India to get first 24-hour classical music TV channel

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Betting on the demand of elite connoisseurs of Indian classical music, Perfect Octave, a Mumbai based company has launched a  24/7 television channel 'Insync' dedicated to Indian classical music.

It  will showcase the rich tradition of Indian classical music through vocal, instrumental, dance and fusion formats. The test signals are already on air and viewers can tune into the channel 24/7 on select digital cable networks.

Speaking about this, Ratish Tagde, founder, Insync, who has conceived the project and keenly involved with planning, programming and production of the channel, says, “From our research and understanding we noticed the unmet demand across the music lovers for a music channel which is based on classical music, this led to the creation of InSync. We wanted our channel to have a viewing experience apart from hearing experience and are sure that the purest and the youth across India would appreciate our effort. After the launch Insync can be viewed in all the metro cities. We will, in the coming year or two launch another exclusive Carnatic Music Channel and a FM Radio station for Indian Classical Music”.

He added, "Indian broadcasting industry is becoming content driven. We are expanding our presence in south India, Gujarat and Rajasthan in due course of time.  In South India, it will be launched as Insync Veena. We are also exploring overseas markets like Middle East, South and North Africa. For broadcasting , we have signed deals with Dubai and Singapore based companies.  Initially, it is free to air in India and is available on multiple system operators (MSOs) including Hathway, Incable, Den, GTPL, Fastway and Digi Cable. The channel will also help us artists reach a wider audience and give classical music its dues. Insync will present and package the Indian classical in such a way that will attract the youth thereby expanding the audience base for Indian Classical Music."

According to Tagde, the degitisation has helped to reduce distribution cost for operating a television channel. It has created content of 150 hours for Insync. The current content cost of the channel is Rs 52 crore. It is officially launched on August 15.

Iconic personalities from the genres of music such as santoor maestro Pt Shivkumar Sharma, versatile vocalist Shankar Mahadevan, flute maestro Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia, vocalist Ustad Rashid Khan, young Sitar player Niladri Kumar, tabla wizard Pt. Vijay Ghate have come together to form an advisory committee which will steer the channel’s content.