MAK to launch soon; but will the viewer bite?

(Posted on 10 January 2002 3:30 pm)

MAK TV, so far shrouded in secrecy and some spicy speculation, will fill the small screens very soon. The 31 December deadline that was being talked about, has come and gone, but the veils will be taken off anytime now, it is learnt. In a crowded marketplace with umpteen channels in every possible genre elbowing each other for space, MAK TV better have some strong content ready in its six-channel offering. Apart from a music channel, Style - a fashion channel and Prime - a regular Hindi entertainment channel, there are three regional channels. While the Telugu and the Bangla channels are in for some stiff competition (the strongest coming from the ETV stable), a combined Sindhi-Gujarati channel may well hit it off with audiences due to its novel positioning. The entire management team of MAK (Manoranjan, Aur Kya), headed by CEO Karan Saluja, has been comfortably housed in office space bought at the western suburb of Andheri in Mumbai. Reports indicate an initial investment of Rs 700 million has been made by unnamed promoters. Several key personnel from rival channels have been inducted to beef up the team. There are four directors in Hitesh Sabharwal, former distribution head of Sony Entertainment Television, Satish Menon, former head of Zee News, Prashant Sanwal, former V-P, SET MAX and Amit Ray, executive VP Mudra Communications. Ray however, is not leaving Mudra but will function in an advisory capacity on the board. Rupa Das, former programming V-P, Sony and Vaishali Sharma (ex-Sony again) in marketing are also on the team. Click here more for headlines