TRS plans to launch Telangana TV

Meher Khanna - Televisionpoint.com | Hyderabad
K Chandrasekhar Rao, president, Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), a small political party in Andhra Pradesh, is planning to start a news channel, called Telangana TV, which aims to highlight problems of Telangana and focus on its culture.

Rao visited some studios in Hyderabad and Mumbai to scout for a suitable low cost channel. The TRS chief has been toying with the idea of starting a TV channel for quite some time now. He was encouraged after the launch of a newspaper and TV channel by ruling party members in Hyderabad.

The TRS leader and former MP, G. Vinod Kumar, who had accompanied the TRS chief in the search for a suitable TV channel, said that the channel would be based in Hyderabad. It will devote time for socioeconomic problems of Telangana and hold discussions on a several topics pertaining to the area besides focusing on its art and culture, he explained.

"We have undertaken a preliminary exercise and visited some channels including some religious ones which are functioning on moderate budgets to ascertain the cost and other details. A decision will be taken soon," Kumar said.

While Rao is in active politics, his daughter Kavita is promoting Telangana culture and cuisine through her "Telangana Jagruti" organisation. Kavita is presently organising Telangana Sambaralu in New Delhi. She will also have a role in the TV programmes.

It is researched that Telugu news channels enjoy higher popularity in Andhra Pradesh than national Hindi and English news channels. Regional channels in the Hyderabad market especially account for close to 65 per cent viewership.