ABP News eyes to lead Hindi news genre with Chitra Tripathi at 9 pm slot

New Delhi: Exactly a month since Rajnish Ahuja took charge as editorial chief, ABP News is set to revamp its primetime line-up as the channel launches popular news anchor Chitra Tripathi at 9 pm slot on Monday.

With a brand new news bulletin titled “Janhit” at the 9 pm slot, Tripathi would be competing with the likes of Sudhir Chaudhary on Aaj Tak and Rajat Sharma on India TV.

Tripathi had quit Aaj Tak on Thursday, a day before she began her third stint with ABP News on Friday. Coincidently, she had joined the channel two years back on the same day, i.e. October 11, for her second innings but went back to Aaj Tak in 20 days.

In her first stint with the channel, Tripathi was one of the leading faces of ABP News between 2016 and 2019.

Tripathi is also set to host a debate show at 5 pm slot.

A promo announcing Tripathi's return went on air on Saturday.

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Tripathi believes that Ahuja’s taking over the editorial leadership has re-energised and uplifted the mood across both linear and digital newsrooms. 

“ABP News is the industry leader both in terms of news and programming. The new energy will ensure that we address relevant issues and thereby ensure that people issues are at the forefront of our news programming,” Tripathi told BestMediaInfo.com.

Tripathi’s debate show at 5 pm will be followed by a soon-to-be-revealed news bulletin at 6 pm. Sandeep Chaudhary will continue to host the 7 pm debate. 

For the 8 pm slot, the channel is preparing for a brand new perspective-based show which will be followed by the news bulletin with Tripathi at the 9 pm slot. The flagship ‘24 Ghante 24 Reporter’ has made a comeback at the 10 pm slot.

“The entire primetime line-up will be a mix of debate, perspective and news bulletins. The whole idea is to cater to all audience groups with our prime-time line-up while maintaining our lead in the premium audience segment,” Ahuja told BestMediaInfo.com.

When asked how tough is it to crack the 9 pm slot, Tripathi said, “There is a huge team behind any face and it is the leadership that drives the best results out of the team. It is the same team which made us the leader in the past and with Mr. Ahuja back at the driving seat, we are set to rewrite the history.”

“Our entire focus is to put up industry-leading content and the eclectic atmosphere in the newsroom shows our resolve to achieve our goal,” she added.

According to Tripathi, ABP News will continue to stick to the truth, aggressively lead on the big news stories in an unbiased manner and lead the narrative. 

“The era of noise is diminishing and viewers are up for the incisive content. We can offer our perspective and let the viewers form their own opinions instead of imposing our opinions on them. We believe these essentials of good journalism will help us impact more lives in a positive way.,” she noted.

Tripathi’s immediate focus will be to establish her shows among slot leaders and then to explore the growth in digital.

“The decisive lead in concurrent views during the first few hours of vote counting on Oct 8 on YouTube proved the pull for the brand ABP News and the strength of the channel on election and counting days. We aim to replicate this success on any normal day on digital along with television with innovative digital exclusive ideas, said Tripathi.

“Sameness is the nature of news content. However, the presentation and programming differentiate a channel from the another and this is our focus area,” said Ahuja.

Quoting a consumer study commissioned by the channel recently, Ahuja said people want fast-paced news and perspective instead of long speeches. 

“We commission studies to find out what audience wants to watch. Our latest study has thrown several insights. We have initiated acting upon those findings and customising our offerings accordingly,” said Ahuja.

When asked if the consumer survey would lead to any change in the look and feel of the channel, Ahuja did not deny the possibility.

“We just need to keep ourselves abreast with the fast-changing consumer behaviour and take the ABP News to among top performing channels from the viewership perspective as well” Ahuja concluded.