Regional News Channels in India: A Study on Viewers Perspective

Satellite television news network have never expanded as they have in India. In less than a decade, between 1998 and 2006, India has experienced the rise of more than 50 24-hours satellite news channels, broadcasting news in different languages. They are a prominent part of a vibrant satellite television industry, comprising more than 300 channels, that has targeted Indian homes since the early 1990s. In one form or the other, at least 106 of these broadcast daily news in 14 regional languages, and their emergence marks a sharp break with the past. They have arisen in a country where the state had monopolised broadcasting since independence, and as late as 1991, India had only one government-controlled television network. The rise of satellite television, and satellite news network, has engendered a transformation in India’s political culture, the nature of the state and expressions of Indian nationhood.