News First, Karnataka’s much awaited Kannada News Channel, didn’t disappoint on launch day.
The channel chose to live up to its tagline of Pratikshana Nimmondhege, Every Moment with You, with a sting operation that showed the
rampant spread of drug usage amongst children and youth alike, in government and private schools.
While most Kannada channels are going to town with an overdose of sandalwood linked drug stories, News First decided to go the societal benefit route.
The hard hitting story showed the modus operandi of drug peddlers luring and addicting vulnerable children between class 5 and 12.
The opposition too saw reason and made sure it was a talking point in the monsoon session of the Karnataka assembly, which started a day after the channel’s launch.
KPCC president DK Shivakumar applauded News First for starting off with a socially relevant story of dire importance. Senior Congress Leader Dr Parameshwar promised to make it a subject of discussion in the assembly.
JDS Leader Basavaraj Horatti lived up to his on air promise of raking up the children drug abuse story in the assembly.
Quoting News First, Horatti spoke at length about the story and need for the state government to act fast.
The government took cognisance off the issue and promised to initiate work in the direction in two days.
News First seems to be making all the right noises from the word go.
Trade too seems to be showing keen interest despite the trying times.
For a news channel launched in a crowded market place, day 1 showed sufficient promise with a tidy line up of commercials.
The men behind the venture, Ravikumar and Maruthi - formers execs of TV9 Kannada, and their team have contributed to increased interest in the News First.
Armed with an experienced team, sophisticated setup and quality focus, News First is keen to shake up the Kannada News TV market.
By the looks of it, the channel’s campaign “The Team that built Karnataka’s No. 1 News Channel, takes fresh aim” appears to have hit target.
Well begun, isn’t exactly a battle half won in this case.
But everybody loves a good start, at the cost of a wake up call !
