Coming soon - Three new food channels

Essel Group company Zee Entertainment's new channel, 'Khana Khazana' will go on air from December 8 onwards.Following suit will be 'FOODFOOD' by Malaysia's Astro All Asia Networks in partnership with celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor's television company Turmeric Vision.

Even Alva Brothers Entertainment has finalised plans to roll-out exclusive television channel-'FOOD first' to show programmes on food, cooking and related activities.
"We have got government approvals for the channel a couple of months ago and are hoping to launch our channel -'FOODFOOD' early next year," Astro All Asia Networks (AAAN) Executive Director (India and South Asia) Raghvendra Madhav told PTI.
The partnership has earmarked upwards of Rs 120 crore in a couple of years for the project. The technical processes and distribution is on a full swing right now, Madhav added.

Zee Entertainment CEO Punit Goenka had said in October that the company has applied for licenses for 6-7 new channels out of which 2-3 of these would be niche in categories like Golf and food.

Similarly, Alva Brothers Entertainment (ABE) that has launched a banner called 'Real Lifestyle Network' to roll out a host of English lifestlye channels, has also planned 'FOOD first' to be launched pan India next year.

'FOOD first' channel by ABE has already started technical runs and is available on select networks across the country. It is being currently being uplinked from Turner International's Broadcast Earth station in Hong Kong.

According to media experts food as a category offers promising opportunity to broadcasters with possible long term association with advertisers.

"It is better to have a channel that specialises in a narrow functional area than to add up another general entertainment channel in the already cluttered space of TV broadcast," Madison World Chairman Sam Balsara said.Such channels are also likely to attract advertisers operating in the food and food related space.

"Advertisers will associate with such channels on a long -term basis such as home appliances companies and food companies. These channels will attract serious audience who will be willing to pay for specific content," said to ZenithOptimedia Senior Vice-President Naveen Khemka.