Here comes the Captain TV

Three news and current affairs television channels have been approved by the government including Raftar TV and Captain TV. In the latest batch of eight TV channels that won approval, there is a Marathi music channel and a multi-lingual south Indian music and entertainment channel. Discovery had also got the nod to launch three channels - Discovery Science, Discovery Turbo and Discovery HD. Ranchi-based Raftar Media will launch Raftar TV, a Hindi news channel. It will soft launch on 19 August, a source from the channel informs Indiantelevision.

Captain TV, the upcoming Tamil channel by Captain Media Pvt Ltd, is owned by actor turned politician Vijayakanth, founder of DMDK (Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam), and popularly known as Captain.

Media Worldwide, which also runs Hindi music channel Music India, and Bangla and Bhojpuri music channels Sangeet Bangla and Sangeet Bhojpuri, will launch Sangeet Marathi. "Once we get the ministry clearance, our Marathi music channel Sangeet Marathi will be launched within 90 days. The content of the channel will include predominantly music and some youth-oriented programming," Media Worldwide director Prashant Chotani tells Indiantelevision. Meanwhile, Simply Spice will be a multi-lingual channel, offering music and entertainment in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. "The channel will be launched very soon," says Clement Ventures MD F Usman Faheed.

-Indiantelevision