Tag: NDTV

  • PM swearing in ceremony gets global reach through television and social media

    PM swearing in ceremony gets global reach through television and social media

    NEW DELHI: In a dignified function rarely seen, Indian television channels today globally beamed live the swearing in of Narendra Modi as the fifteenth Prime Minister of the country, along with his team of 44 Ministers and Ministers of State.

     

    Around 4,000 people including all the leaders of the SAARC countries and Mauritius were present in the front courtyard of Rashtrapati Bhavan where President Pranab Mukherjee swore in the Prime Minister and his team.

     

    Apart from the stars of Bollywood who have made it to the portals of Parliament House, others who were present included Anupam Kher, Dharmendra, Salman Khan with father Salim Khan, Bappie Lahiri, Suresh Oberoi and Vivek Oberoi.

     

    The winning stars seen at the ceremony included Vinod Khanna, Manoj Tiwari, Smriti Irani and Hema Malini.

     

    While all television channels were allowed to come to Rashtrapati Bhavan and were stationed at the back of the entire assembly, only Doordarshan was permitted to beam the oath taking ceremony from close quarters.  

     

    As a result, most channels beamed the ceremony by taking the feed from Doordarshan, though many had their own commentators and experts who spoke about the various persons as they were sworn in.

     

    While channels like Times Now preferred to show the commentary by Doordarshan’s Sanjeev Upadhyaya and Gaura Lal Dhawan before and after the swearing in, several other channels like NDTV 24×7 showed the visuals from DD but had its own experts speaking about each person as he/she came up to take the oath.

     

    DD, which had the live coverage on its national channel and DD News, also made arrangements for simultaneous translation into sign language for the hearing impaired. The live telecast was also beamed live on DD’s website and its channel on YouTube, President Pranab Mukherjee’s site presidentofindia.nic.in and on the Prime Minister’s website pmindia.nic.in.

     

    The telecast commenced around 40 minutes before the ceremony commenced, showing the arrival of various VIPs and leaders of different parties,  including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. 

     

    The last time that ceremonies of this nature – though smaller magnitude – were held in the front courtyard of Rashtrapati Bhavan was in 1990 and 1998 when Chandrashekhar and Atal Behari Vajpayee were sworn in as Prime Ministers.

     

    However, this was the first  time since 1991 (when Rajiv Gandhi was cremated) that all the SAARC leaders were seen together in India.

     

    Modi, who has been tweeting throughout the campaign and even after being elected, used the opportunity to send out a message to the people and the media through the Prime Minister’s website, pmindia.nic.in.

     

    Referring to the social media and the internet, he said: “I envision this website as a very important medium of direct communication between us. I am a firm believer in the power of technology and social media to communicate with people across the world. I hope this platform creates opportunities to listen, learn and share one’s views. 

    “Through this website you will also get all the latest information about my speeches, schedules, foreign visits and lot more. I will also keep informing you about innovative initiatives undertaken by the Government of India.” 

     

    A section has been inserted on the website to greet the Prime Minister or send him a message.

     

     

  • NDTV records highest traffic for Indian website on Election results day

    NDTV records highest traffic for Indian website on Election results day

    On May 16, on the counting day of the LokSabha Elections, NDTV.com set a new record for the highest traffic on an Indian website, on a single day.

     

    NDTV registered over 13 billion hits in a single day, as per Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM), the leading cloud platform for media and content delivery to NDTV and almost all other media companies in the country.

     

    Speaking on this, Suparna Singh, Managing Editor and CEO, NDTV Convergence Limited said – “ndtv.com had committed to delivering the fastest results on air and online and we spent months gearing up for what we knew would be unprecedented traffic. Elections is in our DNA and we were determined to give Indian users a seamless, in-depth and complete experience.”

     

    Kawaljit Singh Bedi, Chief Technology Officer, NDTV Convergence, said, “We are committed to providing our viewers with real time information be it online or offline. For an event as big as the Election, it was important that our viewers had access to fast, real-time information. During the Election results, we received over 13 billion hits, the highest for any site on a single day in India, and we were able to provide exceptional site performance on web and mobile without any hindrance. This was possible with the support of Akamai as they absorbed 99% of our traffic on to the Akamai Intelligent Platform.”

     

    Sidharth Malik, Managing Director and Vice President, India, Akamai Technologies said “On May 16th, counting day for Indian elections, Indian News sites witnessed the highest ever internet traffic. NDTV partnered with Akamai on this day to provide reliable and scalable solutions to support this high traffic volume. We are happy to report that NDTV got over 13 billion hits across its digital properties that day, which is the highest ever traffic any Indian website has got on a single day.  We at Akamai technologies are very pleased to have played a part in providing NDTV with a scalable and robust infrastructure on such an important day for the company”

     

    NDTV also had new records being set for its digital properties including concurrent users hitting an all-time high of over 500,000 users as per Google Analytics. Some other single day statistics as per Google Analytics –

     

    · 11.6 million unique visitors across all platforms, the highest ever in a single day.

    · 117.7 million Pageviews across platforms, the highest single day ever

    · 19.6 million video streams with an average viewing time of about 9 minutes

    · Over 200000 concurrent users watching video on the website

     

    NDTV was also the number 1 app on iOS across all categories in India and the WAP site registered its all-time highest concurrent users further strengthening the group’s belief that India is going to be a Mobile first digital economy

  • NDTV is no 1 in the UK

    NDTV is no 1 in the UK

    MUMBAI: NDTV, UK’s longest running Indian news channel is the top choice for the Indian elections coverage. Backed by a huge marketing campaign on radio, television and online, NDTV 24×7 is witnessing record audience figures since it joined the audience measuring body, BARB. Data for week ending 27th April shows the channel is the most watched Indian news broadcaster. NDTV has sustained consistent viewership for the last four weeks.

    Today, 16 May NDTV will present non-stop programming from 7am when viewers will be able to watch Prannoy Roy, India’s election Guru on India Decides – The Final Countdown, starting from 7:00am (IST) on NDTV 24×7, presenting the first and most credible look at who India has voted for.

    The Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board (BARB) is the official source of television viewing figures in the UK. It commissions specialist research companies Ipsos MORI, Kantar Media and RSMB to collect data that represent the television viewing behavior of the UK. On a weekly basis, BARB publishes a weekly reach data of the channels who’ve subscribed to BARB. As per BARB official data NDTV 24×7 is no.1 / most viewed Indian news channel in UK. Following is the last 4 week published data.

    NDTV’s 10 most popular programmes are

     

  • News channels focus on graphics on D-day

    News channels focus on graphics on D-day

    MUMBAI: At a time when presentation matters as much as content if not more, news channels are leaving no stone unturned to better package their coverage of the elections, ahead of counting day on 16 May. According to insiders, channels are investing close to Rs 1 crore to Rs 1.5 crore in graphics and technology depending on their own internal resources.

     

    “There are two parts to it: pre-counting day and counting day. In the former, you have to effectively cover all constituencies and make people understand while in the latter, the emphasis is on graphics as well as synergy between getting the information and putting it out instantly,” says NDTV CTO Dinesh Singh. Simply put, maximum energy goes into ensuring that data is collected from multiple sources and punched in quickly to be flashed on your TV screens. More precisely, revamping studio sets, making graphics more elegant, and inflating backend support in terms of OB vans, cameras and servers are all part of this exercise.

     

    “Satellites, lease lines or 3G supported systems are used to send pictures and videos from the ground to the studio while historical data is put on air through graphics. This can be done either virtually on a green screen or in a real set with virtual graphics,” says Live India head of technical operations Johnjit Singh Ahluwalia. A case in point is Times Now where one can see editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami, belting out statistics in his swanky new studio with the graphics playing out in front of him. CNN-IBN, on the other hand, has tied up with Microsoft for presenting historical data of more than 60 years.

     

    Speaking of ABP News, the channel put in six months of effort to hire OB vans and extra manpower along with backpack units for larger coverage. New shows have been set up with multi camera facility, apart from extra microphones, cables, connectors and servers. Various mechanisms such as OB vans, leased lines, FTPS and back pack units like Live U and TVU that work on 2G/3G/4G and are equipped with a variety of data cards are used to receive data at the office. “We also focus on error-free transmission and so far, have achieved it. High end studio cameras are hired with a triax setup for outdoor shoots,” says MCCS marketing manager Vikas Singh.

     

    Network 18 has roped in AC Nielsen as the agency to handle raw counting day data. Planning was done eight months in advance, keeping in mind the pre-polling stage, the polling period, post-polls, counting day, and the results. “Technology plays a key role in the elections. From programmers to data analysts to statisticians, every specialist plays a key role. But more than playing an individual key role, I think the ability to maximise the relevance of technology and to be able to bring all of them together for a common deliverable is the key for in depth elections coverage,” says CNN-IBN and IBN7 managing editor Vinay Tewari.

     

    NDTV, with a developer team of 21 engineers and around 40 people in the graphics department, started preparations around three months in advance. “Earlier, counting used to be for three days and now, it starts in the morning and ends in the afternoon so the on-screen graphics need to be attractive and studio swanky,” says Dinesh Singh.

     

    ABP News has divided itself into teams of eight to 10 for production, camera editing, satcom, working for programmes etc. that report to line managers, who in turn report to the main head. Ahluwalia agrees about the importance of technology in election. “These are crucial five or six hours within which you either swim or sink. Most of the investment goes in the actual coverage from the ground and then on the presentation of that data. With little resource, give high quality,” he says.

     

    The crux of the election is to ensure that you have a good backup for everything in case anything goes wrong. “At various locations, we have a back up like another OB van or a Live U unit, stand-by cables, camera etc. in case of any equipment failure. We had contemplated each and every aspect of technical failure and have been thus able to avoid that. Equipment redundancies are built at various levels of production and post production, including the programme transmission,” says Vikas Singh. Ahluwalia says that most news broadcasters have seen at least one election that redundancies are built into the system with complimenting hardware, servers and machines to give seamless on-air transmission.

     

    With less than a day to go for counting, channels are all set to turn up some serious heat with not just the information but also the graphics. So, prepare to sit back and enjoy the game…

  • News channels building ammo for D-day

    News channels building ammo for D-day

    MUMBAI: As the mother of all elections draws to a close, news channels are working themselves to a frenzy to feed the hungry electorate byte-by-byte updates of the poll results.

      

    Speaking of Times Now, the channel has stretched itself to the limit, promising 250 hours of non-stop election coverage, starting with the poll of polls and culminating in a grand finale.

     

    News Nation, on the other hand, will showcase poll results using innovative graphics between 6am and 3pm on 16 May, followed by expert analyses and later, special shows around formation of the new government.

     

    CNN-IBN and IBN7, with their shows A Billion Votes – Post Poll Survey and Mera Vote Meri Sarkar – Post-Poll Survey, respectively, have promised 100 hours of poll coverage, beginning 12 May and ending 16 May. The last phase will be complete with insights into the world’s largest electoral exercise.

     

    CNN-IBN, IBN7 and IBN-Lokmat editor-in-chief Rajdeep Sardesai said in a statement, “With the results of the biggest elections of our times round the corner, the entire nation is keeping a close eye on the outcome. The IBN Network has been a front runner in election programming. Through our 100 hours of extensive coverage, we look forward to continuing our leadership and delivering on the expectations of our viewers of being the most accurate and most trusted network for elections.”

     

    Sardesai along with his formidable team will lead the network’s election coverage, with help from political experts including Swapan Dasgupta, Ramachandra Guha, Surjit Bhalla, Manini Chatterjee, Sandeep Shastri, Kumar Ketkar, Dipankar Gupta and Paranjoy Guha Thakurta.

     

    For ABP News, counting day will start at the crack of dawn at 6am with live interviews of the key faces of this election and a summary of the trends and results using state-of-the-art election software and graphics that the channel has come to be synonymous with. Helping viewers understand the poll results and their implications will be ABP News’ experienced anchors including Kishore Ajwani, Abhisar Sharma, Sumaira Khan as also Neha Pant from the National News Centre, Noida.

     

    Prannoy Roy will once again step into the role he started off with all those years ago. The ace journalist will anchor NDTV’s show-stopper, India Decides – The Final Countdown. The channel is hoping to ensure the fastest national projection, based on early numbers and Roy’s expertise. Counting day will see Roy and Dorab Sopariwala joined by some of the country’s finest anchors, including Barkha Dutt, Vikram Chandra and Srinivasan Jain among others.

     

    Similarly, prominent faces associated with various news channels will lead the channel coverage for the day. For instance, Ajay Kumar, Ramesh Bhatt and Pinaj Tyagi will be the main anchors on News Nation on 16 May.

     

    As for ET Now, election coverage will commence at 7:00 am. The channel will have a panel of experts comprising Swaminathan Aiyar, Bibek Debroy, Sadanand Dhume and Sanjeev Aga who will decode the election results and give comprehensive analysis of how the economy and markets will shape up post elections. ET Now also has a lineup of industry captains like Godrej Group chairman Adi Godrej, Hero MotoCorp joint MD Sunil Munjal, Ashok Leyland vice chairman R.Seshasayee, HDFC vice chairman & CEO Keki Mistry, CII president Ajay Shriram, and FICCI president Siddharth Birla to represent the industry’s viewpoint on the election results and the likely agenda for the new government.

     

    Realizing the kind of viewership these channels are all set to garner on the counting day, a multitude of brands have latched onto the exercise. For example, IBN network has roped in ebay.in, ACC Cement, Renault, Asian Paints and Principal Mutual Funds while Microsoft is its technology partner. News Nation has got onboard Ghadi Detergent, Pepsi, LG, SBI, Hitachi, Airtel, Spice Mobile, TVS Motors and J.K. Cement while ABP News has tied up with Hero, Luminous, Snapdeal.com and Kent Water Purifiers.

     

    Consequently, news channels have hiked their ad rates for a 10 second spot. According to News Nation CEO Shailesh Kumar, the channel has hiked ad rates 15 times the normal rates for prime time for a 10 second spot. However, media planners and buyers beg to differ.

     

    A prominent media planner on condition of anonymity revealed that many such figures are floating around. Like it is being said that Times Now, which used to charge Rs 3,000 for a 10 second spot, has now hiked ad rates to Rs 7,500 or even Rs 9,000. Or for that matter, Hindi news channel Aaj Tak has doubled its ad rate from the previous Rs 4,500 to Rs 9000 approx.

     

    The media planner went on to say that news channels are in fact still trying to get advertisers on board. And though the ad rate may be the same on paper for any single news channel, new brands may have to pay a steep price as compared to old timers who might even be offered a discount.

     

    Not to be left behind in the online space, immediate trends and results from all counting centres will be relayed to NDTV in Delhi, which will reach viewers with state-of-the-art graphics almost as soon as they are released. ABP News has deployed personnel at various counting centres across the country to digitally deliver real-time data to the servers so that viewers get the results at a fast pace. Separate teams will also work right through the day for delivering results on Twitter, Facebook, Whatsapp, BBM or SMS, wherever a viewer is, on the device of his choice. Times Now has already launched an app called Election HQ app, which is also available on i-tunes to provide information to its viewers on the go. To make the incoming information simpler for the audience to understand, IBN has created the Microsoft Election Analytics Centre. The CNN-IBN – Microsoft Election Analytics Centre uses a range of Microsoft devices and services, and leverages analysis of current and historical data to provide people with intelligent election insights.

     

    With almost all news channels ready to bombard viewers with wide-ranging news and analyses related to the poll results, it remains to be seen which one manages to grab the highest number of eyeballs, along with of course, the new government.

  • YouTube’s your one stop shop for 16th Lok Sabha Elections results

    YouTube’s your one stop shop for 16th Lok Sabha Elections results

    MUMBAI: All the action will shift to Delhi, as Indians all over the world wait for the verdict of the world’s largest democracy. But you don’t need to be in the nation’s capital to be a part of it. YouTube will be your one stop source of news on Indian Elections 2014 and will deliver each big moment live.

    On YouTube, viewers will be able to catch all the counting day action as it unfolds across Television news networks who will be live streaming their programming on YouTube through the day. Viewers all over the world will be able to catch the special election coverage and programmes of various news organizations live on YouTube.

    YouTube has partnered with all leading broadcast news players to bring live news to users for the elections results. Users will be able to follow all the action by choosing their favorite news outlet including regional news channels and stay tuned to the news in the language of their choice. To make this happen, YouTube has partnered with IBN Live, Headlines Today, Times Now, NDTV, Boom News, Gateway House, NewsX, DD News, Rajya Sabha TV, News Laundry, TV9,  Sun News, Firstpostin & YouthKiAwaaz and many more to let users watch their election coverage and special shows.

    Tune in and keep up with the latest news on Indian Elections 2014 at: –

     

  • #RaceTo272 with Twitter and NDTV’s Graphity

    #RaceTo272 with Twitter and NDTV’s Graphity

    MUMBAI: When it first created Graphity on the occasion of Republic Day, little did NDTV know that its service of sending personalized photographs and messages would create such a flutter on social media, especially Twitter.  

     

    On the counting day, 16 May, NDTV has decided to engage its propriety service Graphity on Twitter to tweet real-time results to people who use the hashtag #RaceTo272 from @NDTVElections. The tweet will have an info-graphic representing the latest party/alliance position at that moment.

     

    How does it work?

     

    A little over three months since its launch and NDTV’s platform already boasts a client list that reads: Rajinikanth, Jai Ho, the BJP, Hero and Star Vijay among others. Indeed, when Rajini finally decided to be a part of Twitter, his first few followers received autographed photographs of the southern legend, courtesy Graphity.

     

    While the popular trend has been for people and companies to turn to Graphity to attract users, more prominently on Twitter, the service is not restricted only to Twitter, and can operate for web and SMS as well. According to NDTV Convergence CTO Kawaljit Singh Bedi, “The technology is such that we can monitor any social media. But Twitter is the best medium to do it.”

     

    On Twitter, Graphity works on keywords and hash tags; it listens to them and sends out the desired outcome, as requested by the client or NDTV itself. A case in point is Star Vijay, which utilized the service for its show Super Singer where hash tags were tracked and personalized messages from finalists were sent for a week before the finale. “We wanted to be a brand that people follow. Super Singer is synonymous with Star Vijay so the conversation would revolve round us. This helped us deepen the bond and make it stronger,” says Star Vijay digital media strategist Paul Samji.

     

    NDTV first used Graphity for one of its own activities in January, post which, Twitter sat up and took notice and started routing people who required similar services to NDTV. It took four months to come up with the service and if anything, all that hard work is now bearing fruit. It takes one or at the most two days to form an idea of what the client wants. Using the content management system (CMS), users give controls to the software. Firstly, the ‘listener’ service listens to hash tags by connecting to Twitter and secondly, the listener application connects to the ‘pusher’ application. The response page then sends out the desired outcome that is modified to fit a web page as well as various operating systems.

     

    According to sources, rates for Graphity have ranged from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 18 lakh.

     

    The inspiration for Graphity came from BCCI’s photographs of Sachin Tendulkar bidding farewell to the cricketing world and his fans. After speaking to various companies, including some in the US, NDTV decided to do it alone. A team of four engineers helped set up Graphity. “We have built it like a platform. It suggests an inpoint and outpoint for sending commands to execute outcome. These can be text, image, video, information or a combination of any of these,” says Bedi. “There are two more brands we are working with. The requests are only increasing because brands see the value in Graphity.”

     

    Given Graphity’s growing popularity, it’s quite possible that in the near future, the service may evolve into more than just a branding exercise used by brands to get maximum exposure.

  • Why NDTV chose to re-subscribe to TAM

    Why NDTV chose to re-subscribe to TAM

    MUMBAI: The warring couple NDTV and TAM Media are back in bed and under the sheets together with the news network organisation re-subscribing to the TV ratings service in early April.  If readers will recollect, both NDTV and TAM have been having several rounds of fisticuffs – in court and in industry forums – about how its services are flawed and how it incorrectly depicts its viewership.

     

    Industry professionals are raising their eyebrows questioning how this rancour was resolved? 

     

    It may be recalled that several broadcast networks had rallied against TAM’s TV ratings service in mid-2013, and some had even chosen to unsubscribe. Many of them, however, backtracked and re-subscribed, following TAM’s assurance that they would heed broadcasters’ requests.

     

    NDTV, for its part, had chosen to unsubscribe to TAM data beginning 21 September 2013, holding on to its stand about the flawed nature of the TV viewership ratings.

     

    TAM continued monitoring NDTV on a weekly and monthly basis and providing its data to subscribers – broadcasters, agencies and marketers. But a little while later the rating agency chose to stop providing detailed programming and TV commercial level data to its subscribers. So advertisers, agencies could not fathom how viewers where consuming the NDTV network’s programmes or the commercials it was airing on a second by second basis, say observers close to the situation. This led them to start giving the network a go-by from media plans. And this is what hurt NDTV as advertisers and agencies started questioning if they were getting a bang for their buck for ad dollars spent on the channel. The NDTV senior management was also fearful that its ad revenues which were showing signs of weakening could be impacted further because of the lack of detailed viewing data.

     

    Simultaneously, it was investing in relaunches, revamps of its existing channels, and in its retail ecommerce venture. Additionally, the nationwide elections were coming up in the world’s largest democracy which are expected to be a revenue bonanza for most news channels.

     

    In order to feature in media planners’ plans it needed to have its detailed numbers being provided in the TAM data sent out to  subscribers. Hence, it had to per force subscribe once again to TAM’s viewership ratings service.

     

    Senior NDTV sources say that TAM manipulated and compelled it to re-subscribe by stopping doling out the detailed programming and commercial data, even as they continue to hold the view that TAM ‘s viewership data monitoring is flawed – along with the industry, the MIB and TRAI.

     

    “We need TAM’s ad data. TAM, in its present form has to end in due course, and BARC, the new industry standard is coming soon,” says a senior NDTV executive. “In the case of NDTV the flawed TRP data is not matched by any other data which has shown us to be leaders.” 

     

    TAM representatives however say that its hand was forced as NDTV had unsubscribed and failed to renew its contract which allows it to monitor a broadcasters’ content.

     

    Clearly, a truce seems to have been called, but it appears to be one which was forced and is probably only for the short-term.

     

    (Updated on 12 May 2014 at 3:33 pm)

  • Election 2014 through the eyes of NDTV 24X7

    Election 2014 through the eyes of NDTV 24X7

    MUMBAI: It’s being called a watershed election – the most important in three decades – and NDTV, the pioneer of election programming and analysis is pulling out all the stops for alpha-coverage led by Prannoy Roy, whose understanding and reportage of Indian politics and polls remains unchallenged 34 years after he anchored the country’s first televised election.

     

    NDTV has innovated to provide the fastest and most comprehensive programming on results with landmark technology and forecasts that are already being cited around the world. Veteran journalists such as Prannoy Roy, Dorab Sopariwala, Vikram Chandra, Barkha Dutt, Sreenivasan Jain, Nidhi Razdan and Vishnu Som will be seen taking viewers out of the studio to real India giving them a ring side view of all the action.

     

    Programming Details

    · THE FINAL WORD – Prannoy Roy and Dorab Sopariwala, acknowledged as the country’s lead psephology team, have commissioned the largest series of opinion polls and exit polls ever – over 200,000 interviews – aimed at greater accuracy and precision (this reduces the sampling error to only +/- 2%, which is unprecedented for India and comparable with global standards). Moreover, the sampling design involves randomized selection from electoral rolls – which ensures that voters in even the most remote and backward areas are not excluded and are interviewed in-depth.

     

    · Based on this rigorous methodology, “The Final Word” will forecast who’s winning each state and who will form the next Government at the Centre. The number of seats each party wins will be tracked over the weeks – and reasons for the changes, as campaigning progresses, will be analysed for viewers along with clear and detailed explanations for the swing that’s been identified.   

     

    · The Battleground with Prannoy Roy – For India, for over a decade, this has been the gold standard of election programming. Battleground is the original and now much-imitated political analysis show, with the biggest politicians in the country appearing on it to respond to the findings of hard-core on-the-ground reportage and polling data. The series of 6-8 programmes (of one hour each), set the trend of broadcasting not from the studio, but from outdoor locations in the heart of each state i.e. the true Battlegrounds of these elections. This show focuses on the key issues behind the opinion poll and exit poll data and trends. Prannoy Roy interacts with a panel of leading experts who discuss election survey data in the context of the amalgam of the politics and contradictions of each major state. The Battleground is the blue-chip analysis show.  

     

    · The Biggest-Ever Exit Polls: Conducted on a sweeping scale that seamlessly fuses more than two decades of unbeatable experience, world-class graphics and micro & macro analysis, this is the unmissable TV finale of these elections. Prannoy Roy and Dorab Sopariwala will forecast the winners and losers in the next Lok Sabha. Trusted as the most accurate of all, these exit polls will be based on a random sample of names chosen from voter electoral rolls, ensuring far greater accuracy than what other polls can command. NDTV’s exit polls, led by Prannoy Roy, who is acknowledged as the real-time source of credible forecasts, ensure that any differentials are eliminated on account of turnout – since exit polls only question electors that have already voted. Moreover the larger sample sizes associated with NDTV’s exit polls reduce the sampling error to a minimum. The on-air analysis and presentation have, in election after election, drawn top politicians as guests and the widest audiences.  

     

    · INDIA DECIDES – the Final Countdown with Prannoy Roy- (Starts May 16 at 7 am) on counting day, NDTV’s show-stopper will be anchored by Prannoy Roy, whose expertise will ensure NDTV is the first to offer a national forecast based on early numbers. Prannoy Roy’s widely-acknowledged strengths in spotting and decoding trends and explaining their impact on the result, and his projections and his sharp analysis, based on decades of experience, will pivot a show that will also leverage new technology to guarantee the first and most credible look at who India has voted for. During the day, Prannoy Roy will be joined by some of the country’s finest anchors – Barkha Dutt, Vikram Chandra and Sreenivasan Jain, as well as by NDTV’s award-winning network of reporters, who have, through years of election coverage, established their credentials as the absolute A-team of political journalists.

     

    · ‘On The Road 2014’ with Barkha Dutt takes viewers out of the studio to real India…giving them a ring side view of all the action

     

    She travels across the country…reporting from a different city, interviewing a different news maker every day

     

    Its perhaps the only with Exclusive interviews and in depth ground reports every day

     

    But On the Road is more …it’s about the people …it’s about Chai stops

     

    Sip in the local flavour and the mood of the nation with Chai Stops  …

     

    As we talk to people …discussing what matters to them most

     

    Come with us for the best and most extensive coverage of Election 2014

     

    Join us on the Road to 2014 with Barkha Dutt every night only on 24×7

     

    · Stepping aside from petty politics and shrill campaigns Vikram Chandra focuses on real issues.

     

    From the falling rupee and rising unemployment to issues of governance and challenges of communalism, he gets political parties to chart the roadmap which will help turn the India story around

     

    ‘What’s Your Solution’  

     

    From corruption and security to the safety of women, get to know who suggests what and vote for the solution you believe is the best fit.

     

    The Big Fight continues the debate, not just political agendas, but also key factors that play a crucial role ..as India votes in Elections 2014

     

    ‘What’s Your Solution and ‘The Big Fight’ with Vikram Chandra are more than just talk.

     

    · Truth vs Hype: Contenders – Anchored and presented by Sreenivasan Jain, Truth vs Hype travels every week to ground zero to answer the questions that lie at the heart of every big story of our time – from politics, to corruption, to conflict zones and now Elections 2014. Shot and edited as a cutting edge news documentary, each episode is backed by solid research, hard facts and a clear-eyed sifting through evidence. Every week, an insightful profile of the key players and the potential Prime Ministerial candidates in this election, reported from the ground and on the campaign trail.

     

    · Left Right and Centre takes daily political debates to a new level for Lok Sabha 2014, where Nidhi Razdan and a panel of experts look at the real issues of this election and why they matter to people. LRC travels to the big cities to get a sense of what India’s urban voters are thinking, and what the agendas are of the main political players. Join Nidhi on Left, Right and Centre every night at 8pm for the day’s political discourse, simply explained

     

    · The Buck Stops Here Weekend Edition with Vishnu Som focusses extensively on the election campaign. Based on studio discussions and live, on-location reporting, The Buck Stops Here, Weekend Edition, takes the viewer to the heart of major political developments, featuring  exclusive interviews with major players on the election trail, including Naveen Patnaik, the Odisha Chief Minister’s first interview to an English news channel during campaigning; and anchoring live from outside the Aam Admi Party office in Delhi when Arvind Kejriwal dramatically resigned as Delhi Chief Minister after just 49 days.

     

    For years, NDTV has always been the fastest with the results and the first to forecast the final outcome based on early numbers. In 2014, the lead gets far wider and NDTV’s non-stop 18-hour election results show INDIA DECIDES – The Final Countdown will reflect the pace, colour, adrenalin and expanse of this election, with uncompromising commitment to making sure viewers have the results first.

  • NDTV announces Indian of the Year Awards

    NDTV announces Indian of the Year Awards

    MUMBAI: It’s that time of the year again when we salute the ambassadors of brand India. 2013 has been an important year in the history of India. From instances of individual brilliance to examples of nation building, this year has given rise to a set of Indians, who are not afraid to wear their Indian identity on their sleeve. To honour the contribution of these role models, NDTV is back with the seventh edition of the prestigious Indian of the Year award in association with LIC.

     

    One of the biggest and most credible awards in the country, the NDTV Indian of the Year 2013 will recognize the Indians whose contribution to the country have strengthened the foundation of our society and helped build Brand India. These iconic Indians will be honoured at a glittering ceremony in New Delhi on April 29, 2014 at the Taj Palace Hotel. They will be chosen from four categories: Sports, Entertainment, Business and Public Service.

     

    Announcing the 7th edition of the awards, Vikram Chandra, Group CEO, NDTV said, “We take immense pride in presenting the 7th edition of Indian of the Year awards. The awards recognize the contribution of individuals, who through their determination and fortitude continue to take the nation forward. We are privileged to honour this year’s winners with these awards.”

     

    Over the years, the recipients of these prestigious awards have included Ratan Tata, Sonia Gandhi, Justice J.S Verma, Anna Hazare, Late Pandit Ravi Shankar, N Chandrashekaran, Sachin Tendulkar, heroes of the Mumbai terrorist attacks and many more.