STAR India, ABP to launch Marathi news channel

Star News Broadcasting and ABP TV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ananda Bazar Group of Publications (ABP) today announced the launch of their 24-hour Marathi national news channel STAR Majha (My Star) under its joint venture (JV) company Media Content and Communications Services India (MCCS).

ABP TV owns 74% stake in MCCS, while the rest is held by STAR News Broadcasting.

The channel, headquartered in Mumbai, is slated to go on air from Friday. Rajiv Khandekar will be the editor of the channel.

"STAR Majha will capture and reflect the changing nature of life in Maharashtra. Besides, in emerging markets that are culturally rooted, there is a need for a dedicated channel that can offer high quality news coverage along with views and analysis in the language of the viewers," Dipankar Das Purkayastha, executive director and chief operating officer, ABP Group, said.

Three years back, the Star Group had tied up with ABP to launch a 24-hour Bengali news channel STAR Ananda, and had also launched Star News, a Hindi news channel, under MCCS.

Uday Shankar, chief operating officer, STAR India said, "Since its inception, MCCS has raised the bar and set new benchmarks in Indian news broadcasting. Starting with STAR News in the national news space and followed by STAR Ananda in the regional language space. The launch of STAR Majha is yet another leap in that direction. Given the pattern of growing demand, the launch of a specialised Marathi news channel of this nature is a natural requirement for the region."

Recently, Maharashtra-based Lokmat Group of Newspapers along with the TV 18 Group, announced its plan to launch a Marathi news channel. The news channel will be called IBN Lokmat, and is likely to go on air by year-end.