 According
to Khan, the Mumbai bureau has a strong team of professional reporters
and cameramen, who will cover issues on business, crime, politics,
social concerns as well as entertainment. Khan explains, "Our
24-hour coverage is expected to usher in the concept of 'always on
TV'. This would enable viewers to receive the information they need,
in a format they desire. Manjit Singh Abrol is Jain TV's network director
of marketing and software distribution.
Khan, who claims Jain TV to be the first news and current affairs
satellite channel in India, "even before Zee Network",
says their aim is to reach the majority of the 40-odd million cable
and satellite homes in the country. "In India, out of the 40
million C&S households, approximately 16 million pay less than
Rs 75 per month to receive cable TV. These households do not receive
most leading news and business channels. In these households, Jain
TV will be the only channel bringing in business information and
free-to-air news," Khan explains.
Programming line up for the channel includes interactive daily
shows like Mazdoor ki Awaz (from 1 pm to 2 pm) and Health
Online (from 4 pm to 5 pm), wherein experts are invited to the
Jain studio to answer people's queries on phone.
Only nine months ago, Jain TV had announced its revamp as a business
news channel (See: Jain
TV to start new innings as business news channel with budget specials).
Khan however refuses to comment on the progress of that genre, and
maintains, "All I can say right now is that we are just focusing
on social and general news."
Since its launch in 1994 as a general channel, Jain TV has been
plagued by controversies linked to some bad business decisions,
including a severe cash crunch and low visibility because of poor
distribution deals.
Besides, there were some political restrains after the senior Jain's
clash with the BJP. However, Khan says the younger Jain - and Jain
TV's managing editor - Ankur, is optimistic to make the new project
work.
And optimistic, the entire Jain TV team is, in spite of competition
in the market. Khan says, "We don't think any of the present
channels are a competition. Our model is different and we are confident
of ourselves. For us, media is more of a mission than business.
We don't want to wield powers through our media products, though
the group has faced pulls and pressures from various quarters many
times."
Also Read:
Jain
TV to start new innings as business news channel with budget specials
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