The uplinking will initially be through VSNL and Doordarshan. "But we plan to set up our own uplinking facilities in Mumbai within six months. We are also setting up a studio," said Jagjit Kohli, director, Entertainment Television Network.

The half-an-hour news will be aired at either 9.30 pm or 10 pm. Later, there will be an induction of a 30-minute morning breakfast news.

"The mainline channels have put news on the backburner. Zee TV has moved its news slot to 11.30 pm while Sony Entertainment Television is not showing anything at all. STAR Plus is digital and has limited reach in the interiors. We are an analogue channel and have a strong rural reach," Kohli said.

The content will focus on business news and a bureau is being set up across the country. The major presence, however, will be in Mumbai and Delhi.Kohli said there were plans to spin it off as a separate news channel, depending on the success of the news programming. However, this will depend on the ability to raise funds.

Pradeep Dixit, who was responsible for launching the music channel ATN, has joined as the chief executive officer of ETC. He was working at Etislat (a national cable company on the fibre optic which was handling 100 channels) in Dubai where he was in charge of channels. Romi Bidichandani, who was heading the marketing team in the cable movie channel CVO, has joined as president, sales and marketing.

"We are bringing in professional people to run the organisation," said Kohli.ETC recently signed a contract with Emirates Telecommunications Corporation, the national telecom company in the UAE, for distribution of the channel. "They will be carrying us on the prime band. We are talking with different companies to get into other markets," said Dixit.