Zee Media Corporation Ltd (ZMCL), Vedic Broadcasting and Disney Broadcasting India were awarded TV channel licences from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in September.
ZMCL received four licences in the names of 1 Chennai, 1 Mumbai, 1 Kolkata and 1 Delhi; whereas Baba Ramdev-owned Vedic Broadcasting got three licences --Aastha Tamil, Aastha Telugu and Aastha Kannada. Disney India received licence for one channel, UTV HD.
So far, the ministry has granted permission to 1,116 private satellite TV channels in India, out of which 247 permissions were later cancelled. Thus, the total number of private satellite TV channels having valid permission in India today stands at 869-- 386 news and 483 non-news channels.