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Mon, 18th Feb 2008  A new 24x7 television channel, Topper, dedicated to education was launched on Sunday. The channel will focus on the Central Board of Secondary Examination (CBSE) curriculum for Classes IX-XII.
With test signals slated to begin on Monday, Topper would go on air from the middle of this week. Initially, it will be available free on direct-to-home platforms like Tata Sky and Dish TV.
Promoted by Greycells 18 Media Private Limited, Topper is a joint venture between Sunil Khanna, former chief executive officer, Dish TV, Sricharan Iyengar, former vice president and business head ESPN-Star Sports, Network 18 and Educomp.
Initially, the content at the secondary level (Classes IX-X) will include science and mathematics and at the senior level (Classes XI-XII) physics, chemistry and mathematics. The content will be accessible in different mediums like TV and the Internet. “A curriculum-based learning system, students can also take tests online — at www.topperlearning.com — after watching the lessons on television. The portal will also provide an expert panel help desk to students to get answers to their queries. The objective is to enable the student to do well in his exams,” said Khanna, one of its promoters, While Topper is not the only one to introduce educational programmes on TV, it, however, is the first to focus on the CBSE examinations.
Doordarshan’s Gyan Darshan and Vyas, both 24-hour education networks, were launched a couple of years ago but have low viewerships. Zed TV, the only attempt made by private players in the space, is no longer on air. Media analysts have given a thumbs up to the initiative to launch an educational TV channel.
“The education is such a booming sector today that launching a channel in the same will provide its promoters a strong foothold in it. This will particularly help Network 18 (which is one of the promoters) to complement the content of its other channels,” said Sanjay Salil, managing director of Mediaguru.  |
