News Broadcasting

Amchi elections!

Published

21 years ago

October 11, 2004

Maharashtra is abuzz with the state elections, which is just a day away.The national news channels have already started their election special programming along with the ‘controversial‘ Opinion Polls. One thing that strikes us in the election specials on news channels are the innovative names of the shows. From Munnabhai MLA to Chunavi Chai to Vote Cha Akhada… these are just a few initiatives that some news channels have rolled out.

Catch the elections live!

Here‘s a brief lowdown on what news channels have to offer the viewers in terms of programming for the upcoming Maharashtra State elections.

NDTV has a wide range of programming lined up to provide the viewers a complete picture. On NDTV India, Barkha Dutt will host a show called Chunavi Chai. Mahachunav and Takkar with Rajdeep Sardesai and Chaubis Ghante are the other special shows on the channel. The channel has already telecast three episodes of opinion poll Jeet Uski Janta Jiski and will roll out the exit poll on 13 October.

On NDTV 24×7, Follow the Leader, X Factors Election Special, Election special coverage on Mumbai Live and Maharashtra 3600 by Barkha Dutt will be aired. Here too, three episodes of the opinion polls titled And the winner is… have been telecast with the exit polls scheduled for 13 October. Besides these specials, all regular news bulletins will also cover the election news as it unfolds.

On the day of the counting – 16 October – NDTV India and NDTV 24×7 will have a complete day‘s coverage of the announcements of the results from the various constituencies.

Aaj Tak ‘s ace show for the elections‘ coverage is Maharashtra Ka Mahasangram. The various segments and programmes under this section are currently being aired three times a day – 2 pm, 7:30 pm and 10:30 pm. The programming comprises various interesting segments like Munnabhai MLA, Election Local, Mumbai Meri Jaan, Chunav Ala Re and Vote Cha Akhada.

Theatre and film actor Sourabh Shukla will host the segment Munnabhai MLA which provides interesting quips, thoughts and discussions from various regions. The show is aired at 10:30 pm with a repeat at 8:30 am and 3:30 pm. On the other hand, the segment Election Local, to be aired twice a day, will have the Mumbai local train as a backdrop for open debates and focus on the real concerns and issues of the common man.

Mumbai Meri Jaan features the who‘s who in Mumbai, talking about their aspirations, hopes and expectations from their MLAs. The show airs at 11:30 pm and 8:50 am. Chunav Ala Re will have Aaj Tak‘s Punya Prasoon Vajpayee travelling through the interiors of Maharashtra to unravel the grass-root problems and issues in the state. This segement is aired at 7:45 pm and 11:45 pm. Two political heavy weights will debate in Vote Cha Akhada in front of an audience. Aired on Sundays at 10 pm, this has been touted by the channel as ‘the voice of the people‘ meeting ‘the voice of politics‘.

Star News has been telecasting its special show Kaun Banega Mukhyamantri. Also shows like Maharashtra Mein Mahabharat will report the latest developments related to the Maharashtra assembly elections. The first opinion poll – Pehli Tasveer – was aired on 18 September. This was followed by a half-hour debate show – Kahiye Netaji, which started airing from 26 September.

Taaza Tasveer, on the other hand, will present the findings of the second round of opinion polls closer to the voting day. On 13 October, Kaun Banega Mukhyamantri will report on voting related developments and news followed by an Exit Poll special – Kaisi Hain Tasveer.

On 16 October, Aapka Hukum will report on the latest tally and results through out the day, followed by a post poll analysis special – Kahin Kursi Kahin Gham which will be aired on 17 October at 8 pm. Noted political analyst and commentator Mahesh Rangarajan will be Star News‘ resident expert for this entire elections coverage and the channel‘s anchors Gaurav Banerjee, Ajay Kumar, Sandeep Choudhary, Siddharth Sharma and Shazia Ilmi will be anchoring the various election specials.

The channel conducted its second opinion poll in association with The Telegraph and AC Nielsen. The survey findings were presented by Gaurav Banerjee and Rangarajan on Kaun Banega Mukhyamantri – Taaza Tasveer on 9 October.

Star News also rolled out two on-ground initiatives in order to reach out to the common man and bring to light their views, opinions and dissent. The first initiative was called Maratha Express and Kaun Banega Mukhayamantri Raths toured towns in Maharashtra.

The Maharashtra elections countdown has begun on Sahara Samay Rashtriya too with their live show Maharashtra Countdown, which will be hosted by Arup Ghosh, Shirin and Reema Parashar. This show will have an in-depth analysis on various issues pertaining to Maharashtra and its people with opinion from panelists like Jansatta editor Prabaht Joshi and Maharashtra Times editor Bharat Raut. This hourly capsule will be aired every Monday to Friday from 9.30 pm -10.30 pm till the elections are on.

The channel has also started special programmes like Straight from the State hosted by Shirin, wherein an analysis is done of each of the six regions – Vidarbh, Western Maharashtra, Konkan, Northern Maharashtra, Marathwada and Mumbai – where elections are being conducted. This programme is aired every Sunday from 9.35 pm to 10.30 pm. Another programme is Reporters Diary, where each reporter presents a complete story on a particular region. This airs every Sunday from 10.30 pm to 11 pm.

Zee News is yet to revert with its Maharashtra elections coverage details at the time of filing this report.

Marathi channels have a blast!

Marathi channels also haven‘t left any stone unturned while covering the Maharashtra elections. Opinion polls, roadshows, debates, interactive programmes – regional channels Alpha Marathi and ETV Marathi have attempted possibly everything. Now with just some hours remaining for the first vote to be cast, both the channels have unveiled their post-elections plans as well. Though DD Sahyadri has been keeping a low profile at the pre-election front, it also now proposes to join the carnival with add-ons to its existing schedule.

Alpha Marathi, which had kicked off its election shows on 12 August, has been conducting an opinion poll across the state in association with Taleem, an Ahmedabad-based organisation. The final poll result was telecast at Alpha‘s special election programme Janadesh on 9 October, with a repeat on 10 October.

On 13 October evening, Alpha Marathi will telecast its exit poll results. On the polling day the channel will telecast six news bulletins in addition to its three normal news bulletins.

On the counting day – 16 October – the channel will be doing live coverage of the proceedings from 6 am to 5 pm. Eight cities will be connected live, a studio will be set up at the vidhan bhavan and there will be minute-by-minute update of the election results. Expert panel will analyse the emerging trends. The evening news bulletin at 7:30 pm will also be dedicated to the election results and the channel will telecast another round of live discussions from 10 pm to 11 pm.

“The channel‘s coverage of Maharashtra elections will have that typical Alpha Marathi touch as well,” assures Alpha Marathi senior programming head Nitin Vaidya. He says the channel will launch a hilarious character – an amusing office peon of the Alpha News office – who will be seen making his rounds in the channel throughout the day. The peon, to be played by Actor Makarand Anaspure, will appear in between discussions and will freely pass his frank comments and opinions. He will be also seen interacting with the bigwigs of the expert panel without any inhibitions.

Another innovation the channel is planning on the entertainment front is hourly spoofs on the counting day. The channel‘s popular Ghadalay Bhigadalay show team (the show was instrumental (arguably) in the resignation of former Maharashtra deputy chief minister Chagan Bhujbal) will come up with satirical shows based on the emerging trends.

DD Sahyadri has been profiling the constituencies through its Vidhan Sabha Janadesh show. The channel telecasts the 15-minute programme along with its 9:30 pm daily news bulletin. For the polling day, Sahyadri has lined up some special programmes and extra news bulletins. At 6 pm the channel will telecast a review show participated by psephologists and political analysts. According to DD Sahyadri deputy director programming Shivaji Fulsundar, the show will be a kind of exit poll.

Sahyadri will kick off its counting day coverage at 8 am and the live coverage will go on till 3 pm. The channel will telecast live discussions and debates participated by politicians and experts. There will be hourly news bulletins of 10-minutes duration from 8 am till 9:30 pm. From 6 pm to 6:55 pm, Sahyadri will telecast the final analysis.

ETV Marathi hopes interactivity would provide it the cutting edge. Says business head Umesh Kulkarni, “Before planning to do something on the election front, we thought we should do something different, something which won‘t be just presentations of the facts and figures. So we conceptualised shows stressing on the interactivity theme.”

In the show Randhumali – Chanda teh Bandha, popular actor Prakash Inamdar has been donning various get-ups and visiting different towns to get the view of the public on the state elections. The show Ranshinga- Pragati pustak mantryanachi anchored by veteran journalist Kumar Ketkar has local people rating the state ministers. During the interactive programme, audiences send SMS according to which ministers are rated. Anchored by popular actor Rahul Solapurkar, the show Ransangram – Dhobipachad has been presenting face off between two political rivals debating on various issues.

The channel‘s Mahaneta, Yuvaneta contest has reached its final stage now. The channel has urged the voters to choose their favourite personalities as their Mahaneta and Yuvaneta and the public has been sending in their opinions through postal letters, e-mails, SMS, fax and Integrated Voice Response (IVR). The public has been asked to pick up any important personality from any field, not just politics, as their dream leaders. The final results will be announced on 14 October at Mumbai‘s Shivaji Park.

According to Kulkarni, ETV Marathi launched the Mahaneta Yuvaneta contest targeting the educated-class and the Randhumali – Chanda teh Bandha show targeting the masses. Kulkarni claims the channel‘s experiment with the interactivity feature has been a tremendous success. He says the channel has managed to involve ministers, politicians, the common public and the educated class – all – in its election shows.

On 16 October, the channel will telecast the developments live from 8 am to 4 pm. There will be panel discussions participated by political experts and analysts. ETV Marathi will wind up its election coverage with a 7 pm to 11:30 pm analytical edition.

The final count: Advertising

With most news channels having their advertising spots booked in advance, very few new advertisers could step in to capitalise on the election fever. However, the NDTV Network has some clients sponsoring their election properties across both the channels (NDTV 24×7 and NDTV India) like HPCL, MIRC Electronics Ltd., Tata Motors, Samsung, Finolex Industries, Dominos, Maruti Udyog Ltd., Perfetti and Skoda Auto Pvt. Ltd.

On the other hand, Star News has four new advertisers – CRI Pump, Tata Tea, Union Bank of India and Chola Health Insurance – on their election special, Kaun Banega Mukhyamantri. Also, brands like Glaxo, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, Club Mahindra and Sify.com‘s Way to Talk have come on board on the Star News ticker, informs Star News brand director Keertan Adhyantaya.

Political parties like Samajvadi Party, Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) and Congress have flocked on Sahara Samay. Apart from the usual corporate advertisers on the channel, LG Care has recently come on board, says Sahara Samay head of sales Monica Srivastava.

Chloromint and CRI Pumps have been the major advertisers for DD Sahyadri for its election shows. According to Fulsundar, Sahyadri is expecting to rake in Rs 0.5 million for 13 October and 16 October as ad revenue. He says Sahyardi has made about Rs 4 – 5 million from advertising by political parties.

ETV Marathi has Onida, RBI, Mahindra and Mahindra, Hyundai and P&G as prominent advertisers for its election shows. According to Kulkarni, the channel has raked in ad revenue worth Rs. Five million from its election-related shows. The channel expects to accumulate another Rs 2.5 million from its counting day coverage. Kulkarni puts the ad revenue from political parties at Rs 3.5 million.

Vaidya refuses to disclose how much ad revenue Alpha Marathi has earned from its election programming.

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News Broadcasting

Barc forensic audit in TRP row awaits as Twenty-Four probe gathers pace

Published

1 month ago

February 4, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

KERALA: A forensic audit commissioned by the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India has emerged as the centrepiece of the government’s response to fresh allegations of television rating point manipulation involving a regional news channel in Kerala, with both the audit findings and a parallel police investigation still awaited.

Replying to a query in the Lok Sabha, minister of state for information and broadcasting L Murugan, said Barc had appointed an independent agency to conduct a forensic probe into the conduct of senior personnel allegedly linked to the case.

The move followed media reports claiming that a Barc employee had accepted bribes to manipulate viewership data in favour of a regional television news channel.

“The report from BARC is still awaited,” Murugan told Parliament, signalling that the forensic exercise remains ongoing.

Industry specialists say forensic audits are crucial in alleged TRP fraud cases, as they examine internal controls, data access trails, panel household integrity, staff communications and financial transactions. The outcome could determine whether the alleged manipulation was an isolated breach or a deeper systemic weakness in India’s television measurement framework.

Running alongside the audit, the Kerala Police has formed a special investigation team to probe the allegations. The ministry has sought a preliminary report from the state’s director general of police, including details of action taken on the first information report. That report, too, is yet to be submitted.

The episode has revived long-standing concerns over the vulnerability of India’s TRP system, particularly in regional news markets where competition for ratings is fierce and advertising revenues hinge on weekly viewership rankings.

India’s sole television audience measurement body Barc, has faced scrutiny before, most notably during the nationwide TRP controversy involving news channels in 2020. While tighter compliance norms were introduced in the aftermath, the latest allegations suggest enforcement challenges may persist.

On regulatory consequences, the government said any punitive action against television channels, including suspension or cancellation of uplinking and downlinking permissions, would be governed by the Policy Guidelines for Uplinking and Downlinking of Television Channels issued in November 2022, and would depend on investigation outcomes and due process.

The ministry also pointed to ongoing efforts to overhaul the ratings ecosystem. Television measurement continues to be regulated under the Policy Guidelines for Television Rating Agencies, 2014. Draft amendments were released for public consultation in July 2025, followed by a revised version in November 2025, aimed at tightening audit mechanisms and improving transparency and representativeness.

In November 2025, Barc said it had taken note of allegations aired by Malayalam news channel Twenty-Four, which linked an internal employee to irregularities in audience measurement. The council said it had engaged a “reputed independent agency” to conduct a comprehensive forensic audit, underscoring the seriousness of the claims.

The ratings system sits at the heart of India’s broadcast advertising economy, shaping billions of rupees in annual ad spends. With trust in audience data once again under strain, advertisers, broadcasters and regulators are closely watching the outcome of the investigations.

Barc has urged industry stakeholders and media organisations to exercise restraint while the probe is underway, calling for an end to “unverified or speculatory claims” and reiterating its commitment to integrity and accountability.

Until the forensic audit and police findings are submitted and reviewed, the government said it would refrain from drawing conclusions.

News Broadcasting

Rajat Sharma defamation row: Delhi court summons Congress leaders Ragini Nayak, Pawan Khera and Jairam Ramesh

Published

1 month ago

February 4, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court has ordered the summoning of senior Congress leaders Ragini Nayak, Pawan Khera and Jairam Ramesh in a criminal case filed by veteran journalist Rajat Sharma, sharpening a legal battle over alleged defamation and doctored digital content.

The order was passed on Monday by Devanshi Janmeja, judicial magistrate first class at Saket Courts, after the court found prima facie grounds to proceed under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code, including forgery, creation of false electronic records and defamation.

Sharma, chairman and editor-in-chief of India TV, had approached the court over allegations made in June 2024 that he had used derogatory language against Congress spokesperson Ragini Nayak during a live television debate. He denied the charge, claiming it was fuelled by a manipulated video circulated online.

According to the complaint, a clipped version of the broadcast carrying superimposed captions, which were not part of the original programme, was first shared on social media platform X by Nayak and later amplified through retweets and public statements by Khera and Ramesh. Sharma said the viral spread caused serious reputational harm and personal distress.

The court took note of forensic science laboratory findings that pointed to visible post-production alterations in the video, including added titles and captions. It also cited witness testimonies from those present during the live broadcast, who stated that no abusive or objectionable language had been used.

In a related civil matter, the Delhi High Court had earlier observed a prima facie absence of abusive remarks and directed the removal of the disputed social media posts.

With criminal proceedings now set in motion, the case adds to mounting scrutiny around political messaging, digital manipulation and accountability on social media platforms.

News Broadcasting

Mukesh Ambani, Larry Fink come together for CNBC-TV18 exclusive

Reliance and BlackRock chiefs map the future of investing as global capital eyes India

Published

1 month ago

February 4, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: India’s capital story takes centre stage today as Mukesh Ambani and Larry Fink sit down for a rare joint television conversation, bringing together two of the most powerful voices in global business at a moment of economic churn and opportunity.

The Reliance Industries chief and the BlackRock boss will speak with Shereen Bhan, managing editor of CNBC-TV18, in an exclusive interaction airing from 3:00 pm on February 4. The timing is deliberate. Geopolitics are tense, technology is disruptive and capital is choosier. India, meanwhile, is pitching itself as a long-term bet.

The pairing is symbolic. Reliance straddles energy transition, digital infrastructure and consumer growth in the world’s fastest-expanding major economy. BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, oversees more than $14 tn in assets and sits at the nerve centre of global capital flows. When the two talk, markets tend to listen.

Fink’s appearance marks his third India visit, a signal of the country’s rising strategic weight for the Wall Street-listed firm, which carries a market value above $177 bn. His earlier 2023 trips included an October stop in New Delhi, where he met both Ambani and Narendra Modi.

India is now central to BlackRock’s expansion plans, notably through its joint venture with Jio Financial Services. Announced in July 2023, the 50:50 venture, JioBlackRock, commits up to $150 mn each from the partners to build a digital-first asset-management platform aimed at India’s swelling investor class.

The backdrop is robust. BlackRock ended 2025 with record assets under management of $14.04 tn, helped by $698 bn in net inflows, including $342 bn in the fourth quarter alone. Scale gives Fink both heft and a long lens on where money is moving.

He has been openly bullish on India. At the Saudi-US Investment Summit in Riyadh last year, Fink argued that the “fog of global uncertainty is lifting”, with capital returning to dynamic markets such as India, drawn by reforms, demographics and durable return potential.

Expect the conversation to range beyond balance sheets, into technology’s role in finance, access to capital and the mechanics of sustainable growth in a fracturing world order. For investors and policymakers alike, it is a snapshot of how big money is thinking about India.

At a time when capital is cautious and growth is contested, India wants to be the exception. When Ambani and Fink share a stage, it is less a chat and more a signal. The world’s money is still looking for its next big story, and India intends to be it.