ill about two years ago, the three big Hindi GECs (general entertainment channels) - ZEE, STAR and SET - battled for viewers' eyes. That space is getting crowded. With STAR One, Sony-SAB, and Sahara, there are six players now. By the end of this year, the country could have as many as 12, if their plans work out.

Last year, NDTV, which had stuck to the news genre, announced its foray into Hindi entertainment. Later this year, ZEE TV is scheduled to launch its second channel, ZEE Next, in the same genre. The announcement of ZEE was closely followed by Hungama TV, which announced the launch of its new channel Bindaas, targeting the 'youth'. The channel is scheduled to go on air before July this year. There are rumours that Peter Mukherjea, who just quit STAR, is coming up with an entertainment channel - either with or without a major industrial house as partner. ... more