MUMBAI: Zee is kicking off its Telugu campaign tonight with the launch of its Telugu channel Alpha Telugu. The channel will start beaming from 8 pm onwards.

The launch, earlier scheduled for 12 September, was pushed to 20 September because of the channel's decision to change the satellite. Alpha Telugu has been shifted from AsiaSat 3S to NSS 703 now. The channel will be uplinked from Singapore.

According to Alpha Telugu business head Sreenivaas Bhatt, the switch was made in response to the cable operators' suggestions. He said that the feedback from cable operators suggested that NSS 703 would be technically convenient for them.

The launch of Alpha Telugu will finally see the Zee Network making its entry into southern television airspace. With the launch, Zee will become the second mainstream network having a presence in the South after Star, which has its Tamil channel Star Vijay.