MUMBAI: This weekend, TIMES NOW, India‘s most watched English news channel brings you the perfect blend of the two Indian religions - Cricket and Food. TIMES NOW will be the ultimate destination for the IPL Grand Finale as it showcases a range of non-stop action packed programs. Also, TIMES NOW‘s popular food show, The Foodie will explore Australian outback and devour the finest Australian delicacies and treats.

TIMES NOW brings together the perfect blend of experts to capture all the action on the field. Charu Sharma, the most authoritative voice on cricket will bring out the sharpest insights for cricket fans. Neha Sareen, besides adding a glam quotient also brings in her know-how. TIMES NOW will also feature cricket enthusiast, Arbaaz Khan along with a host of many more stars.TIMES NOW, with a host of celebrities and cricket experts will bring viewers great pre-match perspectives taking the audience through the highs and lows of the IPL so far.

While the audience catches the action with bated breath, they can go globe trotting with the irreverent Kunal Vijayakar as "The Foodie" goes international for the first time! Kunal and his crew travel across the Australian outback in search of the best food and wine that the continent has to offer. This weekend, Kunal explores Sydney in a two Part series on the city.

About the perfect blend of the weekend‘s programming, Mr. Arnab Goswami, Editor-in-chief, TIMES NOW, said, "TIMES NOW this week brings the best of cricket and gourmet delicacies for our audience‘ viewing pleasure. The channel delivered supreme programming throughout Elections, and will continue to excel with its programming during IPL as the fervor grips the nation. The weekend programming will be an added delight as The Foodie travels to Australia to explore the continent‘s delicacies and deliver the best of flavors to our audience."

Catch "The Foodie" at:

23rd May 2009 - 1:30pm and 5:30pm
24th May 2009 - 11:30am and 4:30pm

Catch "IPL Special" at:

24th May 2009 - 3:30 pm, 7:00 pm and 11:30 pm

MUMBAI: Zapak Digital Entertainment Ltd, India?s largest online gaming company, and Kwality Walls have received an overwhelming response for their ongoing national gaming tournament ?Paddle Pop Gaming League?09? for kids in Mumbai.

After receiving a great response last year with 35,000 participants, Paddle Pop Gaming League is getting bigger this summer. The Gaming League is hosted in 6 cities which include Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata. Each city will have their own leagues, very much like the IPL!

With Mumbai rapidly emerging as a gaming hub, in less than 3 weeks the tournament has attracted 24695 participants from Mumbai itself! The kids are battling online in the preliminaries to get their place in the city finals and be a part of the city league.

The tournament is played on 4 games based on the Paddle Pop brand character and his new ?Pyrata? adventure theme and the winning participants & teams stand a chance to appear on Cartoon Network & win Xbox consoles, PSPs & prizes from Giny & Jony, EA & Zapak Games.

As PC/internet games becomes increasingly popular amongst children, the thrill and the rewards attached to PPGL?09 will definitely getting them ?gaming? a lot more this vacation. The final round of the tournament is around June first week and looks very promising in terms of numbers of participants and gaming enthusiasts.

To this, Akshay Gandhi, 12 year old gamer from Mumbai comments, ?I love playing games on the computer. Its exciting and fun. It is actually one of my favorite pass-times and this summer with the Paddle Pop Gaming League, I am having a ball! I am doing pretty well in the preliminaries and hope to make to the city league.?

Like Akshay, there are many gamers have shown positive signs towards the rewards and league system in the tournament. With booming gaming industry, the scene looks positive to attract even more kids towards the tournament.

According to Mr. Arun Mehra, Chief Marketing Officer, Zapak; ?Paddle Pop Gaming League is in its second year this time, and with the kind of response received, I am sure it will become an annual summer activity for years to come. We are absolutely thrilled by the response we have received for the tournament. Mumbai is a very important market for Zapak. Mumbai falls in the top 10 cities for Zapak.com. We want to develop and nurture the gaming talent in Mumbai with the help of such tournaments.?

Commenting on the successful turnout, Mr. Punit Misra, Category Head, Kwality Wall?s says; ?Kwality Wall?s Paddle Pop is an international kids? brand in the Wall?s portfolio and was launched last year in India. It is the only brand in the category which has innovative kids? relevant products (like Jelly Burst, Cola Vanilla Snow etc.) Our strategy is to create a host of branded entertainment content ? from the launch of the Paddle Pop movie on Cartoon Network to Paddle Pop merchandise and Paddle Pop PC games - and get kids to experience a world of fun & adventure. The Paddle Pop Gaming League has allowed the brand to engage with even more kids this year and so far, number of brand interactions online, is very encouraging! With Zapak as our strategic partner, we created this exciting and popular property last year and are looking to making it even bigger and better this year!?

MUMBAI: BIG 92.7 FM, India?s No.1 FM Station, in its latest offering is doing a one of a kind event at its Bhubaneswar Station in support of Global AIDS Week of Action partnering with Concern Worldwide India (18-26 May) to reach out to masses on issues related to HIV and discrimination thereof, through a unique attempt of Non Stop 200 Hrs. of RJing while attempting for an entry into the Guinness Book Of World Record.

The Station in a unique act of supporting the public awareness drive is attempting a record breaking feat of non stop 200 Hrs. of RJing in support of Global AIDS Week of Action which starts from the 18th of May & concludes on 26th of May. This unique attempt is being done by RJ Priyo. The entire event is being executed in order to support Concern Worldwide India in their efforts to reach out to the masses. The event will also comprise of a week long candle light memorial for the people who have died of HIV which will see participation from the local populace from all walks of life ranging from an auto rickshaw, to people from the medical fraternity, it will get the people of the city together. In addition, a week-long signature campaign will also be conducted in support of the non-stop RJ-ing in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. The event will conclude with a meeting at Forum Mart, Bhubaneswar with the launching of a book ?Standing Right Next to You? published by INP+, partner of Concern Worldwide India and felicitation of RJ Priyo on 25 May 2009.

Speaking about the latest programming offering, Mr. Binod Banerjee, Station Head ? BIG 92.7 FM, Bhubaneswar, said ?As a responsible medium we are supporting this cause through a whole array of offerings both on air and on ground, the largest being RJ Priyo?s support to the cause through the marathon. Doing 200 hours non stop is no mean feat and we are hoping to see the entire city support the cause and our jocks. His personal involvement in this as he imparts positively impacting and thought evoking messages during his interactions with the local populace is sure to have a positive impact. We are confident that the local populace is going to support us in our positive endeavor with open ears who will bring about a positive change in their outlook to this issue.?

MUMBAI: After the bedlam of political campaigning and canvassing, the dust has finally settled on 15th General Elections, one of the biggest democratic exercises in the world. The mandate by the people is clear, a resounding ?yes? for a stable government. The verdict has gone against estimates of a hung parliament and India will finally see a stable coalition government. All eyes are now set on policies that the new administration adopts to fight the economic downturn.

The big question that is on everyone?s mind is, how will the new political equations change the economic policies of the country and impact the business environment, household budgets and the economy at large. To address these apprehensions about the impact of the election results on our economy, CNBC-TV18 will organise a panel discussion with leading policy commentators and market experts on ?Election Results 09-The Economic Impact? in the capital on 25May.

Commenting on the forum, CNBC-TV 18 and CNBC AWAAZ Vice President, Marketing Mr. Neel Chowdhury said, ?People have unanimously voted for a stable government in these elections. They now expect the new government at the centre to deliver on their expectations. ?Election Results 09-The Economic Impact? will decode the challenges and opportunities that the new government will face in terms of economic and political realities?

The panelists for the forum will include dignitaries like Mr. Ridham Desai, MD, Morgan Stanley, Mr. Ramesh Damani, Member BSE and Mr. Madhusudan Kela - Reliance Capital Asset Management who will discuss as to what the new government needs do for the Indian economy, how efficiently will it combat challenges it now faces, and what would be the various implications of the UPA government coming to power. The forum will also try to gauge the market pulse by discussing what the markets will welcome and reject. The event will be moderated by Mr. Karan Thapar and Mr. Udayan Mukherjee, revered names in journalism.

This event is the culmination of a special 2 part series from CNBC-TV18 which examined the impact of the general elections on the Indian economy and the markets. The first ground forum, Election 2009- Economic Impact was held in New Delhi on April 1, 2009 and was tremendously well received by all stakeholders.

?Election Results 09-The Economic Impact? will be held on May 2009, 25 at Taj Palace New Delhi, 6 pm onwards.

MUMBAI: Nikolay Davydenko says he will go all out to maintain his stranglehold on the ATP World Tour 250 Austrian Open this week. The top-seeded Russian and former world number 3 will be the overwhelming favourite to win his fourth title here in five years, as he competes in a tough field at Kitzbuehel.

And all the action will be Live on TEN Sports (see schedule below).

As the top seed in 2008, Davydenko had captured his third Austrian title in four years at the Hypo Group Tennis International in P?rtschach, defeating No. 2 seed and defending champion Juan Monaco 6-2, 2-6, 6-2. And this year, the Russian will have his task cut out in the tournament, re-christened the Interwetten Austrian Open, as he competes in a strong field also comprising heavyweights like Croat Ivan Ljubicic, home favourite Jurgen Melzer, Frenchman Fabrice Santoro and fellow Russian Mikhail Youzhny. Davydenko slipped out of the top 10 for the first time in four years this April, so there?s added motivation for him to defend his points and stop the slide.

MUMBAI: NEO Sports, the premium sports channel from Neo Sports Broadcast Pvt. Ltd. uncovers an action packed weekend starting 22nd May 09.

The weekend kicks off with the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour -Warsaw Open, live and exclusive on 22nd May and 24th May at 3:30 pm. Former No. 1 tennis star, Maria Sharapova makes her 2009 singles debut at the Warsaw Open after a difficult rehab from shoulder surgery late last year. Other seeded players like Daniela Hantuchova, Jie Zheng, Agnieszka Radwanska, Aleksandra Wozniak, Sara Errani, , Bethanie Mattek-Sands and many more along with Maria make it an eventful tournament

.

The excitement does not end with WTA Tour but the action continues with the Bundesliga?s (the highest level of Germany‘s football league) thrilling finals for the year live and exclusive on Neo Sports on 23rd May and 24th May.

The Bundesliga season 46 enters into its final stages with just few games still to go, five teams are still in with a chance of taking the title. League leaders VfL Wolfsburg are ahead of defending champions Bayern M?nchen on goal difference alone, by a margin of just two, and there is an added prospect of FC Bayern competing with VfB Stuttgart on the final matchday on May 23rd.

According to the popular opinion VfL Wolfsburg will win the tile for the Bundesliga season 46, however it?s never over till its over. Watch the action packed big title fight this weekend on Neo Sports.