One week after the transition to a 24-hours Hindi news channel, STAR News claims to have doubled viewing share. (Source: TAM, all India C&S 4+)

In Hindi-speaking markets, the share was up by 130 per cent, in Uttar Pradesh by 190 per cent and in Maharashtra (including Mumbai) by 112 per cent, according to a company release. Even in south India, the share was up by 62 per cent. (Source: TAM, all India C&S 4+)

On March 31, STAR was relaunched with new positioning and revamped content. It shifted from being an English news channel with outsourced content to being a 24-hours Hindi news channel, with the content produced entirely in-house. The channel has a new team of anchors and reporters and 21 bureaus across the country.

###DQ###March 31 has proved to be a turning point for STAR News. Our first week###SQ###s ratings are a clear vindication of our strategy. Changing to Hindi, the language of the people, and to news that is relevant to Indians has proven effective for us,###DQ### said Ravina Raj Kohli, president of STAR News.