Star Ananda is India’s first 24-hour Bengali news channel. It is the second property of Media Content and Communications Services, the Star-ABP Ltd joint venture. The first one was Star News which was already on air for long when the joint venture was formed. Star Ananda is the first channel developed by the JV. ABP is the largest media group of East with a host of publications like Anandabazar Patrika, the leading Bengali daily and some leading Bengali magazines apart from the leading English daily of East The Telegraph and Businessworld, the business mag. The channel was launched this year. There was huge expectation from Kolkata, it’s HQ.
The channel’s positives are- 1. It’s photography which is top class and never seen in Kolkata in a Begali news bulletin from any channel. 2. It’s newsreaders- well presented and fashionably dressed setting a high standard. 3. It’s smart presentation. It has changed the way Bengali news is presented.
However the following are some weak areas- 1. It still has news bulletin as it’s mainstay and has only a few news-based programmes. There are no talk-shows or shows on common subjects like health, entertainment, lifestyle etc. It has an entertainment show called ’Hoi Ma Noi Bouma’ but that’s about it. It has another entertainment programme called ’Filmstar’ but that’s not a full-fledged one and seems part of the continuous news bulletins. 2. It lacks experts to provide views. It falls back on the senior correspondents/ editors of Anandabazar Patrika the leading Bengali daily from ABP group but that’s not the way they should go about. 3. It lacks smart correspondents. Many are below par and look quite raw. Overall, since Anandabazar Patrika is very popular in Kolkata people are responsive towards this channel.
But to keep people hooked longer, it needs to improve on the above mentioned areas.