India Clears New Channel Launches

NEW DELHI: India’s Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has given 22 new channels licenses to broadcast in the country, bringing the number of TV outlets operating in this market to almost 460.

According to published reports, there will be 458 channels being carried across cable, DTH and IPTV platforms in India once these additional 22 channels are up and running. Among those benefiting from the new licenses is the TV18 group, which is set to roll out three regional business news channels. National Geographic Channels International is set to launch four additional channels in India: National Geographic HD, Nat Geo Wild, Nat Geo Adventure and Nat Geo Music. Other services that received sanctions for a rollout were ABN-Andhra Jyoti channel, Fresh TV by Rama Associates, Raj TV Asia and a new Vedic channel by Vedic Broadcasting Limited.