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English news channel Times Now enters UK market

Apart from news reporting and programming, the channel will also air shows from the Bollywood industry covered by sibling Zoom, and business news evenings from 7 to 8 PM

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English news channel Times Now enters UK market

English news channel Times Now enters UK market

Apart from news reporting and programming, the channel will also air shows from the Bollywood industry covered by sibling Zoom, and business news evenings from 7 to 8 PM

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Mumbai | November 17, 2015

Times-Now--Promo-Van

Times Now, the flagship channel of Times Network, the broadcast arm of Bennett Coleman & Co., has officially launched in the UK.

The launch of a channel is welcome news for the Indian diaspora that forms the largest ethnic group in the country. The affinity between the two countries has grown over the years and the proof of that would be the increased visits by the heads of states. British Prime Minister David Cameron has visited India thrice since taking over in 2010. UK-India ties were strengthened further with the recent visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Britain.

Arnab Goswami Arnab Goswami

Times Now is led by Arnab Goswami, President – News and Editor-in-Chief, Times Now and ET Now. The channel believes in bringing a change and inspiring responsible Indian citizens to do so too – hence its tagline: 'Action Begins Here'.

MK Anand MK Anand

Announcing the UK launch of Times Now, M K Anand, CEO and MD , Times Network,  said, “Times Now has had a dream journey in India where it has remained a leader in the English news space for the past seven years. The success of Times Now among the viewers here has encouraged us to launch it for the Indians who live abroad and want to keep completely abreast of all the important news of their country and its growing eminence in the world.”

“The expansion of the channel in the UK market, for us, is the most important one since we launched in America in 2011, our international debut. UK is probably our biggest diaspora market. With this launch, we have just started building our presence in the European market and we intend to enter France and Germany too by next year,” Anand added.

Goswami said, “Times Now is not just another English news channel that is launching in the UK. The channel is launching in the country because we want to give viewers in the UK a platform to voice their opinion. Times Now will stay true to its tagline 'Action begins here' and will encourage viewers in the UK to take action and not wait for others to change their fortune. Times Now in the UK will initially focus on Indian news. However, we will be developing original content eventually for the British and global audiences.”

Naveen Chandra, Head of international business, Times Network, added, “ With this launch, Times Network channels have rapidly reached over 80 countries in 5 continents in a little over 4 years. We are now building our local sales team and will enlist for BARB ratings soon. We have received encouraging feedback from advertisers with half a dozen clients already on board at launch. Our innovative marketing during PM Modi's Wembley address is the start of our 3 phase marketing plan over the next six months to introduce the channel to the UK audiences'

The content:

Times Now is entering the UK with an array of shows from its news reporting and programming. The channel will also air shows from the Bollywood industry covered by sibling Zoom, and business news evenings from 7 to 8 pm.

The shows include:

'The News Hour' which is the only show that attracts appointment viewing in the news genre, covers 2-3 debates from the political/social issues that the nation faces with insightful analysis from eminent panellists. The show is presented by the Editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami.

'The game' which is the weekday evening show covering events around sports, stories and interviews, and is hosted by Anand  Narasimhan and Tina Sharma Tiwari.

'Total Recall'is a nostalgia-driven one hour show that takes the viewer down memory lane, from tracing the roots of the News Television Industry in the country, to the first ever advertisement conceptualized, to tracing the inspiring career of a film personality. 'Total Recall' looks back, relives and celebrates these extraordinary journeys.  It shows interesting trivia and untouched facts of Bollywood legends.

'Wide Angle' includes all the political news of the day in a fast paced, quick format show.  'Wide Angle' will be a one-stop show for the viewer to catch all the political news quickly.

'Blueprint - The Biggest Story of the Day', focuses specifically on the day's biggest story. Show format ranges from panel discussions to on- ground live reports. It includes the day's newsmakers and the most comprehensive coverage of the nation's hottest talking point. Also, considering the show deals with the day's most popular story there is scope for social media interactivity as well.

'Live Wire' is a comprehensive news roundup of the day in a de-packaged,

seamless format which is fast and newsy in the shortest span of time.

Times Now will leverage all forms of media to announce its arrival in the UK market. These would include television, radio, print, digital and OOH media.

In the UK, Times Now will be distributed on Sky, one of the largest distribution platforms, with a reach of more than 12mn households.

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