News Broadcasting
Hungama TV to launch 26 September
MUMBAI: Hungama TV, the 24-hour kids’ channel from the UTV stable, will start beaming into Indian homes from 10 am on Sunday, 26 September.
However, with just nine days to go for the channel to start beaming, it is yet to get ministry clearance for uplinking. Talking exclusively to Indiantelevision.com, Hungama TV COO Purnendu Bose expresses confidence that the clearance would come through within the time period. Even in the event of that not happening, a contingency plan is in place wherein the channel would be temporarily uplinked from Singapore, Bose says.
Hungama TV, to be distributed by Star, will be priced at Rs. 6 per subscriber per month. The channel’s multi-media marketing and promotional campaigns launched today.
Hungama TV has lined up content from around 12 productions houses including Garima, Balaji Telefilms, BAG Films and Creative Eye, among others.
Regarding the methods to be used to involve the 20 TV captains the channel has selected to give inputs, Bose said the communication would be via latest communication technologies. Hungama is also launching its website on the day of its launch.
The kids’ channel will be targeting four to 14-year-olds instead of the four to 18 TG that had earlier been decided upon. Bose adds that 15-18 year-olds is being avoided for the moment to avoid complications, as the research the channel has done thus far showed that the age group thinks differently when compared to the four to 14 group.
Talking about programming content, Bose said 95 per cent of the matter was ready and the rest just needed a finishing touch. The channel will have eight hours per day of original content.
Bose feels that more channels in the children’s programming space would only help to expand a hitherto untapped market.
News Broadcasting
India Today Group debuts AI anchor ‘Sutra’ at AI Impact Summit 2026
Sutra aims to simplify live policy debates using sovereign AI models
NEW DELHI: India Today Group has unveiled Sutra, an AI-driven news anchor designed to deliver real-time, contextual reporting, marking the group’s latest push to integrate artificial intelligence into mainstream journalism.
The AI anchor was introduced at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi and developed in collaboration with BharatGen, with the initiative showcased by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
India Today Group said Sutra is built to navigate complex policy discussions and fast-moving developments by synthesising information into concise, accessible insights, aimed at narrowing the gap between high-level debates and public understanding. The AI anchor was used to surface live takeaways from key sessions at the summit.
India Today Group chief AI officer Nilanjan Das, said the project was focused on clarity and accessibility without diluting editorial rigour. He added that working with BharatGen aligned the group’s AI ambitions with India’s broader push towards sovereign technology capabilities.
BharatGen CEO Rishi Bal, said the partnership reflected a shift from basic automation towards deeper contextual intelligence in media. He emphasised the importance of indigenous, multimodal AI models capable of understanding Indian languages, regional dialects and cultural nuance, particularly as AI-driven news formats gain traction.
The launch positions India Today Group among the first major Indian media houses to deploy an AI anchor backed by home-grown technology, underscoring a growing convergence between journalism, public policy and sovereign AI infrastructure.
