Sakshi TV () is an Indian Telugu-language 24-hour news channel. It was launched on 1 March 2009, by Indira Television Ltd. owned by Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. It is currently run under the chairmanship of Y. S. Bharathi Reddy, wife of Jagan Mohan Reddy. The

media group A media conglomerate, media company, media group, or media institution is a company that owns numerous companies involved in mass media enterprises, such as music, television, radio, publishing, motion pictures, video games, amusement parks, or ...

also owns the Telugu daily newspaper, ''Sakshi''. The channel is widely regarded as a propaganda outlet for Jagan Mohan Reddy and his political party

YSR Congress Party The Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (, YSRCP or YCP), often shortened to simply the YSR Congress Party, is an Indian Regionalism (politics), regional political party based in the state of Andhra Pradesh. The party was initially registere ...

(YCP). It has been criticized for its biased coverage of the political rivals of Reddy and YCP. Sakshi TV has been found to be in breach of the News Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA) code of ethics on various occasions. On 20 January 2022, the

Ministry of Home Affairs An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the i ...

denied security clearance to the channel citing intelligence reports. , the channel is functional following a temporary stay it obtained from the Telangana High Court.

History

The channel started airing on 1 March 2009. It is promoted by Indira Television Ltd., with Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, son of then

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

Y. S. Rajashekhara Reddy, as the Chairman. According to a CBI chargesheet filed against Jagan Mohan Reddy, the investments in his media companies were

quid pro quo ''Quid pro quo'' (Latin: "something for something") is a Latin phrase used in English to mean an exchange of goods or services, in which one transfer is contingent upon the other; "a favor for a favor". Phrases with similar meanings include: " ...

bribes by those people who had benefited from their unfair deals with his father's government. The channel was initially named Indira Priyadarsini. According to Ramakrishna Reddy, the first Editor-in-Chief of the channel, it was renamed to cash in on the popularity of the ''Sakshi'' newspaper which was launched a year before the channel by Jagan Mohan Reddy. At its launch, the channel claimed to be the first

HDTV High-definition television (HDTV) describes a television or video system which provides a substantially higher image resolution than the previous generation of technologies. The term has been used since at least 1933; in more recent times, it ref ...

channel in the country. It was marketed as being primarily targeted at the youth. Of the nearly the

government of Andhra Pradesh The Government of Andhra Pradesh, abbreviated as GoAP, is the Administrative division, state government and the administrative body responsible for the governance of the States of India, Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Amaravati is the capital ...

spent on advertising in

electronic media Electronic media are media that use electronics or electromechanical means for the audience to access the content. This is in contrast to static media (mainly print media), which today are most often created digitally, but do not require ele ...

for the years 2009-12, Sakshi TV got advertisements worth over . This was attributed to the undue preferential treatment Sakshi TV and ''Sakshi'' newspaper received during the chief ministership of Rajasekhara Reddy. It is currently run under the chairmanship of Y. S. Bharathi Reddy, wife of Jagan Mohan Reddy. In January 2019, Sakshi Media Group appointed Vinay Maheshwari as its Executive Director and CEO. Maheshwari exited the company in March 2022. On 20 January 2022, the Indian

denied security clearance to Sakshi TV, along with a Malayalam channel MediaOne, based on intelligence inputs received from various

central government A central government is the government that is a controlling power over a unitary state. Another distinct but sovereign political entity is a federal government, which may have distinct powers at various levels of government, authorized or deleg ...

agencies. The channel had filed a

writ In common law, a writ is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court. Warrant (legal), Warrants, prerogative writs, subpoenas, and ''certiorari'' are commo ...

petition at Telangana High Court and, , it is surviving on a temporary stay until further hearing and another extension of the same on 8 August 2022.

Content

Sakshi TV broadcasts regional, national, and international news. It also has programmes on restaurant reviews, automobiles, cookery and entertainment.

Criticism

Sakshi TV is widely perceived as a propaganda outlet for Jagan Mohan Reddy. It has been criticized for its biased coverage of the political rivals of Reddy and his party

. The channel has been found to be in breach of the News Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA) code of ethics on various occasions.

Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy's death and conspiracy theory

In January 2010, Sakshi TV broadcast a

conspiracy theory A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * ...

by the American journalist Mark Ames in the Russian online tabloid ''

The eXile ''The eXile'' was a Moscow-based English-language biweekly free tabloid newspaper, aimed at the city's expatriate community, which combined outrageous, sometimes satirical, content with investigative reporting. In October 2006, co-editor Jake ...

'', on the death of Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, father of Jagan Mohan Reddy, in a helicopter crash on 2 September 2009. It alleged that Ambani brothers –

Mukesh Ambani Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani (born 19 April 1957) is an Indian billionaire and businessman who is the chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries. As of May 2025, he is the richest person in Asia and The World's Billionaires, 13th richest ...

and Anil Ambani – of Reliance Group orchestrated the death. TV5 channel broke the story while Sakshi TV and NTV relayed the report aired by TV5. The report led to massive attacks against the business establishments owned by the two Ambani brothers in Andhra Pradesh. On 8 January 2010, criminal cases were filed against Sakshi TV and NTV while two senior journalists of TV5 were arrested. Editors Guild of India asked the channels to desist from "irresponsible reporting" and condemned the reporting as sensational and against the principles of journalism.

References

External links