Turner International (Turner) and Global Broadcast News (GBN), a TV18 Group Company, are forming a partnership to launch a co-branded, 24-hour, English-language general news channel in India. Renowned TV journalist Rajdeep Sardesai will spearhead GBNs foray into the general news space as the Editor-in-Chief of the service. The co-branded service, CNN-IBN, will build upon the strong foundation of TV18’s newsgathering experience and infrastructure in India, bolstered by CNNs eminent and extensive global news network.
Under the terms of the agreement, GBNs proposed channel formerly known as India Broadcast News (IBN) and now co-branded as CNN-IBN – will have access to CNNs trademark live breaking news as well as key feature programmes. This unique alliance will, for the first time ever, enable Indian viewers to view local news as well as relevant global news from CNN, the worlds news leader, on the same platform. The new channel will focus on providing robust and high quality news from every corner of India with a complete commitment to the needs and aspirations of the Indian viewer, while CNN International will continue to deliver global news to Indian viewers.
According to Sardesai, The news channel is built on the age-old ethic that editorial sovereignty is inviolable and this shall be a cornerstone of GBNs partnership with CNN. It will be a journalist-driven channel rooted in the realities of modern India. With nationwide news gathering capabilities, superior journalistic talent, and a passion for news, the new service will endeavour to get the news first and direct from the ground. In a fast-globalising India, access to CNN’s global news network will add immense value for our audiences.
This service will complement CNN Internationals global news offering and marks another milestone in CNN’s efforts to move closer to its audience though local partnerships. The coupling of CNN’s global resources and GBNS local expertise will take news broadcasting in India to a whole new level, said Chris Cramer, Managing Director, CNN International.
With a history of editorial independence and vitality, the enterprising local media is playing an increasingly important role in keeping Indians informed as the global influence of India continues to grow. Being the world’s largest democracy, India has a voracious appetite for news and this unique partnership with GBN will enable Turner and CNN to bring an unparallelled global scope to this genre, said Steve Marcopoto, President and Managing Director, Turner Broadcasting System Asia Pacific Inc.
Headquartered in New Delhi, the channel will be supported by over 20 bureaus nationwide, along with a team of experienced newspersons and production staff, backed by TV18s state-of-the-art broadcast infrastructure and newsgathering technology.
GBN, a TV18 Group Company, is a 74:26 joint venture between the TV18 Group and professionals Rajdeep Sardesai, Sameer Manchanda and Haresh Chawla. GBNs charter is to launch channels in the general news space under the editorial leadership of Sardesai, one of Indias most renowned TV journalists. The TV18 Group is Indias leading and most successful business news broadcaster in both English and Hindi.
CNN International is the world’s leader in 24-hour global news and information. CNNs combined branded networks and services are available to more than two billion people in more than 200 countries and territories in six different languages. CNN International can be seen in more than 186 million television households and hotel rooms, including over 30 million in the Asia Pacific, via a network of 38 satellites. CNN.com’s news web sites include international and US editions of CNN.com as well as five local language sites in Arabic, German, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish. The web sites also support mobile services, including a PDA service on Avant Go and a breaking news SMS news alert service.