Hoping to cash in on the television boom and its potential as a political tool, the Congress is joining Kerala’s intensifying channel war with its first endeavour — Jai Hind.
The 24-hour channel — a joint venture of the Bharath Broadcasting Network (BBN), a group of Kerala businessmen including Dubai-based entrepreneurs, Jai Hind Communications (JHC) and the Congress party — will be launched by party president Sonia Gandhi on Aug 17, the new year of the Malayalam calendar.
A news based channel with doses of entertainment, Jai Hind would be for the family and the nation, said Ramesh Chennithala, the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president and president of the new venture.
Inaugurating the Jai Hind studio and bureau here, Defence Minister A.K. Antony warned Chennithala that “being a channel with a difference” would be a tough task.
Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi, who attended the function, said the channel had become a reality because of the contributions made by NRIs.
The function was attended by prominent Malayalees including Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister TKA Nair, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) MP Suresh Kurup, Prasar Bharti’s George Varghese and eminent academician Omchery N.N. Pillai.
Having entered the fray late, the channel will have to fight with the 16 existing channels. The Congress’s main rival in Kerala, the CPI-M, runs three channels - Kairali, People and We.
“We are trying to be unique through our programmes,” said Sunnykutty Abraham, chief editor of the channel.
“We will have news bulletins every two hours, news highlights will be aired every hour for five minutes, and the rest of the programmes will be based on films, music and current affairs apart from game shows,” Abraham told IANS.
According to him, a USP would be a weekly programme on classics from world cinema. “We will be presenting the filmmakers as well... There will also be a daily bulletin on entertainment and sports.”
Besides, a weekly programme for kids — written, directed and presented by children - will be aired too.