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MUMBAI: Forbes (India) has named What‘s On India Channel, as one of the 5 "Hottest start-ups to watch for in the year 2010". What‘s On India Channel is India‘s first and only consumer TV Guidance Channel that launched earlier this month.
The write up appeared in the magazine‘s year end special issue and states "There are over 500 channels available on Indian TV today pulling over 8,800 crore in advertising money. Yet most of us watch barely a tenth of these most of the times. It is just too damn confusing to figure out what programme is playing on all of those 500 channels at any given point. This is the problem What‘s On India is trying to solve, and in the process make itself into India‘s TV guide."
"The four year old company has built its own Electronic Programme Guide, which already reaches millions of subscribers through set top boxes of cable operators like Hathaway and DEN, and DTH providers like Airtel Digital TV and BIG TV.
But with the impending launch of its TV guide as a 24x7 channel across various cable and DTH platforms in January 2010, What‘s On India is looking to reach more than 20 million digital TV homes in the first half of the next year. The company will not just segregate available programming more effectively for viewers, it will also recommend programmes. Channels and other brands will also be able to advertise themselves on this new channel" it adds.
The magazine also highlights the channel‘s USP as "Indigenous solutions for Indian TV watchers" and emphasizes its "strong relationships with TV channels and cable and DTH operators."
Says Atul Phadnis, Founder, Promoter, CEO of What‘s On India, "Its just been a few days since we launched the WHATS ON INDIA channel. In this short while, both - consumers and the Television industry have given us an very emphatic thumbs-up, underscoring the immense need for a reliable and engaging solution to the constant viewer pain-point of "What should I watch right now". We are delighted to be listed in Forbes‘ Hottest 5 Start-ups. It‘s an acknowledgement of both - the huge viewer pain-point as well as the quality of the solution that the What‘s On India model provides."
Being the only such model in the marketplace, all operators have expressed excitement and welcomed the channel‘s launch. What‘s On India will be switching them on one-by-one.
