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ETC plans Rs. 60 crore funding

Entertainment Television Channel (ETC), is planning to pump in Rs 60 crore into operations over the next one year. The funds will be brought in by the promoters who hold 40 per cent of the equity.

Formed by a breakaway group from the Hinduja’s In Network, the channel aims to get into the big league by launching Hindi news programming and movies within a week, according to Entertainment Television Network Ltd’s chief executive officer Pradeep Dixit.

Dixit told The Financial Express that while the company was keeping close tabs on the stock market, plans for an initial public offering had not yet crystalised. He said the channel would introduce news bulletins and movies on ETC Channel. "We already have a considerable viewership and penetration and we are trying to cash in on that," he said.

He said the news coverage would be of international standard but it would have an Indian focus. To this end, the channel has already set up news bureaus in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Calcutta. "A news team and a studio facility are also in place and we will be the first TV channel uplinked from Mumbai," he said.

The channel would have prime time news bulletins and three news headlines a day. ETC is currently in the final stages of discussion with VSNL for uplinking facilities.

Dixit said ETC would beam movies from April. Initially, the channel would have four movies a month and gradually it would have a movie a day. "However, the ratio of music based programming will remain at 80 per cent," he said.

Dixit said the company would be investing around Rs 60 crore in programming over a period of one year. The channel also has plans for external funding for which various options were being considered, he said.

ETC has prime band presence in 64 per cent of cable and satellite homes and 36 per cent non-band presence across the country. According to National Readership Survey (NRS), only 38 per cent of the country’s population owns a television of which 43 per cent has cable and satellite connectivity.

In the North, ETC enjoys a reach of 70 and 30 per cent reach in prime and non-prime band respectively. In the East, the channel has a tie-up with RPG Network with a 71 per cent prime brand penetration while in the West zone, it has 76 per cent prime band penetration.

In Tamil Nadu, ETC was talking to Sumangali, the distribution arm of Sun TV to increase its reach.