Zee News recently overhauled the look of its regular news channel including the launch of a new studio, a logo and the complete format of news bulletins.

The channel will also have new promos and cross-media campaigns and has introduced the concept of a series of presenters for various sections of news bulletins, each of which presents a different section of the news. Apart from this a change can be seen in the on-air graphics, including the promos and montages and the channel ID music, which have been transformed.

Says Zee Network director (news group) Laxmi Narayan Goel: “These initiatives are aimed at providing freshness to the channel in addition to keeping up with the technological advancements in TV technology.”

The last revamp exercise was undertaken by Zee News before Budget 2002 and company officials say the channel will henceforth be constantly upgraded to look more dynamic and vibrant. Says a company press release: “The channel firmly believes that periodical changes in looks and formats are necessary to meet the changing requirements of the viewers.”

Recently CNBC India joined the Zee-Turner distribution alliance to be part of the bouquet from 1 April 2003. Two business channels in the same bouquet might be quite disastrous, say industry experts, as they might cannibalise each other’s viewership and advertising revenue. But at a time when all news channels are as much in the news as the news they break, Zee’s new channel may not be a bad idea, say industry pundits.

The next couple of months will see the launch of a number of news channels. NDTV, promoted by Prannoy Roy, plans to launch a Hindi and an English news channel on 14 April, while Star has already gone on air with a new look. TV Today, which already has Aaj Tak on air, plans to come out with its English channel soon.

The Sahara group, which launched its free-to-air national news channel in Hindi just recently, has a number of news channels waiting to be launched by the yearend. Others include Jain TV, which has transformed into a business news channel. Also the Videocon group has announced plans to launch a business news channel.