New Delhi:
NDTV has won two awards at the 31st Asian Television Awards, with its flagship news programme ‘India Matters’ being named Best News Programme and Managing Editor, Shiv Aroor, receiving the award for Best News Presenter.
The awards, presented in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, recognise television programmes and broadcasters from across Asia, including Taiwan, China, Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. With the latest honours, NDTV’s tally at the Asian Television Awards has risen to 13. The network had previously won 11 awards across 10 editions between 2003 and 2020, making the latest victories its first at the platform since 2020.
‘India Matters’, anchored and hosted by Shiv Aroor, was recognised for its journalism and coverage of issues central to India’s national interests, security, politics and place in the world. Shiv Aroor’s individual recognition as Best News Presenter alongside the programme’s award makes it a double honour for the journalist and the network.
Speaking to NDTV from Vietnam after receiving the awards, Shiv Aroor described the recognition as a collective achievement, dedicating both trophies to the people who work across the network and its viewers.
“This is an enormous honour for NDTV and for me. This is completely dedicated to our incredible team but most of all it’s dedicated to our audience,” he said.
Shiv Aroor added that the awards recognised the work of the newsroom rather than the efforts of any one presenter or programme, pointing to the teams responsible for reporting, producing and delivering journalism across NDTV’s television and digital platforms.
“These are honours which go to NDTV, to the fabulous, incredibly skilled and talented team that we have across our network that make ‘India Matters’, my anchoring and the entire network possible,” he said.
He added that the international nature of the awards made the recognition particularly significant, as entries were assessed against programmes and broadcasters from several countries across the region.
“This is a recognition by the Asian Television Awards of excellence that compares contestants from countries across the board, Taiwan, China, Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, etc. And therefore winning two awards, and I hope we win more, is not only a huge affirmation for the incredible reputation that NDTV has, not just in India, but beyond borders, but also the fact that what we’re building at NDTV is something that our audiences love, something that practitioners in the media across the world, and especially in Asia, are resonating with,” he said.
Shiv Aroor said the response to NDTV’s work in Vietnam had also underlined the network’s international reach. During his visit to Ho Chi Minh City, he said he had encountered several people who followed NDTV through YouTube, digital platforms and social media.
“A large number of people who met me here at the awards venue are big fans of NDTV. They watch NDTV. I’ve lost count of the number of people I’ve bumped into here in Vietnam in just the last 24 hours who say that they watch NDTV on YouTube, they watch it on digital, they track us on social media,” he said.
He described the response as a confirmation of the network’s standing among audiences outside India.
“There is a huge resonance and a love and a respect for NDTV and I think it is very much evident in these two awards that I am so privileged to hold in my hands at this point in time. It is also an affirmation and a validation of all of the people who work at NDTV,” he said.
