Asianet Television Network, a South India-based infotainment group, has made announcement about the launching of its Telugu entertainment channel ‘Sitara’ in Andhra Pradesh. 

Mr. Vijay Babu, Asianet Chief Operating Officer, said that the media Group would also launch a 24-hour news channel in the state by next month (Nov 2008).

Sitara will have a two-phase roll-out. During the initial phase of launching, the channel will air in-house content and blockbuster movies, whereas second part would see replacement of prime time films with soaps and reality shows. 

Mr. Babu also said that Sitara offers superior content supported by over a decade of experience in the South Indian market. 

“Andhra Pradesh viewers have traditionally been great admirers of cinema. It has always been an important quotient of television programming. Sitara has been aggressively acquiring new blockbuster and old favourites and has an impressive library to its credit,” he added. 

Sitara will be available on Hathway Cable & Datacom, which has a major presence in Hyderabad, and other cable networks. 

“We have signed up with Hathway for distribution. Within 20-30 days, we will reach across the whole of Andhra Pradesh. We have also done distribution deals for our upcoming news channel,” avers Babu.

Mr. Babu also said that the Group has also decided to increase its foothold in other southern states. 

Founded in Kerala over 18 years ago, Asianet is one of the first satellite television channels. It has Malayalam and Kannada entertainment channels.