|
A huge industry by itself, the Indian silver screen has
hundreds of channels all over India. The small screen has produced
numerous celebrities of their own kind, some attaining national
fame.
Indian small screen programming commenced in the early
1980s. Back then, there was only one national channel Doordarshan,
which was government run. The Ramayana and Mahabharat was the first
major television series produced. These serials notched up the world
record in viewer ship numbers for a single program. By late 1980s,
more and more people began to own television sets. Though there was
a single channel, television programming had reached saturation.
Hence the government introduced another channel, which partly had
national
programming and partly regional. This channel was known as
DD 2 later DD Metro. Both channels were broadcast terrestrially. In
1992, when the liberation of the markets came to the forefront, five
new channels belonging to the Hong Kong based STAR TV gave Indians a
fresh breath of life. MTV, Star Plus, BBC, Prime Sports and STAR
Chinese Channel were the 5 channels. Zee TV was the first private
owned Indian channel to broadcast over cable. A few years later CNN,
Discovery Channel, National Geographic Channel made its foray into
India. Star expanded its bouquet introducing Star World, Star
Sports, ESPN and Star Gold. Regional channels flourished along with
a multitude of Hindi channels and a few English channels. By 2001
HBO and History Channel were the other international channels to
enter India. By 2001-2003, other international channels such as
Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, VH1, Disney and Toon Disney came into
foray. The year 2003 marked the boom of news channels in India.
Some of the popular Indian television channels have been
listed below :
DOORDARSHAN :
 Doordarshan is a Public broadcast Terrestrial television
channel, run by Prasar Bharati, a board nominated by the
Government of India. It is one of the largest broadcasting
organizations in the world. The 80s was the era of Doordarshan with
soaps like Hum Log (1984), Buniyaad (1986-87) and mythological
dramas like Ramayan (1987-88) and Mahabharat (1988-89) which glued
millions of viewers to their television sets. Other popular programs
included Hindi film songs based programs like Chitrahaar and Rangoli
and crime thrillers like Karamchand (starring Pankaj Kapoor),
Byomkesh Bakshi and Janki Jasoos. Recent programs include the serial
drama Lal Kothi Alvida (2006), based on the novel by Sharat Kumar.
ZEE
TV :
Zee TV is an India-based satellite television
channel that falls under the Zee Network umbrella, which carries
broadcasts in Hindi and Urdu. Zee TV`s programming pitches in a
 variety of choices for all segments of audience,
including primetime comedy and drama series, television movies,
miniseries, theatrical films, specials, children`s programs, daytime
dramas, game shows, and late night shows. Zee has always brought in
innovative programming for its viewers. Since its inception, the
channel has introduced groundbreaking programming like Tara, Banegi
Apni Baat, Antakshari and blockbuster programming like Saregama,
Dastaan, Hasratein and Sailaab. The channel currently airs shows
like Sinndoor Tere Naam Ka, Kasamh Se, Ghar Ki Lakshmi Betiyaan,
Saat Phere, Banoo Main Teri Dulhann, Khana Khazana, Antakshari etc.
. All these programmes have proved to be major successes with local
audiences and are benchmarks in the Indian television industry. The
channel thus encompasses a wide range of shows and caters to a
larger audience effectively.
SONY ENTERTAINMENT
TELEVISION :
Sony Entertainment Television (India) (popularly
known as Sony TV or SET) is one of
 India`s popular Hindi language based
general entertainment broadcasters. Set`s programming is targeted
towards audiences between the 25-34 age groups. The programming
covers genres including dramas, reality shows, comedies, thrillers,
Bollywood movies and events etc.
Some of its successful
programmes include Indian Idol and Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin,Kkusum and
Kutumb (dramas) in recent years and Aahat (thriller), Boogie Woogie
(dance show), C.I.D (crime and mystery series), Hum Sab Ek Hai
(comedy), Thoda Hai Thode Ki Zaroorat Hai (drama) and Movers &
Shakers to name a few in its early years. Currently the channel airs
the new season of Boogie Woogie, a host of new family based dramas
Thodi Khushi Thode Gum, Kabhi To Nazar Milao, and Vaidehi - Ek Aur
Agni Pareksha.
STAR PLUS
:
Star Plus is India`s widely viewed, Hindi language based
general entertainment television channel. The channel is a part of
the STAR TV networks` bouquet of channels. Star Plus`s programming primarily consists of
family dramas, which mainly boast female protagonists and
mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationships in joint families as
their theme. The channel is also known for bringing in a revolution
in the Indian television world with new shows in the year 2000. The
channel has been India`s No. 1 cable channel for the last six years
reaching out to more than 50 million viewers every week and boasts
45 of the top 50 shows on Indian cable and satellite television.
SAHARA
ONE :
Sahara One is an Indian Hindi general entertainment
channel, owned by Sahara One Media and Entertainment Limited. The
channel primarily holds family dramas, game shows and cartoon series
in its kitty.
 The currently aired shows
include:
Kituu Sabb Jaantii Hai (November 14, 2005 - present)
Kuch Apne Kuch Paraye (November 20, 2006 - present)
Solhah
Singaarr (October 30, 2006 - present)
Woh Rehne Waali Mehlon Ki
(May 30, 2005 - present)
ETV :
 ETV Network is one of the
largest networks of satellite television channels in India and is
owned by the popular media baron Ramoji Rao. Based at Hyderabad, the
network runs a group of 12 regional language news and entertainment
channels. With 12 channels in regional languages of India, ETV has
the largest news-reporting network in India, at the grass root
level. The channel caters to the regional audiences and suits their
needs by way of dealing with them in their spoken languages. The
following are a few of the channels run by the Etv network.
? ETV Telugu ,? ETV Bangla ,? ETV Bihar ,? ETV Gujarati ,?
ETV Kannada ,? ETV Marathi , ? ETV Oriya ,? ETV Rajasthan and ? ETV
Urdu
AASTHA
TV :
 Aastha-The Faith Channel is India`s No.1
socio-spiritual-cultural television channel. It is the world`s first
24x7 satellite television network broadcasting India`s rich
socio-spiritual-cultural heritage and currently reaches over 20
million households with viewership that exceeds 100 million. Aastha
caters to the vast Asian Indian population fanned out the world
over, who have, as a race and ethnic group eternally placed
socio-spiritual-cultural values above everything else.
 AAJ TAK :
Aaj Tak is India`s number one news channel pioneered by TV Today
Network Ltd. It is a 24-hour Hindi news television channel in India
that has earned the tag line "Nation`s Best News Channel" due to its
aggressive journalism and cutting edge reporting. The channel enjoys
the viewer ship of 45 million Indians. Aaj Tak loosely translates as
"Till Today" or "Up to the Minute".
 STAR NEWS
:
STAR News is the Hindi-language News channel of Star group
India. The channel presents a mix of rolling news bulletins and
specialized shows covering topics from crime to Cricket.
DISCOVERY
INDIA :
 Discovery Channel India is a cable and satellite
TV channel distributed by Discovery Communications that provides
non-fiction programming focused on science, history and nature. It
is the most widely distributed cable network in India.
CARTOON
NETWORK :
Cartoon Network India is arguably the most
popular cartoon-dedicated television channel in India. It airs
English and Hindi-dubbed versions of a variety of cartoons,
including traditional Cartoon Network programmes featuring
Tom and Jerry, Scooby-Doo and Popeye the Sailor. The programming
lineup also involves superhero series including Superman: The
Animated Series, Batman: The Animated Series and Justice League
Unlimited. The anime-dedicated Toonami block airs series like Pok魯n,
Beyblade, Transformers:The Unicron Trilogy and the Teenage Mutant
Ninja Turtles. So far, Cartooon Network has also aired a few Indian
based cartoons, featuring Akbar and Birbal, Tenali Raman, Sindbad,
Ramayan, Mahabharatha and Vikram and Betal. The channel incessantly
updates its programming strategy and revises its contents. The
diversity of cartoon shows that the channel provides the Indian
audiences, makes it worthwhile and thereby manages to capture the
attention of the Indian minors.
CHANNEL
[V] :
Channel [V] is an international music channel chain
owned by STAR TV. It is aired in many countries around the
world like, Australia, Asia and the Middle East. They play both
mainstream and alternative music, with some focus on local music.
Mainly English music is played, though the country-specific channels
do play content of their own mother tongue. Hindi Film music and
music video shows like First Day First Show are popular amongst the
younger audiences in India. Some humorous shows like Lola T[V] are
also great entertainers, thus contributing to the soaring TRPs of
the channel.
HBO :
HBO
Asia is a franchise of HBO in Asia. It is a joint venture of media
giants Viacom, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Time Warner and Universal
Studios. HBO has 5 channels and is headquartered in Singapore.
Singapore-based HBO Asia, the leader in home entertainment, brings
the best of Hollywood to Asia. The channel is labeled as HBO South
Asia and often called HBO India since it specifically caters to the
Indian market. The channel is predominantly known for the range of
full- length films and documentaries.
ZOOM :
Zoom is an
entertainment and lifestyle television channel introduced by The
Times Group. It was launched in September 2004. The channel
fundamentally updates its viewers with the happenings in the page 3
culture, the latest style and fashion trivia and the scoops from the
entertainment industry. The channel also encompasses shows like Just Pooja, hosted by the popular actor Pooja Bedi that highlights social
issues whilst simultaneously interviewing famous personalities. |
