After a brief interlude, the familiar faces are back. At a press conference today, New Delhi Television’s president Prannoy Roy announced the launch of two news channels, 24x7 in English and NDTV India in Hindi from 2 pm, April 14.The channels — with music by David Lowe (who composed the signature tune for the BBC) for the English channel and A.R. Rahman for the Hindi channel — will be distinct in their treatment of news, Roy promised.Though news has started attracting eyeballs that were once the preserve of entertainment, Roy said, for him news was serious business, evident from the distinguished journalists on his platform. As for delivery, the news will come quick with some help from the chopper company, Deccan Aviation, which is making nine helicopters available for NDTV. Dubbed newscopters, they are being used for the first time in news delivery.‘‘News and credibility that comes with it is sacrosanct,’’ Roy said. He added the company was talking to Al-Jazeera and some US channels for partnerships. ‘‘We don’t just bring you the news first, we bring you the truth first.’’ The channels have already attracted advertisements of nearly Rs 10-12 crore, which will be available in about 12 million cable homes. NDTV has tied up for distribution with Sony/Discovery’s One Alliance. Roy’s channels will be available on PAS 10, the satellite with the largest footprint.
