MUMBAI: CNN-IBN in collaboration with Gomantak times and Gomantak, Goa?s English and Marathi news dailies, have launched a two-week long special series ?Eye on Goa?.

The special series will focuss on the upcoming State Assembly elections of Goa and the social, economic and political factors involved therein.

The alliance entails the merging of editorial and marketing synergies between these media houses with Gomantak Times and Gomantak carrying stories and advertisements on the initiative on a regular basis.

Speaking on the tie-up CNN-IBN and IBN 7 director marketing and online projects Dilip Venkatraman said, "The partnership between CNN-IBN, Gomantak Times and Gomantak has made available a vast array of editorial and marketing resources that will make ?Eye on Goa? a success. We look forward to working with them again in the future. "

Gomantak and Gomantak Times marketing head Shailesh Rao, said, "?Eye on Goa? has provided a national platform for the upcoming elections in Goa with special focus on related issues. Partnering with CNN-IBN for this initiative has been fruitful and a real pleasure."

Apart from featuring the Goan stories on its news-wheel daily, CNN-IBN also organised an interactive panel discussion which will be aired on 1 June at 8:30 pm. The panel discussed the burning issues specific to Goa and those, which are likely to be considered by the people before casting their votes.

The discussion featured prominent Goan voices such as - Shantaram Naik (Congress), Manohar Parrikar (BJP), Oscar Rebello, Sandesh Prabhudesai, Anita Haladi and pop singer Remo.

MUMBAI: In the race for launching regional news channels, TV18 Group promoter Raghav Bahl seems to have finalised his first step. He is planning to launch a Marathi news channel under Global Broadcast News (GBN), the company that houses English news channel CNN-IBN.

GBN is likely to partner with a media company for the venture, a source close to the company says. "The plan is to tie up with a media player. This will involve an equity relationship as well. The finer details are being worked out," he adds.

Bahl had earlier told Indiantelevision.com that he was closely examining the regional news space as an important growth segment. Under TV18 fall the two business channels CNBC TV18 and Awaaz, while GBN will hold all ventures in the general news space.

The Marathi regional news space will see a flurry of action. Zee has already launched Zee 24 Taas as part of its "region-specific strategy." Other players keen to enter are Star Ananda and Hyderabad-based TV9.

Also eyeing the regional news space is India TV which recently announced it would launch in Gujarati and Punjabi languages within a year.

GBN, which captures the revenues from CNN-IBN and Hindi news channel IBN 7, has identified expansion in the area of regional news channels. The company is eyeing opportunities in the southern languages as well, the source says.