Mumbai: ArnabGoswami’s Republic TV that is scheduled for launched in couple of days is being tested in the ‘C Band’ via Intelsat 20 satellite since last week. DTH and cable operators get their feed from the C Band transmission.
The Channel that is reported to be readying for its launch next week is also doing test transmission of the channel with DTH operator Tata Sky while few other DTH players Dish TV and Videocon are yet to start transmission testing of the channel.
On Cable front Republic TV is present on some cable networks such as GTPL, Hathway and Fastway Cable.
According to industry sources, the channel will hit the air next week, even if it is not present on all platforms.
It is estimated that it will cost the company around Rs 35-40 cr per year to ensure that its signals are carried on all major cable and DTH networks.
Unlike its competition, Republic TV will be launched in the ‘free to air’ format with no encryption. However, that alone is not likely to grant it a wide reach.
DTH and cable operators charge carriage fee from channel owners to carry their channels due to a demand supply mismatch as the DTH operators have a capacity to carry only around 300-400 channels, there are around 900 channels in India.
However, Republic TV is likely to find place in all Cable TV and DTH Platforms owing to the subscribers demand due to the huge marketing push that the channels has launched across the country and the popularity enjoyed by ArnabGoswami among the English News Viewers and youngsters.
