Indian small screen programming commenced in the early 1980s and since then Indian television channels have grown in leaps and bounds. Initially it was only the Doordarshan, a national channel that served as the source of information and entertainment. However, with the introduction of satellite TV the scenario altered. Several TV channels came into existence and these were available in several Indian languages, such as, Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Kannada, Oriya, Telugu, Gujarati, Bhojpuri, Punjabi, Malayalam, Urdu, etc. These Indian TV channels broadcasted serials, news, sports and several other shows.

In the earlier times, the Ramayana and Mahabharata were the first major television series that were aired. These serials notched up the world record in viewer ship numbers for a single program. By late 1980s, more and more people began to own television sets. As there was a single channel, television programming had reached saturation. Hence the government introduced another channel, which partly had national programming and partly regional. This channel was termed as DD 2 later DD Metro. Both channels were broadcast terrestrially.

It was in 1992 that five new Indian TV Channels belonging to the Hong Kong based STAR TV gave Indians a fresh breath of life. MTV, Star Plus, BBC, Prime Sports and STAR Chinese Channel were the 5 Indian TV Channels in those days. In south India the first private channel to be introduced was the Sun TV. Today it is airs programmes in four different languages: Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam. On the other hand, Zee TV was the first private owned Indian channel to broadcast over cable. A few years later CNN, Discovery Channel, National Geographic Channel were another slot of Indian TV Channels that were started for the audience. Star expanded its bouquet introducing Indian TV Channels like Star World, Star Sports, ESPN and Star Gold. Regional Indian TV Channels flourished along with a multitude of Hindi channels and a few English channels. By 2001 HBO and History Channel were the other international channels that entered India. By 2001-2003, other international channels such as Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, VH1, Disney and Toon Disney became Indian TV Channels.

The year 2003 marked the boom of authentic news channels in India. Aastha TV is one of the most popular socio-spiritual-cultural television channel and world`s first 24x7 satellite television network broadcasting India`s rich heritage and currently reaches over 20 million households with viewer ship that exceeds 100 million. Aaj Tak is India`s number one news channel pioneered by TV Today Network Ltd. It is a 24-hour Hindi news television channel in India that has earned the tag line "Nation`s Best News Channel" due to its aggressive journalism and cutting edge reporting.

Star News India is the Hindi-language News channel of Star group India. The channel presents an amalgamation of rolling news bulletins and specialised shows covering topics from crime to Cricket. Cartoon Network India is arguably the most popular cartoon-dedicated television channel in India. It airs English and Hindi-dubbed versions of a variety of cartoons, including programmes featuring Tom and Jerry, Scooby-Doo and Popeye the Sailor. Channel [V] is an international music channel chain owned by STAR TV. They play both mainstream and alternative music, with some focus on local music.

Discovery Channel is a cable and satellite TV channel distributed by Discovery Communications that provides non-fiction programming focused on science, history and nature. ETV Network is one of the largest networks of satellite television channels in India and is owned by the popular media baron Ramoji Rao. Based at Hyderabad, the network runs a group of 12 regional language news and entertainment channels. HBO Asia is a franchise of HBO in Asia. It is a joint venture of media giants Viacom, Sony HBO Pictures Entertainment, Time Warner and Universal Studios.

Zee TV is one of the Indian TV Channels that is India-based satellite television channel and falls under the Zee Network umbrella. This channel carries broadcasts in Hindi and Urdu. Zee TV`s programming offers choices for all segments of audience, including primetime comedy and drama series, television movies, miniseries, theatrical films, specials, children`s programs, daytime dramas, game shows, and late night shows. Sony Entertainment Television (India) is one of Sony India`s popular Indian TV Channels that is based in Hindi language for general entertainment. The programming covers genres including dramas, reality shows, comedies, thrillers, Bollywood movies and events etc. Star Plus is one of the most widely viewed Indian TV Channels. Hindi language based, this general entertainment television channel is a part of the STAR TV networks and the programming primarily consists of family dramas, which mainly boast female protagonists and mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationships in joint families as their theme. Sahara One, Zoom, B4U, Star One are some more popular Indian TV Channels for entertainment.

Apart from these various new channels have been introduced to the Indian small screen, such as 9X Entertainment, UTV Movies, NDTV Imagine, NDTV Profit, Neo Sports, Star Anando, Star Jalsa, Star Pravah, Bhakti TV, Maa TV, IBN Lokmat, Star Majha, Colors, etc. Besides these several cartoon channels are now also available in regional languages, like Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and others. With passing time the faces of entertainment will alter; and with it new channels will be launched to keep the audience entertained.