Following is from a report in exchange4media.

Orissa is set to get a new 24-hour news channel soon. Naxatra News channel, promoted by Prabhat Ranjan Mallick who has several business interests in Orissa, is scheduled to go on air from July 4. This is Mallick’s first venture in the media space. The channel, which is headquartered in Bhubaneshwar, has already got its license from the I&B Ministry.

Naxatra News will air local, national and international news, with the focus being more on local news. The channel has tied up with Associated Press Television News (APTN) for its news content. Apart from news, there would be various infotainment-based programmes as well as talk shows and panel discussions on current issues.

Naxatra plans to set up a bureau in Delhi shortly and also has plans of opening bureaus in Kolkata, Mumbai and Bangalore in the near future. It has tied up with Lamhas, Mumbai, for teleport purpose.

Ashok Mohapatra has been appointed as Editor-in-Chief of Naxatra News. Mohapatra has had 16 years’ experience in print media and has worked with Sambad, the leading Oriya daily.

Currently, there are two Oriya channels operating in the state – OTV and ETV. Both are general entertainment channels.