First Indian social channel from Oct 2

KOLKATA: It’s being touted as the first Indian social channel to hit the international skies. So, when Ahimsa the new channel takes birth on October 2 — the expected delivery date that will co-incide with Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday — the non-violent message from the new-born might appear to be obvious.
There’s another peg to the story as well.Once Kolkata-headquartered Ahimsa — under the banner of media major ATN International — officially starts beaming into 50 plus countries, it will catapult this old British capital of the East right onto the centre of the international community of religious and social organisations.
The magnitude of the foray can be gauged from the fact that two of the biggest names on the socio-religious map of the country — Art of Living and Brahmakumaris — are lending their weight behind the new venture.
Says Santosh Jain, spokesperson for ATN International, “While we have already stocked more than 1000 hours of in-house programming, content from Art of Living and Brahmakumaris will form the USP of our fare.�
The 24-hour channel — which will be in the free-to-air delivery mode after getting uplinked from Noida — has already tied up with ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) for transponder space. So, even as you are reading this, Ahimsa is being soft launched with satellite signals being tested for a technical go-ahead.
But is there scope for what is basically yet another channel on the already cluttered airwaves? Jain hopes so. “Our USP will be our content — something that most viewers have not seen before on the telly on a sustained basis, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This will help us cut through the clutter,� he reveals.
And finances? Well, the channel is targetting a major chunk of the estimated Rs 4500 crore that various religious, social and non-governmental organisations receive — directly or indirectly — from government and foreign funds.
“We will also sell time-slots to various producers, apart from directly hawking time to advertisers and their agencies,� Jain says. “We may be the first Indian social channel to hit the international skies but our flow of funds will help us maintain that status in future.�