MUMBAI: DTH service providers have been providing spiritual services to their subscribers for quite some time now. As have cable operators and MSOs who switch on coverage of local poojas during religious festivals and periods.

Now here is national cable TV MSO Hathway Cable & Datacom that is all set to launch a spiritual channel come1 September during the festival of Lord Ganesh which is predominantly celebrated in Maharashtra.

Called Divine, it is to be available on channel 47 on its cable TV network nationally.

Divine will to operate throughout the year and will be focused on broadcasting live events around religious festivals and on licensed content. Hathway has a bank of licensed spiritual content, which will form the major programming content post-Ganpati Utsav.

"We have no restrictions on the kind of programmes we will telecast tomorrow ourselves. We intend to bring to viewers fine spiritual content," says Hathway Cable & Datacom general manager- marketing & communications Akhil Rampal.

Divine is launching around Ganpati Utsav, therefore initially it will have round the clock live coverage of pandals from Mumbai and outside. Live aartis and darshans are going to be part of the programming strategy.

"We are attempting to re-brand spiritual content and innovate on how it conventionally is delivered to viewers," adds Rampal.

Though not many advertisers have yet signed on to advertise on the channel, at the time of writing, the idea is to reach out to the community of regional local advertisers which are already on the cable TV network.

Hathway will be rolling out a campaign to push the channel around its launch. It hopes many viewers will tune in to listen to the shouts of Ganpati Bappa Morya.

It's over to the elephant God to oblige.