Formally announcing the launch of two separate news channels, in Hindi and English, from April 14, NDTV President Prannoy Roy said on Thursday plans for an entertainment channel were "on the anvil".
"The two channels, NDTV 24x7 in English and NDTV India in Hindi, will be composite in terms of news and current affairs. But plans are on the anvil for entertainment as well," Roy told reporters in New Delhi.
He said Rs 10-12 crore of advertising has already been tied up for these two channels which will be available in about 12 million cable homes. NDTV has already tied up with Sony Discovery's One Alliance for distribution.
Also, NDTV is in talks with international networks like Al Jazeera to source international news, he said, adding the company also has its own bureaux in major capitals.
Asked about the post-condition access system pricing of the channels, Roy said as of now these will be free to air but post-CAS, both channels will be pay channels, available at the price of the One Alliance bouquet.
He, however, declined to divulge the investment made in the two channels, saying all funding has been "internal".
"For both NDTV 24x7 and NDTV India, we have anchors who are not just news readers. We have experienced journalists who have reported on the biggest news stories of the decade," Roy said.
