Mumbai: TV9 Network is gearing up to launch an English language online platform for long shelf-life narratives and news-based factual content.

According to sources, the platform’s beta version will be launched in December, followed by a formal launch in January 2022.

This will be a first-of-its-kind digital offering built along the lines of over-the-top (OTT) streaming services that help audiences choose the content they wish to consume. Incidentally, CNN+ has been reported to be working on a similar plan with a rollout expected later in 2022. TV9’s new platform will offer news-driven content with the depth of magazine coverage and the high production quality of OTT streaming services.

The focus will be on providing narratives and multiple perspectives to news events. “We want to create news-driven content that has a long shelf life and host it in an OTT environment,” said a source on condition of anonymity. “The user experience will be that of an OTT platform but the editorial richness will be that of a magazine. We are calling this industry-first platform a Digital Video Magazine or V-Mag.”

This new offering will be built on TV9’s legacy brand News9 that continues to have a recall as a news channel that TV9 ran from Bengaluru earlier. TV9 currently also operates an English news website called News9 Live. Though this new video platform – is likely to use a similar brand name, it will be a separate, standalone platform.

“While videos are the most popular medium of consumption, digital is where that consumption will happen. That’s why we decided to revive the News9 brand and bring it in a brand new avatar for the English-speaking audience that is now used to a certain quality that entertainment OTT platforms offer,” said the source.