Odia news market heats up with the launch of ETV News Odia

[Thakur]

MUMBAI: With the launch of three news channels in the first half of 2015, the Odia news market is seeing a lot of action. After Prameya News7 and Kalinga TV, TV18’s ETV News Network has added ETV News Odia to its large network of nine channels.

The channel was formally launched on Monday by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. The channel is available on all leading cable TV platforms in the state including Ortel Communications, which is the dominant player in that market.

As Colors Odia (ETV Odia) has become a full-fledged general entertainment channel (GEC), the launch of ETV News Odia completes the process of launching news channels in a market where infotainment channels have become full-fledged GECs. Last year, ETV News Network had launched ETV News Bangla, ETV News Kannada, ETV News Haryana/Himachal and ETV News Gujarati In Odisha, ETV News Odia’s launch was preceded by the launch of Prameya News7 and Kalinga TV. Incidentally, both news channels are owned by education entrepreneurs.

Kalinga TV is owned by Kalinga Media Entertainment Pvt Ltd (KEMPL), which is promoted by a group of individuals associated with Bhubaneswar-based Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT). Prameya News7 is owned by Summa Real Media, a company promoted by Prof.

Dr Manoj Ranjan Nayak who has interests in education through Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan University (SOAU).

According to a senior news editor with a leading Odia news channel, the boom in Odia TV news market is being fuelled by education entrepreneurs, which is unlike the past when chit fund companies were at the forefront of launching news channels. “Post elections, a lot of channels are being launched by edu entrepreneurs.

I think one of the reasons for this phenomenon is their desire to promote their institutions. Previously, chit funds had launched many channels; now its edu entrepreneurs,” observed the editor.

Being an established brand, ETV will also be a force to reckon with, he added. While the TV news market is expanding, OTV continues to be the biggest player with the next channel trailing it by a long margin.

Apart from OTV, the other serious players in the market are Sambad Group’s Kanak TV, Zee Kalinga, Focus Odisha, Naxatra News, Prameya News7, and Kalinga TV

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Odia news market heats up with the launch of ETV News Odia | TelevisionPost.com