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K.V. Kurmanath

Hyderabad April 5 Associated Broadcasting Company (ABC), which promotes the television channel TV9 in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, has set its eyes on the Maharashtra, Gujarat and NCR (National Capital Region) markets.

The company has raised funds to the tune of Rs 250 crore from two venture capital funds to support the growth plans it envisaged nationally. It is in the advanced stages of opening news channels by the year-end, Mr M.K.V.N. Murthy, Vice-President of ABC, told Business Line. The company, started by Mr V. Ravi Prakash, CEO, with seed capital from iLabs, launched the first 24-hour Telugu news channel in 2003. It replicated the model in Karnataka in 2005.

Besides entering other markets, ABC would launch a few more Telugu channels catering to the content needs of viewers beyond news. The first in the basket would be a cultural channel named Sanskriti.

"It would be up and running in one month, while the entertainment channel would go live in 2-3 months," Mr Murthy said.

The cultural channel would present cultures of all States and religions to the Telugu viewers in Andhra Pradesh and elsewhere.

In Kerala, the company is planning to forge alliances with existing channels.

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