that the lives of hundreds of thousands cancer victims could be saved through the application of current knowledge about cancer;

•A profile of Baker and Terrell Counties in southwest Georgia, which hold some of the highest cancer rates and colon cancer death rates in the nation;

•A profile of a young African-American woman with breast cancer and of Freeman, who designed a ‘navigator’ system to help Harlem women with breast cancer have a better chance of survival;

•A profile of a young Colorado boy with a rare bone cancer and a look at the issues of childhood cancers and orphan drugs;

•A profile of a man who thought he had beaten cancer only to learn months later the cancer had spread. Gupta, Armstrong and Leaf examine the relative lack of funding for metastatic cancer, the most deadly form of the disease;

•A look at Armstrong’s MRI images revealing the two large tumors that almost killed the man now synonymous with cancer survival.

Gupta says, “This is an exclusive opportunity to hear from some of the most distinguished members of the medical community about their advice on how to avoid and beat cancer. It is also a testament to those survivors who can offer firsthand advice that can save lives.”

January 8, 2007
Dr. Sanjay Gupta & Lance Armstrong team up for cancer special

MUMBAI: In a powerful hour of informative and inspirational conversation, CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Tour de France champion and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong join forces to discuss the killer disease that touches everyone in some way: cancer.

Also joining saving your life are renowned cancer experts, Dr. Harold Freeman, associate director of the US National Cancer Institute and medical director of the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention, and Dr. Jim Hotz, an expert on rural health care and cancer whose story inspired the movie Doc Hollywood. The panel also features dedicated individuals who devote their time to educate their community in better understanding cancer.

The special program also includes the following segments:

· A discussion with Armstrong, Freeman and cancer survivor and magazine editor Clifton Leaf in which they conclude that the lives of hundreds of thousands cancer victims could be saved through the application of current knowledge about cancer;

· A profile of Baker and Terrell Counties in southwest Georgia, which hold some of the highest cancer rates and colon cancer death rates in the nation;

· A profile of a young African-American woman with breast cancer and of Freeman, who designed a “navigator” system to help Harlem women with breast cancer have a better chance of survival;

· A profile of a young Colorado boy with a rare bone cancer and a look at the issues of childhood cancers and orphan drugs;

· A profile of a man who thought he had beaten cancer only to learn months later the cancer had spread. Gupta, Armstrong and Leaf examine the relative lack of funding for metastatic cancer, the most deadly form of the disease;

· An exclusive look at Armstrong’s MRI images revealing the two large tumors that almost killed the man now synonymous with cancer survival.

“This is an exclusive opportunity to hear from some of the most distinguished members of the medical community about their advice on how to avoid and beat cancer,” Gupta said. “It’s also a testament to those survivors who can offer firsthand advice that can save lives”

Airtimes: Indian Standard Times

Sat, January 13 at 1230hrs and 2030hrs

Sun, January 14 at 1230hrs

CNN is the world’s leading global 24-hour news network and one of the world’s most respected and trusted sources for news and information. The CNN brand is available to two billion people via 25 CNN branded TV, internet and mobile services produced by CNN Worldwide, a division of Turner Broadcasting System Inc and a Time Warner company.

CNN International is the international directorate of CNN Worldwide and distributes news via 14 services in seven different languages. CNN International can be seen in almost 200 million television households and hotel rooms in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide, including more than 30 million across the Asia Pacific region and online at www.cnn.com/international.

January 8, 2007
CNN to air defining moments of the year

MUMBAI: CNN will on three consecutive days beginning 30 December offer a look back at 2006; from the stories that dominated the news agenda and an in-depth review of how CNN reported these stories in its award winning style. Defining Moments 2006 uses comment and analysis from CNN’s international correspondents to reflect and go behind the stories that as the year draws to a close made 2006 such a memorable one.

Conflict shaped much of 2006, and Defining Moments charts the increasing tensions in the Middle East, especially in Lebanon and Iraq. The abduction of two Israeli soldiers as broken by CNN’s Anthony Mills on July 12th marked the beginning of round the clock coverage of the Israel-Hezbollah war that dominated global news for a month.

The special looks back at the events that took place from within Israel and Lebanon as well as the countries connected to the conflict during that volatile time. CNN also documents the 7/11 Mumbai train bombings which killed nearly 200 innocent people, features spiralling violence between Sunnis and Shiias in Iraq, witnessed through the eyes of CNN correspondents on the ground in Baghdad and across the Iraqi nation.

From insurgents and rocket attacks to the nuclear club with two potentially new members; 2006 saw CNN’s Dan Rivers reporting live from a tense Korean border. The programme relives the unfolding of both North Korea and Iran’s nuclear ambitions as reported throughout the year.

On a lighter note, 2006 is also remembered for such stories as the delisting of Pluto as one of our planets, the football World Cup, more dope than cycling at the Tour de France and the bowing out of the internationally loved Andre Agassi from the tennis circuit. The special revisits these stories and shares the highs, and lows, that characterised 2006.

December 23, 2006