Television Genres

Published by Emil Abraham,



Television has become an integral part of our daily lives, offering a vast array of genres and channels that cater to diverse audiences. From news and sports to entertainment and lifestyle, television genres span a wide spectrum of content that caters to various interests, preferences, and cultural contexts.

Globally, television genres have evolved to cater to the specific tastes and demands of viewers across different regions and cultures. From the gripping dramas of North American primetime television to the visually stunning world of Japanese anime, each region has developed its distinct television genres that reflect the cultural nuances and storytelling traditions of that particular society. The global television landscape encompasses genres such as news, sports, drama, reality TV, comedy, documentaries, and more, each offering unique experiences and engaging narratives.
In India, the television industry has witnessed a remarkable growth in recent decades, leading to the emergence of a diverse range of channels that cater to the country's diverse population. Indian television genres are deeply rooted in the country's rich cultural heritage, incorporating elements of drama, music, dance, and mythology. From family-centric dramas like "saas-bahu" serials to reality shows showcasing singing, dancing, and cooking talents, Indian television offers a blend of entertainment, social messaging, and cultural reflection.
Different categories of television channels

News Channels
What comes to your mind when you see the word news? If we were to answer this question 10-15 years back, we may have said that news bulletins are telecast at night. But today, the answer would be news channels showing news round the clock.
Initially news on television meant a bulletin of half an hour or one hour usually telecast at the prime time comprising the top stories of the day. But today the meaning and definition of news has changed considerably. There are various programmes, various formats and a number of ways in which the news is being broadcast.
News may be defined as something that is new or information about recent events or latest happenings, especially as reported by newspapers, periodicals, radio, or television. But news has today come to mean much more. Just a little over a decade ago, only one television channel used to give us news and current affairs - that is, the sober old Doordarshan.
With a population of over 1.3 billion people, India has a varied audience with distinct regional, linguistic, and cultural preferences. News channels in India cater to this diverse demographic by offering content in various languages and targeting specific regions.

At present, we have more than half a dozen news channels in Hindi. Some of them are Aaj Tak, Zee News, NDTV India, Republic TV and Time Now. There are English news channels which include NDTV24x7, CNBC-TV18, Times Now and Headlines Today. In addition there are channels in all other major languages, including Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, Oriya and Urdu.
Popular news channels include:

  • Doordarshan News (DD News): Doordarshan News, also known as DD News, is the national public broadcaster of India. It provides news coverage in multiple languages and is known for its unbiased reporting of national and international news. DD News covers a wide range of topics, including politics, economy, sports, and entertainment.
  • NDTV (New Delhi Television Limited): NDTV is one of the prominent private news channels in India. It offers comprehensive news coverage with a focus on politics, current affairs, business, and entertainment. NDTV is known for its journalistic integrity and has a reputation for providing in-depth analysis and balanced reporting.
  • Republic TV: Republic TV is a private news channel known for its outspoken and opinionated style of reporting. It covers a wide range of news topics, including politics, crime, and current affairs. Republic TV often presents a nationalist perspective in its coverage and features high-decibel debates on various issues.
  • India Today TV: India Today TV is a leading news channel that provides extensive coverage of national and international news. It offers a diverse range of programming, including news bulletins, panel discussions, and special reports. India Today TV covers politics, business, sports, entertainment, and lifestyle-related news.
  • Times Now: Times Now is a popular English news channel in India. It delivers 24x7 news coverage, focusing on current affairs, politics, and breaking news. Times Now is known for its aggressive and impactful journalism and features engaging debates and interviews with prominent personalities.
  • CNN-News18: CNN-News18, formerly known as CNN-IBN, is an English news channel in India. It is a collaboration between CNN and Network18, providing comprehensive news coverage, analysis, and insights. CNN-News18 covers a wide range of topics, including politics, business, sports, and entertainment, with an emphasis on quality journalism.
  • Aaj Tak: Aaj Tak is a Hindi news channel that offers round-the-clock news coverage in Hindi. It focuses on breaking news, politics, business, and entertainment. Aaj Tak is known for its fast-paced reporting and has a large viewership base in India.
  • Zee News: Zee News is a popular Hindi news channel that provides comprehensive news coverage, analysis, and discussions. It covers a wide range of topics, including politics, economy, sports, and entertainment. Zee News is known for its prime-time shows that present diverse viewpoints on current issues.

Sports Channels
Apart from news channels, another important category of television channels are sports channels. Sports channels are television specialty channels that broadcast sporting events like ICC Cricket World Cup, FIFA World Cup, or Twenty-20 World cup - usually live, and when not broadcasting live events, they offer sports news and other related programmes.
There are some channels that focus on only one sport, in particular or one specific region of a country, showing only their local team’s games. These channels have greatly improved the availability of sports broadcasts, generating opportunities, such as the option to see every single sport our team plays in any part of the world.
The concept of sports channels is also not that old. Earlier, you might even remember that in India many serials were not telecast at their routine timings because the cricket match was to be shown live. Today this is surely not the case. We now have exclusive sports channels which telecast live sports events thereby not hampering the schedule of other popular fiction and entertainment programmes available on other channels. What to watch is definitely the viewers’ choice always. The first sports channel in the world is considered to be ESPN (Entertainment and Sports Programming Network), which was launched on September 7, 1979.
Popular sports channels include:
  • Star Sports: Star Sports is one of the leading sports channels in India and offers a wide range of sports coverage. It provides live telecasts, highlights, analysis, and expert commentary on cricket, football, kabaddi, badminton, tennis, hockey, and other popular sports. Star Sports operates multiple channels, including Star Sports 1, Star Sports 2, Star Sports Select, and regional language channels like Star Sports Hindi and Star Sports Tamil.
  • Sony Ten: Sony Ten, formerly known as Ten Sports, is another prominent sports channel in India. It covers various sports, including cricket, football, tennis, wrestling, MMA, basketball, and more. Sony Ten provides live broadcasts of international cricket matches, popular football leagues like the UEFA Champions League, and other major sporting events.
  • ESPN: ESPN is a well-known sports channel that has a presence in India through its localized version. It offers coverage of a wide range of sports, including cricket, football, tennis, basketball, Formula 1, and more. ESPN provides live broadcasts, expert analysis, and sports-related programming to cater to the interests of sports enthusiasts.
  • DSPORT: DSPORT is a relatively newer sports channel in India but has gained popularity quickly. It focuses on providing coverage of various sports, including cricket, football, motorsports, wrestling, golf, and more. DSPORT features live matches, tournaments, and special programming related to sports events from around the world.
  • Neo Sports: Neo Sports is a sports channel that primarily focuses on cricket and other popular sports. It has broadcast rights for various cricket tournaments and provides coverage of domestic and international cricket matches. Neo Sports also offers programming related to football, golf, and other sports.
  • DD Sports: DD Sports, operated by Doordarshan, is a free-to-air sports channel in India. It covers a wide range of sports, including cricket, football, hockey, athletics, and more. DD Sports provides live telecasts of sporting events, highlights, and analysis, with a particular emphasis on promoting and supporting Indian athletes.

Cartoon Channels
The most popular category of television channels among kids are the cartoon channels. Cartoon Network India is the most popular cartoon-dedicated television channel in India. It airs English, Tamil and Hindi-dubbed versions of a variety of cartoons, including traditional Cartoon Network programmes featuring Tom and Jerry, Scooby-Doo and Popeye the Sailor.
Programmes also include the superhero series including Superman: The Animated Series, Batman: The Animated Series and Justice League Unlimited, Pokémon, Beyblade, Xiaolin Showdown, Digimon, Duel Masters, Transformers: The Unicron Trilogy and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Cartoon Network has also aired a few Indian-made cartoons, featuring ‘Akbar and Birbal’, ‘Tenali Raman’, ‘Sindbad’, ‘Ramayan’, ‘Mahabharata’ and ‘Vikram and Betal’.

Entertainment and Lifestyle Channels
Have you ever seen the coloured supplement that comes along with your newspaper? It has stories related to films, actors, home decors and other entertainment related items. In television also there are channels dedicated to subjects such as home, garden, kitchen and family. These are called lifestyle channels and they offer a variety of programmes catering to various lifestyle conditions and patterns. Stylised anchors, well decorated and lit up sets, mesmerising locations and a cool attitude is how these channels can be best described. To know what your favourite celebrity likes or dislikes, you may watch the lifestyle channel. Zoom and Discovery’s Travel and Living are some of the lifestyle channels.
  • TLC – earlier known as Discovery Travel & Living - It focuses on lifestyle programmes, with topics such health, cooking and travel. The channel launched in October 2004 and was the first international channel launched under the "Discovery Travel & Living" name.
  • FYI TV18 - a lifestyle-based network owned by a joint venture between A+E Networks and TV18.
  • Living Foodzis an international, 24-hour food and lifestyle television channel based in Mumbai, India. It is a part of the Living Entertainment brand of channels, which is owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises.
  • FOX Life - a cable and satellite channel owned by Star India. The channel was previously known as Fox History & Entertainment and was renamed FOX History & Traveller in May 2011 further as Fox Traveller in October 2011 and further renamed Fox Life on 15 June 2014.

Educational television channels
Educational television channels serve as a valuable medium for disseminating educational content, supplementing traditional classroom learning, and providing opportunities for self-paced learning. They cater to learners of all ages, from young children in their formative years to adults seeking to acquire new skills or enhance their knowledge in specific domains.
In India, educational television channels have played a vital role in extending access to quality education and promoting lifelong learning. These channels leverage the power of television to deliver educational content to a wide audience, transcending geographic and socio-economic barriers.
  • Gyan Darshan: Gyan Darshan, a dedicated educational television channel in India, is operated by the Consortium for Educational Communication (CEC). It offers content related to higher education, including lectures, documentaries, and educational programs in disciplines such as science, humanities, social sciences, and more.
  • NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training) Channel: NCERT Channel is an initiative by the Government of India that provides educational content based on the curriculum developed by NCERT. The channel aims to support school education by offering lectures, lessons, and supplementary resources to enhance learning outcomes for students.
  • KITE Victers: KITE Victers (Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education) is an educational channel launched by the government of Kerala. It provides educational programs for students from classes 1 to 12, covering various subjects such as mathematics, science, social science, languages, and more. KITE Victers offers live interactive sessions, pre-recorded video lessons, and educational resources to support learning in schools and facilitate distance education.
  • EduSat: EduSat is an innovative educational initiative in Kerala that utilizes satellite technology for disseminating educational content. It enables live interaction between teachers and students through video conferencing and facilitates virtual classrooms, lectures, and educational programs across schools and colleges in the state. EduSat enhances access to quality education, especially in remote areas of Kerala.

Infotainment channels
Just like sports channels offer a variety of programmes related to sports, science channels feature only science-related television shows. Each day has specialised blocks that cover certain topics such as weather, technology and space.
If you want to lean about dinosaurs, snakes, tigers, waterfalls, nature, scientific inventions and discoveries, science channels like National Geographic and Discovery are a must for you.
  • National Geographic is an American pay television network and flagship channel that is owned by National Geographic Partners, a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and the National Geographic Society, with the operational management handled by Walt Disney Television.
  • Discovery Channel is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by Discovery, Inc., a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav.Also owns Animal Planet, TLC, Science Channel, etc.
  • History TV18: History TV18 focuses on historical events, archaeology, and cultural heritage. It offers a glimpse into the past through engaging storytelling, expert analysis, and captivating visuals. Viewers can gain insights into various civilizations, key historical figures, and significant events that have shaped the world.

Business channels
A business channel is distinct from other types of television channels due to its primary focus on providing news, analysis, and insights related to business, finance, and the economy. Here are some key characteristics that make a channel a business channel:
  • Comprehensive coverage of business and financial news.
  • Market analysis and expert commentary on financial markets.
  • Interviews and discussions with industry experts.
  • Specialized programs focusing on specific business sectors.
  • Display of live tickers with real-time market data.
  • Production of business documentaries and features

India has a vibrant and dynamic business media landscape, with several dedicated television channels providing news, analysis, and insights on business, finance, and the economy. These channels play a crucial role in disseminating information, facilitating discussions, and keeping viewers updated on the latest developments in the business world.
Here is a brief overview of some prominent business television channels in India:

  • CNBC-TV18: CNBC-TV18 is one of the leading business news channels in India. It covers a wide range of topics, including stock markets, corporate news, policy updates, and interviews with industry experts. The channel offers a mix of live market updates, debates, and special programs focused on sectors such as banking, technology, and real estate.
  • ET Now: ET Now, part of the Times Network, is another prominent business news channel. It provides comprehensive coverage of financial markets, economy-related news, corporate events, and expert analysis. ET Now also features shows on personal finance, startups, and entrepreneurship.
  • NDTV Profit/Prime: NDTV Profit (now rebranded as NDTV Prime) is a business news channel operated by NDTV. It covers a wide range of topics, including stock markets, corporate news, economic developments, and policy decisions. NDTV Prime offers a mix of live market updates, debates, and exclusive interviews with industry leaders.
  • BloombergQuint: BloombergQuint is a joint venture between Bloomberg LP and Quintillion Media. It offers business and financial news, market analysis, and insights from a global perspective. BloombergQuint features programs covering topics such as stocks, commodities, personal finance, and macroeconomic trends.
  • Zee Business: Zee Business, part of the Zee Media Corporation, is a business news channel known for its extensive market coverage and expert analysis. It provides updates on stocks, commodities, mutual funds, and business events. Zee Business also offers shows focusing on entrepreneurship, business strategies, and personal finance.

General entertainment channel
A general entertainment channel is a television or radio channel that offers a wide range of programs and program genres to a diverse general public. The target audience of a general entertainment channel is not confined to a particular set of people, but instead aims to offer a wide range of programs to a diverse general public. General entertainment channels focus on general entertainment, including news programming, movies, TV shows, music, and other forms of entertainment.