Now a health channel from Shakti Bhog Foods

MUMBAI: Shakti Bhog Foods Ltd, makers of the popular Shakti brand of wheat flour, is venturing into the satellite television business.

Promoted by Kewal Krishan Kumar, the company is launching a 24-hour holistic health and lifestyle channel. The plan is to launch Shakti Channel within three weeks.

Shakti channel COO Himanshu Malik confirmed the development, adding that the channel?s test signals would commence from Janmashtami, the birthday of Lord Krishna. K Prakash Verma will head the channel?s programming.

Dedicated to health-based programming, the free-to-air (FTA) channel will beam via Thaicom 3. The channel will be distributed by Fifth Avenue Media Services.

The channel will provide details based on up-to-date health, diet and fitness information. The channel will also air programmes such as Yog Rakha Nirog (information on how one can refrain from sickness), Health Zone, Ab Dardh Nahi (relief from pain), Aerobics, Don?t worry be Healthy, Sex-Clinic, to name a few, offers Malik.

The channel will also feature the famous bhakti singer Narinder Chanchal who was one of the playback singers, along with eternal nightingale Lata Mangeshkar, for Raj Kapoor?s movie Bobby.

Malik adds that with more channels of this nature in the space, the market would only grow. Already available in this genre is 7 Star Care. He said, "We would concentrate in the Hindi belt first and then move on to the Western market to strengthen the distribution of the channel. Later, we will move to the Southern market."

Shakti channel has already initiated publicity campaigns through hoardings across North India. It will also use various other mediums of advertising such as newspapers and magazines.