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According to broadcast industry sources, after having launched
three news channels, of which one is the clear leader in its segment,
another is going toe-to-toe with the till now sole player and a
third is a strong Number Two, NDTV is now trying to focus on a product
that would highlight local news of various regions, including the
metros.
This is also being seen as a move to counter the growing dominance
of regional channels like ETV, Sahara and now even Star.
“The full content line-up of the proposed channel is still
being ideated and fine-tuned. Though, in principle, it has been
decided that a new news channel with emphasis on local news of various
regions does have potential to be marketed,” an industry source
familiar with this development told Indiantelevision.com.
According to a recent JP Morgan research report, in the $4.5 billion
Indian entertainment industry, the advertising industry is expected
to grow strongly by around 12 per cent in FY 2006-2008. TV will
increase its share of ad pie from 47 per cent to 50 per cent in
the next three years to cross Rs 50 billion, the report states.
Not surprisingly, within the TV segment, news broadcasting is the
fastest growing one.
It is learnt that the proposed channel would have programming based
on lifestyle and nightlife of various cities too, along with other
local news that would be useful for regional viewers. The probability
of the new product being in English language is high as it would
have wider appeal. However, a NDTV Profit-type format is also not
being ruled out. The business channel has programming that uses
both the Hindi and English languages.
If everything goes well, which includes getting various permissions
from the government, the new channel from the NDTV stable is likely
to go on air within three months time.
At the moment, NDTV has three news channels --- NDTV 24x7 in English,
NDTV India in Hindi and business channel NDTV Profit.
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