Kerala-based satellite channel and cable service provider Asianet will formally launch Sitara, a 24X7 Telugu entertainment channel, in Andhra Pradesh on October 9. The test signals are already being beamed, according to its chief operating officer Vijay Babu.
The channel would launch its operations from Hyderabad. The Rs 100-crore Sitara project is part of Asianet Communication's Rs 350 crore expansion plans outside Kerala, he told the media here on Tuesday.
Asianet, which has about 60 per cent share in the satellite television segment in Kerala, has devised four time bands for Sitara for content creation. Movies and entertainment programmes are interspersed with theme-based events.
In phase I, the operations will be spread over 40 days and will be predominantly film-based. In the second phase, the entertainment shows in prime time will be replaced by reality and dance shows and quiz programmes.
Some of the shows will be based on internationally popular programmes apart from news-based programmes. The company has already lined up satellite distribution rights for Telugu films.
Sitara will be on the lines of Suvarna TV, a recently launched Kanada general entertainment channel in Karnataka. Asianet has plans to launch news and youth channels shortly outside Kerala.