Dinesh jain
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Viacom18, the 50:50 joint venture between
TV18 and US media giant Viacom Inc, is planning to
further expand its broadcast network by launching new
channels.
The company has obtained a licence from the Ministry of
Information and Broadcasting (MIB) for the launch of a
new channel, tentatively named ‘Bandhan’.
The idea is to fill crucial gaps in the Hindi entertainment
broadcasting space. Unlike Star India, Zee Entertainment
Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) and Multi Screen Media (MSM),
Viacom18 does not have a Hindi movie channel. The other
plan could be to launch a second Hindi general
entertainment channel (GEC) in pay TV mode.
“Viacom18 has got a licence from the MIB. No final plans
have been firmed up to launch in which genre. It is not
even decided whether Bandhan will be the final name of
the channel,” a source said.
When contacted, a Viacom18 spokesperson declined to
divulge any details.
With the launch of English entertainment channel Colors
Infinity on 31 July, Viacom18 now has most of the pieces
in place—two Hindi GECs (Colors and free-to-air Rishtey),
youth and music channels (MTV and Pepsi MTV Indies),
kids portfolio (Nick Jr, Nick, Sonic), English entertainment
(Vh1, Comedy Central and, from 31 July, Colors Infinity),
and a clutch of regional GECs (Colors Kannada, Colors
Marathi, Colors Odia, Colors Bangla and Colors Gujarati).
Thus, from a network point of view, what is certainly
missing from its portfolio is a Hindi movie channel. The
question is if Bandhan will mark a revival of Viacom18’s
initial plan of launching a Hindi movie channel.
Viacom18 had a great start with Colors, which was
launched on 21 July in 2008. Riding high on the success
of Colors, the group started building up a movie library.
The plan was to launch its own Hindi movie channel to
complement Colors.
Another possibility could be the launch of a second pay
channel in the Hindi general entertainment space, like Star
India’s Life OK and ZEEL’s &TV. But the company might
choose to convert Rishtey, a free-to-air (FTA) channel,
into a pay channel.
Viacom18 gets licence for Hindi channel named 'Bandhan' | TelevisionPost.com
TV18 and US media giant Viacom Inc, is planning to
further expand its broadcast network by launching new
channels.
The company has obtained a licence from the Ministry of
Information and Broadcasting (MIB) for the launch of a
new channel, tentatively named ‘Bandhan’.
The idea is to fill crucial gaps in the Hindi entertainment
broadcasting space. Unlike Star India, Zee Entertainment
Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) and Multi Screen Media (MSM),
Viacom18 does not have a Hindi movie channel. The other
plan could be to launch a second Hindi general
entertainment channel (GEC) in pay TV mode.
“Viacom18 has got a licence from the MIB. No final plans
have been firmed up to launch in which genre. It is not
even decided whether Bandhan will be the final name of
the channel,” a source said.
When contacted, a Viacom18 spokesperson declined to
divulge any details.
With the launch of English entertainment channel Colors
Infinity on 31 July, Viacom18 now has most of the pieces
in place—two Hindi GECs (Colors and free-to-air Rishtey),
youth and music channels (MTV and Pepsi MTV Indies),
kids portfolio (Nick Jr, Nick, Sonic), English entertainment
(Vh1, Comedy Central and, from 31 July, Colors Infinity),
and a clutch of regional GECs (Colors Kannada, Colors
Marathi, Colors Odia, Colors Bangla and Colors Gujarati).
Thus, from a network point of view, what is certainly
missing from its portfolio is a Hindi movie channel. The
question is if Bandhan will mark a revival of Viacom18’s
initial plan of launching a Hindi movie channel.
Viacom18 had a great start with Colors, which was
launched on 21 July in 2008. Riding high on the success
of Colors, the group started building up a movie library.
The plan was to launch its own Hindi movie channel to
complement Colors.
Another possibility could be the launch of a second pay
channel in the Hindi general entertainment space, like Star
India’s Life OK and ZEEL’s &TV. But the company might
choose to convert Rishtey, a free-to-air (FTA) channel,
into a pay channel.
Viacom18 gets licence for Hindi channel named 'Bandhan' | TelevisionPost.com
