MUMBAI: The government has approved Rajat Sharma’s next 24-hour news channel, India TV Wiz. Sharma’s Independent News Service (INS) will soon be launching its news channel in Hindi and English.

Wiz is the first 24-hour news channel to be approved under UPA-II. Wiz will have a synergy with Sharma’s vision to connect with new-age audiences through his fast-emerging digital media business, India TV Interactive.

Sharma said, "Wiz will be up in six months, perhaps earlier in beta form. You will see a truly unique bouquet of content that will make it a nation-wide phenomena. Thanks to its ideator, Wiz will break the mould. It will give premium advertisers a bouquet of screens that support true marketing innovation, reaching their message to top-of-the-line-audiences across TAM cities and the next wave of conditional access markets. Wiz will be plugged on to new media and mobile platforms from Day One. Finally, Wiz will power a world-class partner for international news."

As for editorial leadership, Sharma said "one of the most live-wire and innovative editors" in the business will run Wiz on a hands-on basis. He however declined to name names.