Times Network Plan To Launch Times Now HD

[Umair Malik]

MUMBAI: Eyeing its first major expansion in TV news after Arnab Goswami’s exit, Times Network is looking to launch a high-definition (HD) version of Times Now.

The official launch date of the channel has not been finalised. The company has already procured the licence from the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) to launch the channel.

It has also got the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) consent to fix the a la carte price of the channel. Times Now HD is priced Rs 15 for addressable platforms. The HD channel is part of the company’s strategy to expand the Times Now portfolio.

Currently, NewsX is the only English news channel to have an HD version. “We do have plans to launch Times Now HD, but nothing has been finalised at this stage,” Times Network MD and CEO MK Anand told TelevisionPost.com without divulging any further details.

This will be the fifth HD channel from Times Network and the first in TV news space. Currently, it owns and operates 11 channels in three genres—English news, English entertainment and Hindi entertainment. In the English news space, the company has three channels—Times Now, ET Now and MagicBricks Now.

In the English entertainment space, it runs seven channels—Movies Now, Movies Now 2, Romedy Now, MN+, Movies Now HD, Movies Now 2 HD and Romedy Now HD. Its presence in Hindi entertainment is limited to Zoom, which airs music and Bollywood content.