France 24 inks deals with DD, Dish to expand in India

The Channel, a 24-hour non-stop international news channel, offers services in French, Arabic and English

Paris-based television channel France 24 Tuesday expanded its operation in India through government-run DD Direct+ and Dish TV, that will make it accessible to one in every four Indian households having TV.

"France 24 English version is moving into the heart of Indian society and offering special programming covering political, economic and cultural news in the country," Marc Saikali, director of France 24, said at a media conference here.

Saikali said the channel has concluded new distribution agreements in India and is available on free-to-air Direct-To-Home service (DTH) DD DIRECT+, owned by public broadcaster Prasar Bharati.

The channel has also signed deal with private Dish TV.

With these agreements, the channel will be available 24/7 to 31 million additional households across the country. These will be in addition to the seven million households that already receive the channel via cable, Saikali said.

France 24, a 24-hour non-stop international news channel, offers services in French, Arabic and English.

"In its coverage of news from a French perspective, the newsroom based in Paris and the hundreds of correspondent offices worldwide seek to highlight the expression of diversity, the confrontation of opinions, and also open a window on France, its cultural, economic, political, social life and of course its lifestyle," Marie-Christine Saragosse, chairperson and chief executive officer of France Medias Monde, the group in charge of French international media, said in a statement.