ET Now looks beyond stock market analysis; launches new programmes to have a larger appeal

Post 5 PM the channel plans to concentrate on debates and discussions.

Times Network, the broadcast arm of media conglomerate, Bennett, Coleman and Company Ltd (BCCL), today announced a major programming refurbishing of its English business channel, ET Now. 80 per cent of the programming of ET Now is based on stock markets, which limits the channel's reach. In order to change that and reach out to a larger mass, the channel will expand its core offering from business news to serving holistic news for business.

The channel will henceforth cover politics, governance, technology, markets, business and economics. The daily programming will start with coverage of business and markets at 8:00 AM until 5:00 PM. After that the content will shift towards coverage of general news, special shows and prime-time debates. The evening primetime, 7 pm onwards, will have a mix of speed news, intellectual debate and major national news updates.

A new show, 'India Development Debate' at 9pm will be included in the daily line-up, pitted as the most intellectual news debate on Indian television. Anchored by Sandeep Gurumurthi and Supriya Shrinate, this debate will engage the most erudite experts to discuss subjects that affect India's holistic development and imagery.

M K AnandM K Anand, MD & CEO, Times Network says in a media release, "ET Now has consistently led the business news category and is a front-runner amongst English news channels. I think we are perfectly poised to evolve from just competitive leadership to purpose-driven leadership. As a channel and brand, I believe we can do much more than what we have been doing so far. It is now our aim to become the driver and catalyst for India's growth and in making sure that Indians benefit from that growth."

Sandeep Gurumurthi, managing editor, ET Now adds, "For ET Now, this movement is historic. As media entities, besides generating value for our stakeholders, our responsibility is to inform, engage, educate and inspire our viewers. Today every Indian has a strong belief in India's promising future, more than their own and India's growth story is not a single story but strongly shaped and influenced by economics, politics, governance, technology et al. We want to empower our viewers with this all-round knowledge which will enable them to see the opportunities around and help them hitch their success to India's."