ETV's Gujarati News channel to launch on June 21

TV18 Network has announced the launch of ETV's 24X7 Gujarati News channel, ETV News Gujarati, on June 21. Gujarat chief minister, Anandiben Patel, will launch the channel in Ahmedabad on Saturday.

According to Jagdish Chandra, head, ETV News Network, the idea is to have the network channels in all parts of the country. "ETV is known as Voice of the people for its fair and unbiased news coverage. We want to give less noise and more news to the people of our country and that too in their own languages. Therefore, the first of our aims is to meet the expectations of viewers by providing them fair, unbiased and impartial news. Marketing opportunities will definitely follow."

As any news channel, ETV News Gujarati also aims to provide fast and accurate news to the audience. The three latest entrants in the network's news bouquet are said to be performing well. "We are ahead of all channels in terms of breaking news emanating from every nook and corner of the state," Chandra adds. As for the content, the channel aims at airing new programmes and try to minimise repetitions of programmes.

Giving a sense of the market, Neeraj Attri, national sales head of ETV says that most of the national channels are looking at Gujarat as a potential market. "Compared to other markets, Gujarat is at a very nascent stage and there is scope for growth if quality content is delivered." Attri believes that content quality in the Gujarati market will force viewers to divert from Hindi to their own language. The current market for television advertisements in Gujarat is around Rs 550 crore, a majority of which goes to the national channels. "Our priority would be to take the maximum share," adds a determined Attri.

The channel will be made available to all the national DTH platforms like Airtel, Tata Sky, Dish TV, Videocon, Sun, DD Direct and Reliance DTH. It will also be available on the local network in Gujarat. While the channel didn't divulge the names of the advertisers on board, it said that most of the national brands and lot of regional clients would be active from the day one. Fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) and pharma are two categories that have spent heavily on the channel.

As for the marketing and promotion of the channel, a promo is being run on all the ETV channels for past one month. There are also outdoor promotions across key markets in Gujarat. ETV also runs a general entertainment channel in the market. The other news channels in the Gujarat market are TV9, GS TV (belongs to Gujarat Samachar), Sandesh News and VTV Gujarati News.