Maa Television Network, which launched the first Telugu digital satellite pay-channel a year ago is now planning to launch a 24-hour news channel in Telugu.
The company is currently negotiating with news agencies and other sources for content tie-ups, for the first Telugu news channel which is being planned to be launched by August 2003. There will be news bulletins in English and Urdu interspersed between Telugu newscasts.
Interestingly, Maa is the second Telugu channel to have announced plans of launching a 24-hour news channel. Eenadu Television, the largest channel house in the country with 11 channels in its bouquet, is currently making preparations to launch an exclusive news channel in the next two to three months.
At present, there is no dedicated news channel in Telugu while there are four Telugu satellite channels being aired, mostly with entertainment oriented content. Tamil Nadu- based Raj TV and Sahara TV have also announced plans to launch entertainment channels shortly.
