The Bhopal-based Bhaskar Group, the publisher of Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar and Gujarati daily Divya Bhaskar, is evaluating options to make its foray into national Hindi television space. On being queried about the genre of television space (GEC, news channel, business channel, bouquet) Girish Agarwal, director, Bhaskar Group, told FE “There are no firmed up company level plans as yet. At best the company must have hired consultant to evaluate the option. It is premature to comment on the timing of the launch.”
The group already has digital cable television operations in cities under the brand name Bhaskar TV. Bhaskar TV operates around six to seven cable channels that include Bhaskar Cinema, Bhaskar Movie, Bhaskar Magic Songs, Bhaskar News and Bhaskar Bhakti.
In 2006, the Bhaskar Group was valued at Rs 2,143 crore as private equity investor Warburg Pincus picked up 7% stake in Dainik Bhaskar for Rs150 crore.
The business conglomerate has strong presence in newspapers, television, entertainment, printing, textiles and internet services. With the group’s presence, it seems the logical next step for the group enter the Hindi channel space to have an all-round presence.