[icernet] Soft launch lacks hard reportage

[Arul Selvan]

  The backdrop of a war theatre, which has had the world glued to its TV 
sets, makes for prime-time opportunity to enter living rooms with a news 
product. A proposition detailed by the First Gulf War in 1991, courtesy 
CNN, which spawned a cable TV revolution in this country. Twelve years 
later, the scramble for the spoils of a hence-created Rs 300 crore 
advertising pie commenced. Rupert Murdochs 24-hour Hindi Star News 
replaced its content provider, Prannoy Roys NDTV, on the airwaves to 
beam what has been touted as Indias answer to pep-laden, Fox News-style 
reportage. Yet, contrary to expectations, the launch was in no way a 
well-executed arrangement to pull its competitors off the rug.

Source:
http://web.mid-day.com/news/city/2003/april/48773.htm