Bharat Express

About Bharat Express

Bharat Express is a national Hindi-language 24-hour news channel headquartered in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. Launched on 1 February 2023, it is the media venture of veteran journalist Upendrra Rai, who serves as its chairman-cum-managing director and editor-in-chief. Positioned as a pan-India news broadcaster with carriage across all major direct-to-home and cable networks, the channel broadcasts from its Noida headquarters and presents itself as a purveyor of bold and direct journalism anchored in the ethos of "Satya, Sahas and Samarpan" — truth, courage and dedication. Its official website is bharatexpress.com.

History

The origins of Bharat Express lie in the October 2022 announcement by Upendrra Rai that he would commence his own media venture, the Bharat Express News Network, after his long association with the Sahara News Network where he had served as chief executive officer and editor-in-chief. Trade press reported the development in mid-October 2022, and over the following months the network built its editorial team, unveiled its signature tune on 20 January 2023, and prepared for a national launch. The channel went live on 1 February 2023, the date recorded by multiple industry publications and by the channel's own anniversary observances, which place its third-anniversary conclave in March 2026.

The launch was a high-profile affair. Media veteran Uday Shankar officially launched the channel at a ceremony held at the Hotel Andaz by Hyatt in New Delhi on 1 February 2023. The event was attended by senior political leaders, Bollywood personalities, sports icons and business figures, including Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur, Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Ministers of State Nityanand Rai and Sanjeev Balyan, former Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora, and poet Kumar Vishwas. Bollywood singer B Praak gave an impromptu performance at the ceremony. Shankar, who had known Rai for many years, said at the launch that he was assured Bharat Express would demonstrate paramount journalistic ethics in seeking and delivering news.

Ownership and Leadership

Bharat Express is the venture of Upendrra Rai, who is described in launch reporting as the channel's chairman-cum-managing director and editor-in-chief. Rai was formerly the chief executive officer and editor-in-chief of the Sahara News Network, one of India's older private news networks, and his move to start an independent venture was widely covered in the trade press in October 2022. Varun Kohli serves as the chief executive officer of the channel; at the time of the launch he said the launch had created significant anticipation among viewers and advertisers and that the channel aimed to be a leader in the news space with improved viewer engagement across its television and digital platforms.

Industry reporting on the network's later expansion plans has noted that Bharat Express has not publicly spelled out its full ownership structure or financing plan. A BestMediaInfo report on the channel's third-anniversary announcements observed that the ownership framework for integrating the revived Sahara television, print and digital assets with Bharat Express remained unclear, a caveat that has accompanied coverage of the network's growth ambitions.

Editorial Philosophy

At the launch ceremony, Upendrra Rai set out the channel's editorial creed. He said Bharat Express would reflect its core ethos of "Satya, Sahas and Samarpan" — truth, courage and dedication — in the pursuit of what he termed "bold and direct journalism". In interviews around the launch, he elaborated that the channel's focus would be more on news and less on views, a line that was reported by exchange4media in a launch-week interview and that positioned the newcomer as a news-led alternative in a genre dominated by opinion-driven prime-time formats.

Uday Shankar, in his remarks at the launch, framed the channel's journalistic promise in terms of ethics, expressing confidence that Bharat Express would demonstrate paramount journalistic ethics when seeking and delivering news. The emphasis on credibility was a recurring theme of the launch coverage, with the network presenting itself as equipped to deliver relevant news content to an evolving, discerning news viewer in a fast-changing market.

Programming and Shows

Bharat Express operates as a round-the-clock Hindi news service, carrying rolling news coverage through the day alongside branded programming. The channel unveiled its signature tune on 20 January 2023, shortly before going on air, signalling the start of its on-air branding. In the months after launch, the network built out its schedule with news bulletins, debate formats and special programming typical of the Hindi news genre, while holding to its stated preference for news over views.

The network's third-anniversary conclave, held in Delhi on 9 March 2026, underlined its editorial ambitions. Rai used the occasion to announce the planned revival of the Sahara News Network channels and the expansion of the Rashtriya Sahara newspaper, and spoke of building a stronger digital platform with an artificial-intelligence-led news grid, indicating that the channel's programming strategy is expected to extend beyond conventional television bulletins into AI-assisted news production.

Reach and Distribution

Bharat Express was launched with a pan-India presence and availability across all major direct-to-home and cable networks. At launch, trade reports listed its carriage on Tata Play at channel number 535, Dish TV at 671, d2h at 753, and Airtel Digital TV, alongside distribution through multi-system operators. The channel has described itself as having a pan-India presence across major DTH and cable platforms, a distribution footprint that placed it on the same national platforms as the established Hindi news networks from day one.

The network has also signalled further expansion of its broadcast footprint. At the March 2026 anniversary conclave, Rai said the combined network would eventually operate 13 news channel licences, a target tied to the planned restart of the Sahara channels. If realised, the expansion would substantially extend the network's distribution across regional markets in addition to its national Hindi feed.

Digital Presence

Bharat Express operates a digital news platform through its official website, bharatexpress.com, which carries the channel's live stream and news content alongside its television broadcast. The network has described its digital operation as a growing pillar of the business, and at the third-anniversary conclave Rai spoke of building a stronger digital platform with an AI-led news grid, signalling investment in technology-driven news delivery.

The channel's launch was itself a digitally amplified event, with coverage of the ceremony and its attendees carried widely across media trade publications and social platforms. The network maintains a presence on major social media platforms, using them to distribute clips, breaking news and programme highlights to audiences beyond its television reach.

Expansion and the Sahara Revival

In March 2026, at Bharat Express's third-anniversary conclave in Delhi, Upendrra Rai announced plans to restart the Sahara News Network channels and expand the Rashtriya Sahara newspaper, pitching the move as a major scale-up for Bharat Express. He said all Sahara news assets would be revived, that Rashtriya Sahara could return within a month, and that the combined network would eventually operate 13 channel licences, with the newspaper publishing initially from 20 cities and later expanding to 30.

The announcement gathered momentum in the months that followed. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting's Broadcast Seva portal showed updated names for the Sahara Samay channel licences held by Sahara India Commercial Corporation Limited under the news and current affairs category, including Sahara Samay Bihar/Jharkhand, Sahara Samay Madhya Pradesh/Chhattisgarh, Sahara Samay NCR/Haryana/Rajasthan/Punjab, Sahara Samay Uttar Pradesh/Uttarakhand and Samay Mumbai. Sahara's media materials describe Sahara Samay as a 24x7 national Hindi news channel, Aalami Sahara as a 24x7 Urdu news channel, five region-specific Hindi news channels, and Rashtriya Sahara as a Hindi daily with 34 editions and seven printing centres. Trade reporting has noted, however, that the ownership and funding details of the integration remained unclear.

Headquarters and Operations

Bharat Express is headquartered in Noida, in the National Capital Region of Delhi, where its broadcast centre, newsroom and studios are located. From Noida the channel manages its national news gathering, studio production and transmission operations, with reporters and bureaus contributing coverage from across the country. The Noida base places the channel in the same media corridor as several of India's other national news broadcasters, which have concentrated their operations in the city.

The channel's operations span television and digital, with the Noida facility serving as the hub for both. As the network pursues its stated expansion plans, including the Sahara asset revival and a larger digital platform, the headquarters is expected to anchor a broader news-gathering operation than the single national channel with which the venture began.

Position in the Hindi News Market

Bharat Express entered the Hindi news genre at a time of intense competition, with established players such as Aaj Tak, India TV, Zee News, ABP News, News18 India and TV9 Bharatvarsh commanding large audiences, and with newer entrants such as Bharat24 having launched only months earlier in August 2022. Its differentiation, as articulated by Rai at launch, rests on an emphasis on news over views and on the "Satya, Sahas and Samarpan" ethos, a positioning aimed at viewers seeking a more news-led offering.

The channel's trajectory since launch has been marked by its founder's profile — a veteran of the Sahara News Network who drew a high-profile launch audience — and by the ambition of its expansion plans, notably the proposed Sahara revival. Whether the planned 13-licence network materialises will determine whether Bharat Express remains a single national Hindi channel or becomes a multi-channel news network with a significant regional footprint.