Is more news on television good news?

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">News channels are making news. Some new ones have already hit our TV screens, some are on their way and some old ones have got a new look. Sunday Times surfs across channels to find out if television has space for so much current affairs programming Breaking news is making news. <br /><br />A clutch of news channels — "new, improved" — have burst on to TV screens.Others are coming soon. Viewers are waiting. "In the new maze, I wonder if they will be able to give us the quality one sees in international news channels like BBC," says couch potato Raghu Rao.<br /><br />Star News in Hindi is here — glitches and all. Star is not willing to comment, but viewers say they are not impressed. "They are too fresh," says Arvind Tiwari who spends hours watching TV every evening. "Anyway, unless a channel gives quality coverage with good presentation — which is lacking in most cases — more news channels will not really make a difference," <br /><br />NDTV 24X7 (English) and NDTV India (Hindi) with A R Rehman''s signature will go on air from April 14. "Rehman is somebody who''s always done his own thing, and as an organisation that''s exactly what NDTV does," says chief executive producer Radhika Roy. Prannoy Roy will be back and Shekhar Gupta will do a weekly programme on 24X7. <br /><br />Sahara promises a bouquet of seven regional news channels by July-August with local news networks from 31 cities. "There''s a lack of local coverage on news channels. Hopefully, the channels will take care of that," says Arundhati Saxena a college student.<br />Headlines Today the English news channel from Aaj Tak will come live on April 7. Says G. Krishnan, CEO TV Today Network Limited, "The channel is meant for people for whom time is precious, but want to know everything that is of interest to them."<br /><br />The smart studios in shades of crimson, red, steel grey and yellow at Zee News are "a reflection of the channel''s new brighter and bolder image," says Alka Saxena, editor, Zee News. <br /><br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Enough eyeballs to grab?</span><br /><br />"Yes, there''s certainly a very big market waiting to be tapped," says Krishnan. "The news channel market has been on the upswing. All categories of advertisers are attracted to news channels because of the higher return on investment offered. More players will only expand the news market." Zee''s Saxena agrees: "There are so many newspapers, yet more keep coming out. It''s the same with news channels. There''s space, the market is growing."<br /><br />Sahara echoes him. "The US with a population of 250 million has some 90 news channels. We have a billion plus people and just 20-odd news channels. There''s desperate need to cover the happenings," says national channel head Arup Ghosh, but adds "There will be a shake-out. Only those with deep pockets will be able to hang out there."<br /><br />But viewers couldn''t really care. "News is not like soap. Only those that give balanced reports will survive. Anyway, I don''t like switching channels while watching news," says Rao.<br /><br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Infotaiment as news?</span><br /><br />Views differ. NDTV is all for individuality and claims that "news covers everything". Headline Today''s Krishnan too says, "We define news to suit the viewer. It should be of relevance to our target audience and meet their information needs. So we cover news from diverse fields such as business, sports, health, entertainment, stocks.<br /><br />"Sahara is more categorical. Says Ghosh, "The moment we see news as entertainment it becomes nonsensical. The treatment of news and presentation is important. We are hitting 100 plus news items every day and it''s not entertainment. News as entertainment has never worked and never will."<br /><br />Zee''s Saxena is more in tune with Sahara: "We want to remain a channel of the masses, so hard news will always be a priority. That''s the only way to become a leader and stay on top."<br /><br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Viewer as king?</span><br /><br />Yes, says Headline Today''s Krishnan. "Viewers will reign supreme in an environment where content will drive their choice. In such a scenario, it would be important for broadcasters to understand the viewers need while planning and designing content." If you are a pay channel being a part of a bouquet helps. So NDTV has joined the Sony bandwagon. Now if you opt for Sony-Discovery''s One Alliance with Set Max, AXN and HBO you get NDTV.<br /><br />Free-to-air news channels have an obvious advantage. Zee accepts that it cannot match viwership with free-to-air channels. "We cannot match eyeballs with Aaj Tak," says Saxena. "They have DD as their competitors." And Sahara, which is also free-to-air. They are going about winning viewers in their own way. "Our strength will be our city specific news. Ask your cable operator you want to watch only Agra and Varanasi news you can get it."</div> </div>