TV5 denies report on channel changing hands

[Anta Assamey]

Popular Telugu television channel TV5 on Sunday denied the report published in these columns that it is going to change hands shortly.

“We from TV5 would like to assert here that the article published on their platform is sham, ill-motivated, spurious and intended to undermine the reputation of TV5 Telugu News Channel and we further aver that there is not even a shred of truth in that impugned article,” a public notice issued by P V G Umesh Chandra on behalf of TV5 news channel, said.

Though the public notice has not mentioned the name of the web news and entertainment channel, the Greatandhra.com, which carried the report, would like to put the record straight in this regard.

The report was carried based on the information provided by our sources close to the TV5 channel. Since acquisitions and takeovers are quite common in the corporate and media worlds – which had happened even in the Telugu electronic media fields in the last couple of years, we believed our sources and carried the report.

We want to make it clear that there are no mala fide intentions in carrying the report as nowhere we made any derogatory or defamatory comments against the channel or its management, except that it is known for its pro-Telugu Desam Party stand.

We have absolutely no prejudice whatsoever in publishing the report against TV5 channel. We only wanted to tell our readers about the goings-on in the media world. If there is no such takeover deal, we have no hesitation to carry the denial. There is nothing defamatory against the channel in our report.