MUMBAI: Tara Marathi, the channel from the Broadcast Worldwide bouquet, is moving its teleport to Mumbai in the next two weeks.

The channel, which is being managed by production house Eternal Dreams, will commence uplinking from the VSNL teleport in Mumbai, according to Eternal Dream COO Bonnie Jain. The channel is currently being uplinked from Bangkok on the Shin Satellite Network's teleport. The move is aimed to coincide with the second phase of the channel's relaunch in mid September, says Jain.

Tara Marathi, which has moved into the reckoning once again after being in the wilderness for nearly two years, had flagged off its relaunch in April this year with a distance education programme in cooking and baking. The success of the programme prompted the channel to launch the same show in Hindi during prime time, taking on soaps and comedies in that time band.

The second phase of relaunch will focus on a celebrity talk show, Lakshaat Theva to be anchored by well known comedian Laxmikant Berde, who makes his television debut with the programme, says Jain. The other shows launched by Tara earlier this year, Atmakatha (biographical sketches of celebrities) and Abhimaan Maharashtracha (focusing on young Maharahtrian achievers) and Chehre (interviews conducted by well known photographer Gautam Rajadhyaksha) are also scheduled for a revamp during the second phase.

The channel is likely to remain off air for the duration the uplinking transition from Bangkok to Mumbai takes place. According to Jain, Tara Marathi, along with ESPN, was the only channel to uplink through a server, he said.

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