Rebranding of Star News set for June

The relaunch of Star News and its sister news channels in India will take place on 1 June, following the withdrawal of the News Corporation-owned Star brand from its joint venture with Media Content and Communications Services (MCCS).The Hindi channel Star News will become ABP News, the Bengali Star Ananda will be known as ABP Ananda, and Star Majha will transform into ABP Majha in Marathi. What MCCS calls "a massive communication campaign" will begin today (6 May) developed by advertising agency Lowe Mumbai with a media buying plan developed through Mindshare. "We would be over the next eight weeks aggressively communicating the change, using a combination of TV, print, radio, outdoor and Internet, to all our viewers and stakeholders about our new name and logo," said Ashok Venkatramani, chief executive, MCCS. "Our channels are managed by a fine bunch of professionals – editors, journalists, technicians who would continue to maintain the highest standards of ethical journalism. We also have a strong and professional set of people in sales, marketing and distribution who would continue to strive to ensure that value is delivered to our clients. Consistent with this fact, we have a simple communication theme – Our Stars don't change, our News does not change, only our name changes," added Venkatramani.