MUMBAI: News broadcaster Channel NewsAsia dons a new look from today 17 July. The channel says that the transformation is a celebration of its evolution and achievement over the past seven years.

In undergoing the transformation, the channel aimed to give a dynamic, smart and contemporary feel. The on-air look, in-house trailers and colour scheme have been changed.

Apart from the staple top-of-the-hour news bulletins, there are also new weekend programmes.

MediaCorp News, MD Woon Tai Ho says, "We have come out with a concept called platinum lifestyle; it's really high-end leisure, high-end travel, high-end dining and high-end spending, so we could have programmes from watches to cars, hunting for wine to hunting for property. But eventually, the real challenge really would be technologically-driven programmes, that's high-definition documentaries, and how we tap into the whole cyberworld."

The London-based broadcast design company, English & Pockett, was hired to revamp the channel's studio, converting it from a virtual set to a new "hard set" where the news anchors will present news right from the busy newsroom.

The channel will also move to a new digital newsroom environment by the end of the year when all the news gathering will be done on-line. The channel's website, channelnewsasia.com has also been given a makeover.

It has a new layout and clearer navigation. It now offers more entertainment content like movie reviews and trailers as well as special features and product reviews. There are also added features like photo galleries for selected news stories and streaming of video clips.