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Tag: Sandeep Unnithan

  • News9 Plus clinches double victory at Mumbai Press Club Red Ink Awards 2023

    News9 Plus clinches double victory at Mumbai Press Club Red Ink Awards 2023

    Mumbai: Adding yet another feather to its cap, TV9 Network’s News9 Plus – the world’s first news OTT – took home two honours at the prestigious Red Ink Awards 2023. Beating nearly 1200 entries in the crime and investigation category and in the lifestyle and entertainment category, Muhammad Wajihulla walked away with two trophies at the event in Opera House, Mumbai on Saturday the 2 December 2023.

    Annually organised by the iconic Mumbai Press Club since 1968, the ceremony celebrates journalists and journalism. The top prize in Crime and Investigation went to the impactful ‘Bringing Down the Towers,’ a documentary depicting pensioners’ 11-year struggle against builders of Delhi NCR’s tallest residential towers.

    Similarly honored in lifestyle and entertainment, ‘Shooting Stars’ portrays two young individuals from a Chhattisgarh village who inspired nearly half their community to pursue content creation over conventional jobs.

    Wajihulla remains the only journalist on the list of winners from the evening to bag more than one laurel. Apart from that, Aditya Raj Kaul’s and Lakshna Gulati’s story Showtime in Kashmir, Soumalya Santikari’s – The FIFA World Cup in Qatar, and Shantasree Sarkar’s Killing the Aravallis were among the top shortlisted stories and received Red Ink Special Mention Awards.

    Both Wajihulla’s documentaries were honoured at the Red Ink Awards, which in its 13th year running bestowed national recognition on a total of 30 journalists from across the country, for stories in print and video formats. This year’s edition featured prominent personalities on the panel of jurors, including former Mumbai Police Commissioner D. Shivanandan, The Anatomy of Loss author Arjun R. Gaind, Free Press Journal executive editor S. Balakrishnan, documentary filmmaker Brahmanand Singh, the Dean of St Paul’s Media Institute Carol Andrade and theatre director Feroz Abbas Khan, among others.

    “News9 Plus is all about nuanced, fact-based, and thorough journalism, steering clear of sensationalism. Our focus is on narrating stories that showcase the remarkable resilience and courage of individuals making a significant impact. It’s a privilege to share these narratives, and I’m sincerely thankful for the acknowledgment,” stated Wajihulla. He extended his gratitude to editor Sandeep Unnithan and the TV9 Network management for their unwavering support.

    Catch these award-winning stories on News9 Plus, India’s first news OTT platform that is committed to disrupting the news genre by telling real-life news stories through OTT, the platform of tomorrow.

  • Sandeep Unnithan appointed as editor of News9 Plus

    Sandeep Unnithan appointed as editor of News9 Plus

    Mumbai: TV9 Network has announced the appointment of former India Today managing editor Sandeep Unnithan as the editor of News9 Plus, the recently announced video magazine OTT service by the network. 

    In this role, Unnithan will be responsible for all day-to-day news and editorial reportage at News9 Plus, for rich perspectives, narratives, and debates in a video on demand format, said the media company in a statement. “He will report to TV9 Network CEO Barun Das and TV9 Network group editor B V Rao,” it added. 

    Unnithanr bings with him a wealth of editorial experience with in-depth reporting on defence and strategic affairs. He is the author of “Black Tornado: The Three Sieges of Mumbai 26/11” and the co-author of “Operation X” – a non-fiction book on India’s covert Naval operations during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.

    “With Sandeep on board, his rich experience in writing and editing long form stories will play out on the richness of our editorial content,” said Barun Das CEO TV9 Network. “Sandeep will add gravitas, diversity and immersive storytelling that the English news audience deserves. We are confident that quality content will attract quality subscribers. At News9 Plus, we are going to make content a ‘want’ and not just a ‘need’. You would ‘want’ to keep coming back.”

    “This seems like the idea of the decade – where my past experience of long form reportage and storytelling for an evolved audience converge in a future-ready OTT avatar. News9 Plus is the future and I’m excited to help shape it,” said Sandeep Unnithan.

    “News9 Plus needs an editor who understands the pulse of the English-speaking audience – what we define as the GenFlix,” said TV9 Network group editor BV Rao. “The content that GenFlix would like to watch and eventually pay for will define News9 Plus as a differentiated news product. Sandeep and his team will drive that content differentiation for GenFlix.”

    TV9 Network has made another key hire for News9 Plus in Sandhya Ravishankar, award winning journalist from the south, who specializes in investigation. She won the Ramnath Goenka award in 2018 for her seven year-long reportage on beach sand mining.

    Aditya, who has earlier worked with CNN News 18, Times Now and Republic TV, will man the intersection of internal security, terrorism and diplomacy at News9 Plus. 

    News9 Plus will launch at the end of March 2022 on Web, Android and iOS marketplaces. Integrations on connected TVs and smart devices will follow soon thereafter, said the statement.

  • ‘State of Siege’ becomes top watched franchise on ZEE5 globally

    ‘State of Siege’ becomes top watched franchise on ZEE5 globally

    Mumbai: ZEE5’s original film “State of Siege: Temple Attack” has emerged as the top watched title on the video streaming platform globally, according to ZEE5.

    The film which marked the OTT debut of actor Akshaye Khanna who played the role of Major Hanut Singh, was premiered in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu simultaneously on 9 July. 

    In addition to being the most-watched film globally in July, it was also the highest subscription driver in the launch month. With the launch of “State of Siege: Temple Attack”, another film “State of Siege: 26/11” too attracted attention and brought in new viewers, growing viewership by nearly 3.5x.

    Based on Sandeep Unnithan’s book ‘Black Tornado: The Three Sieges of Mumbai 26/11’,  “State of Siege: 26/11”  was the first film in the series that premiered during the lockdown in March 2020.

    The film with an IMDB rating of 8.1, recorded viewership in 190+ countries globally with the highest watch time coming from India, the USA, UAE, Australia, and Bangladesh. “State of Siege: Temple Attack” also featured on Ormax Media’s ‘Most-Liked Indian Direct to OTT Films’ of all time.

    Speaking on the success of the franchise, ZEE5 head – Hindi originals, Nimisha Pandey said, “At ZEE5, our focus is on exceptional storytelling that resonates deeply with our audiences and cuts across languages to create a lasting impact. We have always aimed at driving partnerships that help us deliver content and characters worthy of grabbing our viewers’ imaginations and, with the State of Siege franchise, we set out to tap into varied emotions, narrating the stories of our brave NSG heroes.”

    “We have all put in great efforts and are overwhelmed by the response. I am glad that this genre is finding favour with audiences and our film with its storytelling and performances is driving the genre lovers to stream in, globally,” added the director of the film, Ken Ghosh.