Sri Adhikari Brothers Television Network Ltd will launch a bilingual 24-hour current affairs and news channel by April with an investment outlay of up to Rs 25 crore (RS 250 milluion).
"It will be more of a current affairs channel with in-depth analysis of events and issues. The major content would be in Hindi and two hours daily content in English," SABTV vice-chairman and managing director Makarand Adhikari told PTI in Mumbai on Thursday.
The channel would be launched under SAB Samachaar Ltd, a media company fully-owned by Gautam Adhikari and Makarand Adhikari, and "we plan to dilute our stake in favour of financial investors after the launch," Adhikari said.
"We will maintain majority holding all along" and may rope in foreign media house as partner, subject to investment guidelines for media sector," he said.
The investment outlay for the channel is pegged at Rs 20-25 crore (Rs 200-Rs 250 million) and expect to break even at the end of first year of operations, he added.
The company has identified a 20,000 sq ft place in New Delhi to set up three studios and a 10,000 sq ft area for two studios in Mumbai, he added.
"We have already submitted a formal application to Union information and broadcasting ministry for getting its nod for uplinking," Adhikari added.
