MUMBAI: A new Tamil news channel is all set to debut in the state of Tamil Nadu. News7 is expected to launch on 19 October 2014. VV Group that is involved in the mining industry, is the backer of the channel.

Former Al Jazeera bureau head Nick Walshe has been got on board as the chairman of its editorial board. According to reports, Bhagwan Singh from Deccan Chronicle is also a part of the editorial board. Rajesh Sundaram is the editor and news head. The 24 hour news channel will enter the state that already has an abundant number of Tamil news channels.

It goes with the tagline ‘Global news channel for the Tamil diaspora’. The VV Group is into activities such as mining, cement, paints, oil and others.  The company under which the channel is listed is Alliance Broadcast. Advertisements from the channel, that was inaugurated earlier this month by AR Rahman, say that it will be the first Tamil news channel with a distinct Tamil perspective on world news.

Currently the channels that broadcast news in Tamil are Sun News, Seithigal, Puthiya Thalaimurai, Thanthi TV, Captain News, Lotus News and Sathiyam TV.

It is broadcasting from Intelsat 17.