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Our Bureau

`Imagine' to be launched by year-end or Jan `08

New Delhi April 9 It will have a few soaps, a bit of reality television, possibly a show anchored by filmmaker Karan Johar and shows produced by Balaji Telefilms, but NDTV's new general entertainment channel, Imagine, will still be different.

That was the promise made by the channel's CEO, Mr Sameer Nair, the man credited with Star TV's big hits, at a press meet here. The Hindi channel, catering to the age group of 6-60, is to be launched by the end of this year or in January 2008 and after a free view period, will be a paid channel. "We hope to be No 1 or 2 in 12 to 15 months," he said. Two more channels, possibly a movie channel and another entertainment channel, will follow.

"It's been a dream for us, going back 20 years to start a full fledged proper mass entertainment channel. But we were always clear that we wanted to do it properly, do it right and not just as a clone of any other channel," said Dr Prannoy Roy, Chairman, NDTV. According to the company, General Entertainment is a Rs 3,000-crore business (Rs 1,800 crore in ad revenues).

The network, with Foreign Investment Promotion Board's approval for Rs 585 crore, is reported to have raised over $120 million (Rs 511 crore) from investors in the US and the UK in the recent past. It is also expected to list on a London stock exchange soon.

Mr Johar and his company Dharma Productions will also have an unspecified equity in the venture. Mr Johar, creative consultant and ambassador of the media company, is also likely to do a show for the new channel.

Back to `pay' soon

NDTV 24X7 said that its current free-to-air status in CAS notified areas was temporary. The channel will be switching back to a paid mode once more people adapt to the new system. "The pick up has been very slow. Ninety three per cent of the houses in Kolkata don't have set-top boxes, so it makes sense for us to be free-to-air. As the boxes are picked up, we will switch back to a paid mode," said Dr Prannoy Roy.

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