The private channels televise through the state dominant languages. The private regional channels are neither completely entertainment channel nor exclusively news channel. If one thinks about it, they are actually following the path of Doordarshan. Rising advertising revenues and increasing numbers of viewers have provided the drive for many big players to enter into the business. Some regional media leaders like ETV, Sun TV, Asianet have a strong grip over the regional market.

Zee television has three regional channels; Zee Marathi, Zee Punjabi and Zee Bangla. Star Network entered into Tamilnadu by launching Star Vijay, one of the most popular entertainment channels in India broadcasting in Tamil. Besides that ETV Network is a part of the well-established Ramoji Group, has created 12 dedicated infotainment regional channels. ETV network is the source of rich entertainment of eight different languages. Those are: Telugu, Bangla, Marathi, Kannada, Oriya, Gujarati, Urdu; and Hindi to viewers in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.

Every ETV Network channel focuses exclusively on its audience`s unique cultural identity, its aspirations and its distinct socio-political character. Sahara India Pariwar is proud to have five news channels as the bouquet of Sahara Samay. These channels are: Sahara Samay NCR, Sahara Samay Mumbai, Sahara Samay Bihar & Jharkhand, Sahara Samay Madhya Pradesh & Chattisgarh, and Sahara Samay Uttar Pradesh & Uttranchal. Sahara Samay has already managed to gain a loyal audience in India through a bouquet of National & Regional News Channels since its launch.

OTV Oriya
OTV was the first private TV channel in Orissa. It was launched in the year 1997 in the twin cities of Bhubaneshwar and Cuttack. The purpose of OTV was to give latest infotainment to its viewers. OTV is a division of Ortel communications Ltd., and is telecast through the SkyView Home Cable - a cable television provider in the twin cities of Bhubaneshwar/Cuttack and also in other towns like Paradip, Rourkela and Puri. The USP of OTV is a strong local coverage, in-depth analysis of unfolding events and live telecast from Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.

OTV still has a long way to go before becoming a 24-hour channel. Starting from thrice a weekly programme, it now telecasts a daily news bulletin Pratidin that has become quite popular. It recently launched the entertainment sub brand "OTV Chamatkar," which focuses only on entertainment content and showcases local talent and artists. The entertainment channel would be distributed in 15 major towns by beginning of next year. "OTV will now singularly focus on the news content, current affairs, panel discussions and debate. The channel is likely to go satellite by beginning of next year.

ETV/ Eenadu TV
Orissa`s cable penetration is very low compare to other states, but according to the last census, the State has had the biggest jump of nearly 65 % in both rural and urban areas. Which is precisely why more local commercial and satellite channels are expected to enter the fray and existing channels are planning to expand their reach and enhance the quality of programmes.

ETV is the Oriya channel of the National Network. It was launched during January 2002 and has been gradually gaining popularity in the State. This channel has been reaching 36-lakh populations in Orissa as per NRS 2003 from 17.30 hours time band to 19.30 hours time band and has also been gaining better reach and ratings. ETV claims to be beamed across 40 countries around the world. Available in almost all districts of Orissa, the channel is providing low cost DSR (digital satellite receivers) to the viewers to watch ETV Oriya. ETV Oriya provides a variety of entertainment and news-based programmes. Though the programmes telecast by ETV Oriya are perceptibly better in terms of content and quality than other local channels, some of them are either rehashes, or dubbed versions of popular Bengali and South Indian serials.

However, critics say that Orissa still has to go a long way in terms of developing superior techniques and quality of production. Lack of hi tech infrastructure, better professionals and limited scope for revenue generation are some of the reasons stated. Due to this channels like ETV Oriya are not selling the channel, but projecting Orissa as a big market to top brands around the country.