News Broadcasting

‘Election Express’ flies high with Quidich’s aerial cams

Published

12 years ago

May 10, 2014

MUMBAI: In an election season when every second channel is belting out poll-related news and shows, how does one stand out in a crowd?

The answer lies in how Headlines Today has deployed a new technology from a little-known company, Quidich, to give a facelift to its show, Election Express (EE).

Launched in December 2013, Quidich provides aerial photography and videography using quadcopters and octocopters. Till date, Quidich members are busy touring the country with Headlines Today editor-at-large, Rahul Kanwal and his EE team.

Quidich is constituted by three young men including CEO Rahat Kulshreshtha, who studied at the University of Westminster and worked with Star News, Nirvana Films and the British film industry; technical head Tanuj Bhojwani, an IIT Mumbai alumnus who left a management consultancy firm for Quidich; and marketing head Gaurav Mehta, a mechanical engineer from the College of Engineering, Pune. Currently, the office is based out of New Delhi and there are plans to have another one in Mumbai to tap into the Hindi film industry. For now, it’s a six-strong team with four permanent members.

Aerial machines are fitted with cameras to provide shots which are called drones or multi-rotors. Explains Bhojwani, “The technology behind these drones is easy to grasp, but hard to master. It’s very easy to get something into the air, but to keep it there and stable is a very hard task.’

The essential part of the equipment is the flying object which needs to be designed based on the client’s needs and the flight time. Next is the flight controller, which consists of a remote in the hand of the pilot and a microchip on the drone that receives the remote’s signal. Handling of this decides the precision and stability of the flight.

For EE, two quadcopters (four motors) and one octocopter (eight motors) are being used. The batteries used are 7700 mAh, whose drainage is inversely proportional to the size of the copter. For example, an octocopter with a 5D DSLR can work with two such batteries for approximately 15 minutes in air. More motors means capacity to carry bigger cameras.

Then comes the essential part of stabilizing the camera on the drone. An essential scientific technology called gimbal, which is present in a variety of instruments like gyroscopes and accelerometers, is utilized to stabilize the camera. After all, you wouldn’t want to break expensive cameras! For advanced and larger equipment with expensive flight controllers, the camera may also be programmed for self-control or manipulated using a device such as an iPad from the field so that it can fly on a set pattern.

Using these drones, the Quidich and EE teams have been touring India for the past few weeks with the day beginning at 6:00 am and ending at 10:30 pm. Of this, a lot of time is consumed by bus travel while shooting goes on for about two to three hours a day. “We have our own drones but Quidich’s drones fit our bill as they are on the higher end and their operators are unbelievably deft with the controls,” says India Today group chief creative officer and India Today group digital chief operating officer Kalli Purie.

So how did Quidich come up with the idea of the aerial camera? “The idea for the aerial camera actually came from our own experience. Rahat was trying to shoot a video for which he required aerial cameras. Attempting to experiment with the camerawork being employed, he discovered that services in India for aerial footage were literally non-existent or non-affordable. It was then that the idea to facilitate such a process was seeded, and shortly after, Quidich was formed,” says Bhojwani.

Quidich services have also been employed for a short film for IRCTC, Volkswagen Motor Sports and NDTV for one of their companies called Red Dot Films. Bhojwani points out that such a service is used on a small scale in India mainly due to requirements of large scale production for news services, advertisements, sports coverage and feature films.

Drones have been used in news channels for producing stock footage, unlike its usage for live telecast in EE. The range of the shot varies from 500 metres to 10 kms while the height can go up to 500 feet. Currently, Quidich owns three GoPro cameras that are used for action shots, one Nikon D500 mini, and one Nikon D800. While the GoPro is built for such shots, it cannot work precisely in low light and narrow areas. Tie ups with camera rental companies assure that the client’s needs are met with good pricing. Now it is looking at buying the portable Blackmagic Design production camera that records 4k videos and supports different types of lenses.

The bigger copters weigh about six to seven kg and are built of carbon fibre that is a lighter version of steel while the smaller ones are made of sturdy plastic and weighs about 1.5 kg. This, along with the gimbal ensures that the drone doesn’t crash and neither is it blown away by the wind.

Although Quidich presently provides video services, it is looking at exploring other possibilities. Work is currently on on developing innovative options for out-of-home branding for marketers in India through quadcopters such as sky writing. “We are not restricting ourselves to being a technology company. There are just eight to 10 such large scale operators in the country,” says Kulshreshtha.

For live transmission, radio equipment is fitted on the drone that corresponds to receiving stations on the ground. One signal beams back the video to the pilot that works on radio frequency while the main signal sent to the mixing station for live or recorded use is through OFDM (Orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing) technology. This ensures uninterrupted HD video being sent back unlike in radio frequencies. The RF tech can cost around Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 while the OFDM is on the higher end at about Rs 1 lakh. The setup for a live link can be up and running in 15 minutes.

Purie feels that the usage of drones has given the viewer a more realistic experience apart from the five existing cameras on the show. “Good election coverage happens on the ground and drones are a perfect compliment,” she adds.

The alternative options that are currently in use are helicopters and Jibs that are cumbersome and unable to fly to heights. “In contrast to any of these methods, Quidich’s technology can be availed at competitive rates and less than around one fifth the cost,” says Bhojwani. Pricing for this technology depends on a range of things such as type of copter, camera, timing, footage receiver etc, but for a full day shoot, prices could range from Rs 20,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh.

The only thing the pilot has to concentrate on is to steer the drone away from obstacles or keep it away from the reach of passer-bys. So how do they deal with people staring into the flying camera while shooting? “We start flying five to ten minutes before actual live time so they get bored after that,” laughs Bhojwani.

“We at Quidich believe in always providing state-of-the-art service to our clients, so that we can push the limits of what is possible,” says Kulshreshtha. On the experience working with EE, Bhojwani says, “It may be one thing to step out of the comfortable confines of a news studio to make your reporting distinct, but it is another ball game altogether to be negotiating with that amount of travel on a daily basis. With everyone pushing themselves physically and mentally, it was a gruelling but deeply satisfying experience.”

EE being Quidich’s first big assignment, has the company managed to get some eyeballs? “We are currently in talks with a diverse group of prospective clients. These include an ad film for a sports brand, a full-length regional feature film that may be shot in Ladakh, and a Bollywood film that would be shot in Goa. We are also negotiating offers for corporate films that include property clients. Unfortunately, given that we are still finalizing most of these assignments, I would be unable to get into the specifics of these offers,” says Bhojwani.

TV Today on the other hand has already decided to sign up with Quidich for a new show.

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News Broadcasting

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

Published

3 weeks 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

3 weeks 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

3 weeks 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.