Tougher criteria on the way for starting new TV channel

October 1st, 2009 NEW DELHI - External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna on Thursday said that India and Pakistan should work out an effective channel to deal with all issues concerning the two countries.

September 7th, 2009 NEW DELHI - People protested and raised slogans against a TV channel Monday when it cancelled auditions for one of its music programmes, police said. The channel was conducting auditions at Kamani auditorium here and had made arrangements for around 400 people only.

August 3rd, 2009 SOFIA - Bulgaria plans to replace the lev with Europe's single currency, the euro, in 2012 or 2013, Finance Minister Simeon Djankov told daily 24 Chasa Monday. "We have a chance in the last year of the mandate to introduce the euro," Djankov said.

June 25th, 2009 DUBAI - The English version of the Qatar-based television news channel Al Jazeera is set to make its first major foray into the US market July 1 through a cable TV company in the Washington DC area. "I can tell you that on July 1 we are going to launch an agreement with a Washington DC-based company that has around 2.3 million subscribers," said Al Jazeera's director general Wadah Khanfar.

May 13th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Bharatiya Janata Party led NDA is trailing behind the Congress-led UPA in the projections given by different exit polls in the Lok Sabha elections. The surveys shown by electronic channels after the end of fifth phase of polling today placed the BJP-led NDA not very far behind the UPA and the Third Front likely to get little over 100 seats.

April 29th, 2009 Al Roker adding Weather Channel show to his dayNEW YORK — The Weather Channel is forecasting Al Roker will join the network as host of a new morning program. Roker, who remains the weathercaster on NBC's "Today" show, will be on the air an hour earlier each weekday for the Weather Channel's "Wake Up With Al." The network says the show will originate from New York and Atlanta, where Roker's co-host, Weather Channel meteorologist Stephanie Abrams, is based.

April 29th, 2009 Clear Channel cutting 590 radio jobsSAN ANTONIO — Clear Channel Communications Inc., the largest owner of U.S. radio stations, said Tuesday it is cutting 590 jobs, including some on-air personalities, in its second round of mass layoffs this year amid pressure from the recession and evaporating advertising budgets.

April 23rd, 2009 BET plans a channel to target older black viewersNEW YORK — BET, the leading network tailored for black teens and young adults, will be joined by a new channel aimed at an older black audience. Named Centric, it's scheduled to debut in October.

April 21st, 2009 Survey: cost cuts to remain after recession easesNEW YORK — Salary freezes, bonus reductions and unpaid furloughs have surged in recent months as companies try to survive without layoffs, and a new survey found many businesses intend to keep the cost-cutting measures after the recession eases. Nearly 60 percent of the companies say they are freezing salaries, while another 41 percent have or will tighten bonus criteria for executives.

March 21st, 2009 NEW DELHI - At a media meet with the full bench of the Election Commission in Kolkata, a journalist from a television channel wanted to know if the poll panel was divided in its stand on BJP's Varun Gandhi. CEC N. Gopalaswamy shot back: 'Is your channel running such a story?' 'Yes,' said the journalist.

March 7th, 2009 NEW DELHI - It is a 24-hour news and infotainment channel of the women, by the women, for everyone. This International Women's Day March 8 a new channel, manned mostly by women, with women-centric programming, will be launched.

March 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - With parliamentary elections announced in India, and with nearly 25 percent of the country's 714 million voters below the age of 35, there are tens of thousands of political aspirants who would throw themselves as candidates in the poll fray. What are the qualifications that are needed to contest the election? A person who wants to fight the elections just needs to be an Indian citizen, not less than 25 years of age, and should be a voter from any parliamentary constituency in the country.

February 22nd, 2009 CHENNAI - The Rs.586-million (Rs.58.6-crore) Raj Television Network - the second largest Tamil satellite television company - is foraying into the Kannada language market with a music and a news channel. The company is going slow on its plans to start a Telugu news channel, while the group company's general entertainment channel in the same language is set for a makeover.

February 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - After making its presence felt in India, Britain, the Middle East and the north African region, Hindi general entertainment channel NDTV Imagine will now be accessible to audiences in the US as well. The channel would be available in the US through international satellite television provider DISH Network.

February 12th, 2009 NEW DELHI - US-based production major Turner International's recently announced entertainment TV channel REAL is set to go on air March 2. 'REAL will start with daily three hours of original programming with a dynamic blend of fiction and reality shows.