(23 August 2005 8:50 pm)

MUMBAI: Zee Network is targeting last week of September for launch of Khalsa World, the third Punjabi language channel from its stable.

Zee obtained uplinking permission from the government last week, says ETC Channel Punjabi and Zee Punjabi president and business head Rabindra Narayan."We are targeting to launch the channel in the last week of September or first week of October."

The dedicated 24-hour religious channel will telecast live Gurbani from the Golden Temple. It will also have regular programmes like Katha, Kirtan, Kavi Darbars and discourses. The programming will include documentaries on Sikh saints. "Khalsa will have evening Gurbani live. We will also be having other religious programming including those shot from overseas," says Narayan.

ETC Punjabi will replace the live Gurbani content, which was the distinguishing feature of the channel, with more music and music-based shows. The morning Gurbani will, however, continue with the channel. "ETC Punjabi will have music, interactive and bigger entertainment shows," says Narayan.

The positioning of Zee Punjabi will continue to be different and it will have serials, soap operas and news and current affairs.

Zee Telefilms has dominated the Punjabi TV channel language market ever since it acquired ETC Networks in 2002 with a combination of two channels. With Khalsa, it hopes to further narrow the space for competing channels.

Khalsa will be simulataneously available in UK the day it is launched in India, but as a band on Alpha Etc Punjabi. In the UK, Zee's Punjabi channel is called Alpha ETC Punjabi.

Khalsa World will have the same team which is in charge of ETC Channel Punjabi and Zee Punjabi, Narayan added.