Triveni Group to launch two news channels by year-end

Triveni Group to launch two news channels by year-end

MUMBAI: Triveni Media Limited, part of the Rs 30 billion Triveni Group, is all set to launch two news channels in October-November. The company is also planning to come up simultaneously with a lifestyle channel.

Triveni will make its appearance in the broadcasting space with a national Hindi news channel. It will also have a channel aimed at the UP-Uttranchal region.

"We are coming up with a bouquet of four channels in October-November. This includes three launches and a religious channel which we acquired. We have obtained all the government clearances," says Triveni Infrastructure Development Company managing director Madhur Mittal.

The company is going to re-launch Sadhna, a religious channel.

With an investment of Rs 2 billion, the company plans to set up 18 channels in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Maharasthra, Punjab and West Bengal within two years.

"The debt component of the investment of Rs 2 billion will be 30 per cent. We are not looking at diluting equity now," says Mittal.

The channels will be uplinked from Noida, near Delhi. "The inflow of data from the different news bureaus will be collected at a single centre and disseminated into the various regional languages. By using this approach, we will keep our costs low," says Mittal.

Triveni Media has roped in Aaj Tak technical director Rahul Kulshetra to head the operations. Ram Kripal, also from Aaj Tak, is appointed as the group editor.