CNN warms to India-specific news channel?

CNN warms to India-specific news channel?

It all seems to be happening on the news channel front. The latest on this is that global news channel CNN International, whose parent company is AOL Time Warner, is reported to be seriously looking at launching an India-specific channel in the not-too distant future.

This was revealed to indiantelevision.com this evening by a senior executive of CNN Asia Pacific. The channel executive said CNN may either go solo or in partnership.

CNN has in the recent past reportedly been in talks with the Prannoy Roy-led NDTV to start an Indian service, but apparently the two have decided not tie the nuptial knot and have decided to go their own ways. NDTV is currently going through its own pending divorce pangs with Star India, which has decided to set up its own infrastructure and news channel under Ravina Raj Kohli. 

CNN had earlier been in serious talks with the leading Indian news network, the Living Media-run Aaj Tak. Industry sources say CNN and Aaj Tak had wooed each other for a while, and a pre-nuptial agreement had almost been signed, but differences on certain issues resulted in the arrangement falling flat.

With the two potential matches not turning out right and the woes of its own parent AOL Time Warner globally, the news was that CNN had put its India news channel marriage and conception plans on hold. But now with the CNN Asia Pacific exec saying that the US news network is still hungering after an India foray, the action in the news business is likely to hot up further.