Synopsis: ‘Duologue with Barun Das' has redefined the talk show genre by orchestrating intellectually stimulating exchanges with an eclectic mix of guests.

The show's distinctive format fosters a candid duologue, delving into ideas, theories, and experiences in a conversation beyond the obvious. Season 01 that premiered on News9 Plus will now be available on connected TVs through News9 Live, airing from September 22nd to September 29th, 2023, at 10 pm.

The highly acclaimed and awarded Season 01 of 'Duologue with Barun Das' now makes its world premiere on connected TVs. This rendezvous of legends or legends in the making is set to enthrall audiences with cerebral exchanges of ideas, theories, and experiences that would challenge conventional wisdom.

After redefining the talk show genre through intellectually stimulating exchanges between the host, Barun Das, MD & CEO of TV9 Network, and his eclectic array of guests - 'Duologue with Barun Das' is now available on Connected TVs on News9 Live every night at 10 PM starting 22nd September, through 29th September.

Speaking about the world premiere Rakesh Khar, Editor, News9 MediaVerse, English Cluster - TV9 said, “Duologue with Barun Das is the perfect blend of an eclectic discussion worthy of prime-time showcase, as well as an OTT series that stands the test of time. With the first season now premiering on Connected TVs, the synergy between News9 Live and News9 Plus truly comes to light. And that’s the convergence model at play at News9 Mediaverse.”

Kartikeya Sharma, Deputy Managing Editor, News9 Live, said, “Duologue is not a typical TV interview, it is a stimulating piece of conversation, which is like a breath of fresh air in a cluttered audio-visual world. The series encompasses distinguished achievers from all walks of life, who have left an indelible mark in their respective fields.”

Along with an updated play out of the News9 Plus season of Duologue, the Connected TV and app convergence would truly happen on 29th September with a simulcast of the final episode of Duologue with Barun Das Season 01, featuring celebrated cardiac surgeon and founder of Narayana Health Dr Devi Shetty. This season finale is timed for release on World Heart Day – where the duo discuss the opportunity India has in creating a disruptive health insurance ecosystem that can cater to social security needs for the whole nation.

“Barun has an easy-going and yet razor-sharp conversational style. He got me to open up on subjects I’ve been quiet about, and I’m glad we ‘duologued’ like I haven’t before,” shared Arnab Goswami, Editor-in-Chief and Chairman of Republic Media Network about his experience being a guest on Duologue.

Industry veteran Sunil Lulla, Founder & Chief Evangelist of The Linus Adventures said that the show is “Tantalising and intriguing. Duologue opens new voices and new perspectives.”

News9 Live, which airs Season 01 on Connected TVs, can be accessed across the connected TV ecosystem, including live streaming platforms such as Fire TV, Patchwall, Cloud TV, and TCL, as well as aggregator platforms like Distro TV and YuppTV.

Catch one episode every night at 10 PM:

22nd September: David Cameron, Former Prime Minister of UK

23rd September: Vijay Deverakonda, Actor

24th September: Arnab Goswami, Chairman & Editor-in-Chief, Republic Media Network

25th September: Subhash Chandra, Chairman Emeritus, ZEEL

26th September: Mithali Raj, Former Cricket Captain, India

27th September: Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, Spiritual Guru

28th September: Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy and Author & Philanthropist Sudha Murty

29th September: Devi Shetty, Chairman & Executive Director, Narayana Health

Olympians and multiple Asian Games medalists Anju Bobby George, Vijender Singh, Viren Rasquinha, Somdev Devvarman, among others will feature on SPORTS EXTRAAA

Cricket panel features Indian cricket stars Aakash Chopra, Nooshin Al Khadeer, Saba Karim, WV Raman, Rohan Gavaskar amongst others

The much-awaited 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022 is finally here, and making this edition of the prestigious multi-discipline extravaganza more exciting is the addition of cricket which will see men and women in blue participating for the coveted gold. Sony Sports Network continues to be the premier destination for cricket and multi-sport events and is the official broadcaster for the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games.

Ensuring sports buffs don’t miss the live action from China, Sony Sports Network, will not only bring round-the-clock live and non-live coverage but they will also have an esteemed panel of guests featuring sporting icons and expert panelists which will enrich the experience for viewers with their analysis and comprehensive reportage.

The extensive coverage for the continental sporting spectacle will be broadcast LIVE on Sony Sports Ten 1, Sony Sports Ten 2, Sony Sports Ten 3, Sony Sports Ten 4, and Sony Sports Ten 5 channels (SD & HD) with Hindi and English commentary for the broadcast sports. Additionally, Indian cricket teams’ matches will have commentary in Tamil and Telugu as well. The action will also be live streamed on its on-demand OTT platform Sony LIV.

Aiming to enhance fan engagement and bringing unparalleled viewing experience for audiences across the nation, Sony Sports Network will continue to showcase their flagship wrap around studio show – SPORTS EXTRAAA.

The cricket panel sharing insights and real-time analogies of Indian men and women’s cricket teams' performance will feature former India skipper and coach Nooshin Al Khadeer, former cricketer and seasoned coach WV Raman, famed wicketkeeper Saba Karim, India internationals Rohan Gavaskar and Aakash Chopra adding flavour to the 19th Asian Games coverage. The impressive line-up of experts for cricket also includes legendary spinner Maninder Singh, Vivek Razdan, and Vidhyut Sivaramakrishnan.

The star-studded panel also includes Olympian and former India men’s hockey captain Viren Rasquinha, along with Olympian and Asian Games Gold medalist Somdev Devvarman, veteran journalist Ayaz Memon and commentator Siddharth Pandey.

Taking their discipline-specific match analysis up by several notches, Sony Sports Network will also have Olympic bronze medalist and Asian Games gold medalist Vijender Singh for boxing, World Champions bronze medalist and multiple Asian Games medalist Anju Bobby George for athletics, multiple grand slam champion Sania Mirza for tennis, the charismatic striker Robin Singh for football, Olympian Anjali Bhagwat and Joydeep Karmakar for shooting, Olympian Neha Aggarwal for table tennis, former international squash player Ritwik Bhattacharya, Commonwealth Games gold medalist Rahul Banerjee for archery, Arjan for Esports, Rohit Mardappa for rowing, sports commentator Radhakrishnan, coach Kripa Shankar Patel for wrestling and Commonwealth Games medalist Trupti Murgunde for badminton.

SPORTS EXTRAAA will be hosted by Sony Sports Network anchors Suhail Chandhok, Radhakrishnan and Arpit Sharma.

Watch the star-studded Indian contingent vying for top honours, ‘Iss Baar, Sau Paar’, at the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022 on Sony Sports Network and Sony LIV starting with the live coverage of the Opening Ceremony live on Sony Sports Network on 23rd September, 2023 from 5:30 PM onwards.

Viacom18 has secured a broad dynamic injunction from the Delhi High Court for the Indian cricket team’s bilateral matches.

Recently, to strengthen its hold in the sports broadcasting industry, Viacom18 had bagged the BCCI linear and digital right in a three-way bidding war between Viacom18, Sony and Star. As a result, for the next five years i.e., from September 2023 till March 2028, all bilateral games involving the Indian cricket team that will be played in India along with domestic cricket, shall now be broadcasted/streamed by Viacom18 on its television and OTT properties. With this Viacom18 has also become the prominent sports destination as it already has the digital rights for the Indian Premier League (IPL), Women’s Premier League (WPL) and other major sporting events like the Olympics 2024, MotoGP 2023, La Liga, Diamond League etc.

The new sports broadcasting leader, Viacom18 Media Private Limited, had approached the Delhi High Court seeking an ad-interim dynamic injunction to protect its Media Rights in relation to the BCCI Events against various rogue and pirate websites as well as John Does/Ashok Kumars/Unknown Defendants. The Court while expressing its concerns regarding the unending menace of piracy noted that the Courts have become inundated with suits pertaining to such issues and suggested the importance of a robust anti-piracy policy to curb the issues. The Court observed that a prima facie case for interim injunction was made out and further held that the grant of an injunction would be necessary to avoid irreparable loss/injury from being caused to Viacom18.

The Court further order that Viacom18 shall not be bound to initiate any fresh proceedings in relation to any new alphanumeric/redirect/mirror websites that are expected to mushroom during the course of the BCCI events. Access to such websites shall be blocked by the Internet Service Providers (IPSs) upon being informed about the same by Viacom18 on an affidavit. This, dynamic injunction provides Viacom18 to swiftly act against pirates and rogue websites infringing and making available the BCCI matches without due permissions. With this effective dynamic injunction Order from the Delhi High Court, Viacom18 has set the field to ensure a smooth exploitation of its rights and bowl-out any infringing and pirated content.

Such dynamic injunction orders re-affirm and assures the owner/licensee/assignee of IP rights that the humongous capitals invested in relation to such rights shall be protected against pirates and infringers. With such orders being passed by the Courts, it has also become possible to unearth the identities of those hiding behind the cloak of anonymity on the internet and book them for their illegal actions.

Anil Lale (General Counsel, Viacom18 Media Pvt. Ltd.): “We at Viacom18 are proud to be the exclusive digital and television broadcaster for Indian cricket. Viacom18 has always been at the forefront in the fight against piracy. I am sure this is a welcome step for all the cricket fans as also for bona fide broadcasters like us who spend huge sums to get these rights..

While we are proud to say that we have won several battles against these pirate websites, we understand that the war against piracy is a continuing one and we are committed towards winning it.”

The festival spanning 20 Days, 20 Premieres will feature acclaimed artists including Nawazuddin Siddique, Naseeruddin Shah, Ira Dubey, Supriya Pathak, Sheeba Chaddha, Amit Sadh, and many others

JioCinema, India’s leading streaming destination is all set to launch India’s biggest digital film festival, JioCinema Film Fest, starting 29th September. The festival is an incredible cinematic celebration that will bring together Kala, Kalakaar aur anokhi Kahaniyaan, through 20 remarkable films across 20 days. These captivating and award-winning stories will bring together a distinguished repertoire of artists such as Nawazuddin Siddique, Naseeruddin Shah, Ira Dubey, Supriya Pathak, Sheeba Chaddha, Amit Sadh, Satish Kaushik, Rajat Kapoor, and Adah Sharma amongst others.

A celebration of India’s rich storytelling, JioCinema Film Fest includes a robust line-up of films such as The Comedian that will throw light on an aging comedic actor in the Indian film industry who has no laughter left in his life and Birha (The Journey Back Home), a winner at multiple international film festivals that describes the heart-wrenching story of a family that tears apart due to the unjustified ambitions of a young child. Other films in the line-up include Ghuspaith: Between Borders, which is inspired by the life and tragic death of renowned Indian photojournalist Danish Siddiqui; Rat in the Kitchen, a Neo-Noir Thriller is a story of a man going through loneliness and witnessing surreal experiences while being home alone; Bebaak is a gripping film about a woman's identity crisis as a Muslim woman in India, trying to make her own place in a prejudice-ridden world. Set in an Indian town under curfew, The Daughter is a film about a young woman who sets out in search of a man who can help her carry out an act that will test her limits.

In addition to this, the film festival boasts of some exceptional stories that include Ring Mili Kya, Munna Ka Bachpan, Laar, Mein Mehmood, Gangster Ganga, Armaand, Maachis Ki Dibiya, Phone Call, Murakh (The Idiot), Before We Die, Dammy, The Last Envelope, Coming Out with the help of a Time Machine and Kofuku.

Witness the magic of films, starting 29th September streaming exclusively on JioCinema Film Fest.

TV9 Network, India’s largest television news network, is pleased to announce a collaboration with Samsung TV Plus India to extend its reach into the thriving world of Connected TV (CTV).

This partnership reinforces TV9 Network's commitment to delivering trustworthy news content to an ever-expanding audience base through the dynamic platform of Connected TVs.

As part of this collaboration, TV9 Network will make its mark on Samsung TV Plus India, Samsung Electronics' free ad-supported streaming TV service. Samsung Smart TV users will now have the opportunity to access TV9 Network's top-notch news channels, including TV9 Bharatvarsh, TV9 Telugu, TV9 Kannada, and its latest offering in the English news genre, News9 Live, one of the pillars of the network’s futuristic news offering, News9 Mediaverse.

The move into FAST underscores TV9 Network's dedication to meeting its viewers where they are, and Connected TV represents a burgeoning medium for content consumption in India. According to industry reports, the number of CTVs in use is projected to rise from the current 22-25 million to 40 million by 2025. By collaborating with Samsung TV Plus India, TV9 Network aims to leverage the potential of CTV and strengthen its presence on the platform, with plans to introduce additional regional news channels in the near future.

Commenting on this significant development, Raktim Das, Chief Growth Officer at TV9 Network, said, “This marks a pivotal moment in our journey to provide high-quality news content to an even wider audience. In this rapidly evolving media landscape, it's essential to engage with our viewers through their preferred platforms. With the rapid growth of CTVs, the partnership with Samsung TV Plus takes on paramount importance to us. We are starting with our flagship regional channels and plan to roll out more regional channels, reaffirming our status as a leading news network catering to diverse linguistic regions. We look forward to a fruitful collaboration with Samsung TV Plus as we expand our channel offerings.”

“Samsung TV Plus is excited to welcome TV9 Network to our platform. We are committed to offering our users a rich and diverse array of news content for free. This collaboration with TV9 Network aligns perfectly with our mission to provide top-quality content to our viewers, all for free,” said Kunal Mehta, Head of Partnerships at Samsung TV Plus India.

Samsung TV Plus, Samsung's 100% free ad-supported streaming TV service (FAST), offers viewers access to more than 100 live TV channels in India, as well as thousands of movies and shows available live and on-demand for free, across millions of Samsung Smart TVs in India.

This partnership promises to enhance the viewing experience for audiences by combining TV9 Network's journalistic excellence with Samsung TV Plus India’s commitment to providing a diverse range of local and global news.