Launched on 31st December 1999, Aaj Tak is India’s premium 24-hour Hindi news channel. With its offices in both Mumbai and New Delhi, Aaj Tak has evolved as one of the most watched news channels on television. It has a reach of more than 45 million viewers in India. Claiming to be the ‘sabse tez’ or fastest news channel, it enjoys a viewership of more than 45 million. It is a free to air channel in India and is being offered as a pay channel in the overseas market.

Aaj Tak is a part of India Today Group. In fact the India Today Group had been established in 1975. Presently it comprises 4 television channels, 13 magazines, a book club, 1 newspaper, 3 radio stations and is also involved in publishing books. India Today Group’s foray into the audiovisual media began in 1988 with Newstrack, a video news magazine that shook up the establishment. By 1995, TV Today Network had evolved to produce one of the most influential current affairs programmes, Aaj Tak. Aaj Tak had started out as a short, 20-minute news capsule segment in Doordarshan. The show enjoyed a strong nationwide popularity and viewership. It was only in the year 2000 that Aaj Tak was made into a full-fledged Hindi news channel because of its reach and popularity with an insight, courage and plenty of local flavor. Within six months of its launch, Aaj Tak emerged as India’s number one news channel.

Aaj Tak is spearheaded by Mr. Prabhu Chawla, the owner of the Today Group. Mr. Arun Puri is the CMD of the India Today group. In the diligent supervision of such personalities Aaj Tak has been successful in satisfying its viewers and winning the Best News Channel award for the past 8 years. Aaj Tak is proclaimed as the number one Hindi news channel in India because of its aggressive journalism and cutting edge reporting. It reaches to people in remote villages too, where this channel is hugely popular because of the channel’s India centric programming.

Programmes in this news channel vary from daily news, to crime news, entertainment as well as sports and politics. Programmes like Seedhi Baat, Vishesh, Mumbai Metro, Saas, Bahu Aur Betiyaan, Movie Masala, Aaja Hansle, Vardaat, Special Report, Tez Khabarein, and others are quite popular. News pertaining to national, international issues, sports, entertainment, lifestyle, business, etc are aired from time to time.

Whilst Seedhi Baat, aired on every Monday at 3.30 pm, is a chat show that is conducted by Prabhu Chawla himself; Movie Masala deals completely with the news and gossips of the Indian film industry. Saas, Bahu Aur Betiyaan, on the other hand, report about the happenings in the television world. Seedhi Baat remains the most popular even today. Beside Prabhu chawla, other news anchors at Aaj Tak are Avishar Sharma, Ritul Joshi, Shweta, Sameep Rajguru, Sonia singh, Ajay Kumar and others.

Aaj Tak has also found a place in the Limca Book of Records, the Indian equivalent of Guinness Book of World records. The news channel has been recognised for the receiving the highest number of SMS-s as responses to contests, poll, etc. with its cutting edge news and eye catching presentation, Aaj Tak tops the popularity list of Hindi news channel till day.