Regional

Unravelling the regional riddle

Published

20 years ago

January 21, 2006

Time and again, Indian television‘s regional space has puzzled our national television players. National expansion through regional entry has always been pondered on, but the attempts to crack the space were met with mixed results.

Zee made its first move in the late 1990s by launching regional channels in Bangla, Marathi, Gujarati and Punjabi, and then came Zee Telugu in 2004. Except for Bangla and Telugu, Zee is doing well in the rest of the pockets. Star has its presence in Tamil (Vijay TV) and Bangla (Star Ananda) among which the former is having a tough run. Having exited from Hindi general entertainment with the sale of SAB TV to Sony Entertainment Television (SET) India, Sri Adhikari Brothers is planning a regional foray through Marathi. Sahara has always been vocal about its regional plans, but the action is yet to come.

Among the national lot, so far, Sony Entertainment Television (SET) remained inconclusive about its regional plans. However, SET India CEO Kunal Dasgupta broke the silence last week by revealing his big plan for 2006: regional forays through acquisitions. Two regional markets that have caught the SET India CEO‘s attention are Bengali and Telugu.

“The company is aggressively eyeing the general entertainment space in the Bengali and Telugu markets and the deals should materialise this year,” Dasgupta was quoted as telling a business daily. However, he is tight-lipped about the exact plans.

MARKET REALITIES – BANGLA & TELUGU

The Rs 1 billion Bengali regional television market doesn‘t look so inviting for a fresh player unless there are plans for a news channel. For example, out of the three new channels that went on air in the market in 2005, two belonged to the News genre. ABP-Star combine made its foray into Bengali market with Star Ananda and then Rathikant Basu‘s Tara Bangla split itself into two channels – Tara News and Tara Muzik (a musical entertainment channel).

However, if SET is going to make an entry into the regional market with a general entertainment channel, content would play an important part in driving the Bengali television business. With ETV Bangla having re-written the rules of content, competitors have been forced to follow suit. Sometime back, a Kolkata-based senior journalist told indiantelevision.com, “The way ETV has served up contemporary and well-packaged Bengali programmes, including news, is a case study in itself.”

By and large, Bengali viewership (primary target West Bengal and also neighbouring Bangladesh) is driven by news and current affairs. The Hyderabad-headquartered ETV, for instance, has dedicated 20 per cent of its programming to news on the Bengali channel.

“The best way to penetrate the Bangla market is by identifying a niche space. The general entertainment space is cluttered, thanks to the hold that Hindi GECs enjoys in the Bangla market, especially in Kolkata. Niche channels and unique positioning hold the key,” elaborates Essel Group VP Corporate & former Zee Bangla business head JK Ray.

More importantly, if an existing Bengali General Entertainment Channel (GEC) has to be bought out by SET as it did with the humour-centric Hindi-language SAB TV in 2005, what are the options? There are five Bengali GECs presently serving the market, ETV Bangla, Tara Music, Zee Bangla, Akash Bangla and DD Bangla, out of which very few look like selling out easily.

One unique feature Bangla television is its hold in the neighbouring markets. The Bengali audiences also comes from Tripura, part of Bihar, Orissa, Delhi, Assam and even neighbouring Bangladesh with the latter traditionally being a big market.

“The Bangla audience in Bangladesh is double than that of West Bengal. Bangladesh is certainly a lucrative market for us,” says Broadcast Worldwide promoter Ratikant Basu, who is presently setting up an ad sales office for his channels Tara News & Tara Muzik in Dhaka.

Now comes SET India‘s other proposed target: the Telugu-speaking market, primarily in South India. Every new regional wannabe player would want to make a start with Telugu as it offers the biggest chunk of revenues in the South Indian pack (approximately Rs. 3 billion in terms of ad revenues).

Even Subhash Chandra stood by this theory when he re-looked the Southern space which let him down during the first attempt in 2000 when he launched GEC Kaveri. The innings was resumed in the Telugu turf with GEC Zee Telugu. If the success mantra for the Bengali market is news, for its Telugu counterpart it is Movies. The Telugu market does require strong movie titles to really make a splash.

But that‘s easier said than done. Existing players in the Telugu market don‘t leave much for newer entrants by way of titles. While a bulk of movies released every year in Telugu language are snapped up by Sun Network for telecast on its two channels, Gemini and Teja, the remaining are gobbled up by ETV Telugu. After Gemini and ETV, the channel which is banking heavily on movies is Maa TV.

In the Telugu market, where acquiring a blockbuster could cost over Rs 10 million, the latest trend is to make a collection of new movies instead of going for old ones. And, this is an area Zee Telugu failed during its initial launch in 2004. The channel‘s collection of classics fared miserably in the ratings.

Having learnt its lessons, Zee Telugu fought with Sun and ETV to acquire about 10 new movies on its second coming. As per the re-positioning strategy, Zee Telugu is presently banking on youth-oriented programmes and dubbed Hindi/English movies to chug ahead. Events also hold a lot of potential in Telugu.

Trying to figure out SET‘s possible acquisition targets in Telugu is not an easy task too. However, one name that might up pop-up would be entertainment channel Maa TV. According to reliable sources, the channel had earlier engaged in buy-out talks with Sun Network.

THE REGIONAL HUDDLES

What makes it extremely difficult for any new entrant to crack any regional market in the current circumstances? The answer lies in the way the market has been shared between the existing players. We have one big player taking almost 50 per cent of the market and then competitors sharing the rest of the pie.

Down South, except for in Malayalam, the viewership shares that Kalanithi Maran‘s Sun Network channels command in their respective languages are obscenely high and that makes it virtually impossible for any new player to make a confident entry. Looking at the other regions, Marathi is controlled by ETV and Zee Marathi, ETV Bangla is dominant in West Bengal and ETC Punjabi and Zee Punjabi together rule the Punjab.

Entry into the potentially huge South Indian language market comes with its own distribution problems as well. The concept of free to air TV channels is slowly evaporating from the Telugu space, at least. Telugu news channel TV9 CEO V Ravi Prakash says, “Returns from advertising are going to get stagnant now. The stress will be on subscription revenues. I think encrypted channels will drive the market‘s growth in coming days.”

In that case, for any new entrant like SET that doesn‘t have a direct presence in cable distribution business, the initial task would be to get the distribution act right from the start. “For Zee Telugu, distribution is not much of a worry since we have Siti Cable present in Andhra Pradesh. This is one advantage we have,” states Ajay Kumar who spearheads Zee‘s South initiatives.

Another important factor is the diversity that regional markets offer. The strategy that worked in a market won‘t probably work even in the neighbouring market. Look at Zee‘s example. After Telugu, the network is presently looking at Kannada and the plan is to enter the market in the 2006 fiscal. However, the conscious decision is to work out a fresh strategy.

“Kannada is a complex market though it is the least cluttered down South. It is totally different from Telugu in terms of viewer habits and for the same reason, we won‘t be able to follow the same strategy we applied in Telugu,” points out Ajay Kumar.

STAR INDIA CAUTIOUS

No wonder Indian TV market leader Star India is ultra-cautious as regards scripting its regional expansion. The network is actively considering dubbing some popular Hindi shows in Bengali, Gujarati, Telugu, Kannada and Marathi languages for telecast on Star Utsav in the particular regions as special feeds. “This will give us an idea as to which show works in which language,” says Star India COO Samir Nair.

In Bangla, Star definitely enjoys the advantage in running a news channel in association with the West Bengal print major Ananda Bazar Patrika (ABP) Group. However, in Tamil, Star Vijay is yet to create waves. As Nair puts it, “Star Vijay is giving an average performance, not too bad and not too good also. We are not satisfied until and unless any of our channel becomes market leader in that respective market. That applies to Star Vijay also.”

Coming back to SET‘s case, Dasgupta obviously would need to keep in mind Star‘s cautious approach and the tough time that Zee Telugu is having in markets where existing players like Sun are not only well entrenched, but have the distribution muscle too to flex.

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Deepak CR joins BIG TV 24×7 as Chief Manager – Media Solutions

Published

1 month ago

February 2, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

Kerala: Deepak CR has switched channels and pace. The broadcast-industry hand has joined Big TV 24×7 as chief manager, media solutions, betting on sharper monetisation as regional television and digital video chase the next ad dollar.

The move caps a steady climb across ad sales, digital strategy and distribution. Deepak CR brings experience spanning OTT, product analytics and management, UX, web development and hosting, digital marketing, and television and digital ad sales, a toolkit built for a market where content is plentiful but revenue is fought for.

He arrives from Bharat Media & Entertainment Group, where as senior manager, business development he worked the ad market and client pipeline. Before that, at Reporter Broadcasting Company, he handled media solutions and ad sales, from client onboarding and pitch proposals to payment cycles and yield management, helping the channel hold share in a crowded territory.

The longest stint came at Flowers TV, nearly seven years in digital ad sales and time sales. There he chased new business, worked with agencies, built cross-platform media plans and ran display and video campaigns through Google Ad Manager. He also developed working knowledge of web hosting, SEO and digital marketing, increasingly useful as broadcasters blur into digital publishers.

Earlier, at WebMobi Network Solutions, he sold content delivery network services, managing client relationships and hunting fresh revenue in the streaming ecosystem.

The timing is telling. As broadcasters juggle linear TV, streaming and hybrid ad models, media solutions roles are becoming commercial nerve centres. Big TV 24×7 is signalling it wants a bigger slice of that pie.

New chair, same game. Find the clients, grow the yields and keep the ads flowing. In a market that never sits still, neither does Deepak CR.

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Brand house Bigg Boss Marathi Season 6 turns the spotlight on sponsors

Published

2 months ago

January 14, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: When the house fills up, so does the brand roster. Bigg Boss Marathi Season 6 has signed on nine leading sponsors, underlining the franchise’s pull as one of Maharashtra’s most influential entertainment properties across television and digital. The latest season once again positions the show as a magnet for brands looking to blend scale with cultural relevance in a market that rewards regional nuance.

The sponsor lineup is spread across multiple tiers. Danube Properties and Santoor Soap come on board as co-powered partners, while MYK Laticrete, Pitambari, P. N. Gadgil & Sons, Gemini Cooking Oil and Cotton King have joined as special partners. Society Tea and Tunwal E-Motors complete the lineup as associate sponsor.

For returning sponsors, the appeal lies in the show’s ability to deliver repeatable impact. Danube Properties, which previously partnered Bigg Boss 19, said the Marathi edition allows it to deepen engagement with regional audiences built on aspiration and trust. Santoor Soap echoed that view, pointing to strong recall and engagement from past integrations and highlighting the show’s value in reinforcing its progressive woman narrative within culturally rooted storytelling.

Other brands see the show as a platform that goes beyond visibility. MYK Laticrete described the association as a way to build trust through sustained presence, while Pitambari said the partnership coincides with the launch push for its Dishwash Gel, leveraging the show’s reach into everyday households. Jewellery major P. N. Gadgil & Sons returns for a second consecutive season, citing the programme’s cultural stature and the added appeal of host Riteish Deshmukh.

From kitchen staples to clothing and EVs, the diversity of categories reflects the show’s broad audience base. Gemini Cooking Oil called the partnership a natural alignment between two No.1 brands in Maharashtra, while Cotton King sees the association as a springboard to build recall and relevance. Society Tea continues its long-standing relationship with the franchise, and Tunwal E-Motors is using the platform to push its message of affordable electric mobility to mass audiences.

With Season 6 assembling a crowded sponsor house, Bigg Boss Marathi once again demonstrates why regional entertainment has become prime real estate for marketers. In a cluttered media landscape, the show’s mix of scale, loyalty and cultural currency continues to make it one of the safest bets on the brand board.

Danube Group founder & chairman Rizwan Sajan said, “After the overwhelming response to our association with Bigg Boss 19, we are delighted to extend our partnership to Bigg Boss Marathi. At Danube Properties, we believe in meeting our audience where they are, and this collaboration allows us to connect more deeply with regional audiences who share our values of aspiration, trust, and progress. This partnership reinforces our commitment to building meaningful relationships across cultures and communities.”

Wipro Santoor (Wipro Consumer Care) CMO Prasanna Rai said, “Santoor’s growth to become the largest soap brand in India, has been driven by deep consumer connections. High-impact regional programs like Bigg Boss Marathi allow us to build these bonds authentically with culturally rooted audiences in ways that broader national properties miss. Our integration last year delivered strong engagement and exceptional recall. We are excited to partner with Bigg Boss Marathi once again, continuing to weave Santoor’s progressive woman narrative into the show’s storytelling and further strengthening our presence in every Marathi household.”

MYK Laticrete president of sales & marketing Amarbir Palta said, “Bigg Boss Marathi offers a deeply regional and culturally rooted audience. Our partnership with this show goes beyond visibility, it’s about connecting with culture and building trust through sustained visibility. This association reinforces one clear promise: Any tile, any surface, MYK LATICRETE delivers unmatched excellence in tile adhesives.”

Pitambari Products Pvt. Ltd. DGM Priya Prabhudesai said, “We are proud to be associated with Bigg Boss Marathi, a platform that truly connects with millions of Indian homes. Through this association, we are launching Pitambari Dishwash Gel with the aim of reaching every household. With its unmatched reach and strong entertainment value, this collaboration allows us to engage with consumers in a fresh and impactful way.”

P. N. Gadgil & Sons Limited CFO & COO Aditya Modak said, “We are proud to associate with Bigg Boss Marathi Season 6 for the second consecutive year. The show commands a distinct cultural stature with a loyal following, and the presence of Riteish Deshmukh as host has further elevated its appeal and scale. This partnership enables us to engage meaningfully with a new generation of discerning audiences while reinforcing our legacy of trust across Maharashtra.”

Cargill Foods India senior director for GTM Retail Shailesh Khurana said, “Gemini has always been the first choice of Maharashtra’s kitchens. Partnering with Bigg Boss Marathi, the state’s most loved show, is a natural fit when two No.1 brands come together, it creates a winning story for millions of households.”

Cotton King Pvt. Ltd. managing director Koushik Marathe said, “Cotton King is proud to associate with Bigg Boss Marathi for the first time. The show offers a powerful platform to connect with millions of viewers and strengthen brand recall. We’re excited to drive visibility, relevance, and deeper consumer affinity through this partnership.”

Society Tea senior marketing manager Chandrashekhar Bhosle said, “Our association with Bigg Boss Marathi has been a strong and rewarding journey. With the show’s growing scale and engagement, we are confident Season 6 will deliver an even bigger impact for Society Tea.”

Tunwal E-Motors chairman and managing director Jhumarmal Tunwal said, “Tunwal E Motors Limited has always been committed to making sustainable and affordable electric mobility accessible to the masses. This association reflects our vision of driving Bharat towards a cleaner, smarter future by bringing reliable EV solutions closer to consumers across the country.”

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Celebrating World Hindi Day: Guess which country besides India officially speaks Hindi?

Published

2 months ago

January 10, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Every January 10, millions of Hindi speakers pause to celebrate a language that is far older than its official tags and far wider in reach than its South Asian origins might suggest. World Hindi Day honours the cultural legacy and expanding global presence of Hindi, a language that connects people across continents and generations.

The idea for World Hindi Day was born more than four decades ago at the first World Hindi Conference, held on January 10, 1975, in Nagpur, Maharashtra, with delegates from around 30 countries gathering to promote Hindi beyond India’s borders. Two decades later, in 2006, the Indian government formalised the observance, giving the language its own annual moment on the global calendar.

A language without borders
Hindi’s reach today is remarkable. Spoken by hundreds of millions, it ranks among the most spoken languages globally, trailing only behind Mandarin Chinese and English in sheer number of speakers. Estimates suggest that roughly 600 million people use Hindi in some form, whether as a first or additional language.

While India remains the heartland of Hindi, its influence stretches far beyond. Fiji stands out as a singular testament to the language’s overseas journey: in 1997, Hindi was enshrined as one of the island nation’s official languages, recognising the linguistic heritage of its Indo-Fijian community, whose ancestors carried Hindi dialects with them more than a century ago.

Across South Asia and beyond, Hindi resonates in everyday life. In Nepal, it is widely understood and spoken, especially in border regions; in countries such as Mauritius, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname and Guyana, it lives on through generations of diaspora communities, where Indian traditions remain woven into the cultural fabric. In the United States, the UK and Singapore, Hindi classrooms and community hubs reflect a growing appetite among younger generations to engage with the language of their forebears.

Roots in history, wings in culture
Back home, Hindi’s story predates modern nationhood. As a descendant of Sanskrit and a mosaic of dialects such as Awadhi, Bhojpuri and Khariboli, the language evolved and spread over centuries, absorbing influences and adapting to local cultures. Its script, Devanagari, is recognised for its phonetic clarity and literary heritage.

In India, Hindi was adopted as an official language under Article 343 of the Constitution in 1950, written in Devanagari, and today it serves as a major medium of communication, administration and education across much of northern and central India.

World Hindi Day celebrates these roots and the vast cultural landscape built upon them. It is marked by seminars, workshops, poetry recitals, youth contests and academic exchanges not only in India but in embassies, universities and cultural centres worldwide. The aim is simple but ambitious, to honour Hindi’s heritage while encouraging its use as a vehicle of global communication and intercultural dialogue.

A language in the digital age
Hindi’s rise has not been confined to temples, lecture halls and diasporic festivals. In the digital age, Hindi content has exploded across the internet, from social media to video platforms, blogs to online publications. Hindi is now one of the most visible languages on the web, with millions of users creating and consuming content daily.

This digital presence reinforces Hindi’s living nature, it is not a museum piece but a language that continues to grow and adapt. Whether in informal chat, academic discourse, cinema, television or social media, Hindi remains vibrant, expressive and deeply connected to the lives of its speakers.

More than words
World Hindi Day is not merely an ode to vocabulary or grammar. It is a celebration of identity, memory and community. For many, Hindi is a bridge between past and present, home and diaspora, tradition and innovation.

Across classrooms in India and cultural forums abroad, the message is the same: Hindi is not just a language of heritage, it is a dynamic force in contemporary culture and global conversation.

Hindi in popular culture and entertainment
Hindi’s influence extends far beyond classrooms and diaspora communities; it thrives in everyday entertainment and global pop culture. Daily soaps on Indian television have played a major role in spreading the language, not just in India but across the world. Many popular serials are dubbed into local languages or subtitled to reach international audiences, airing in countries such as Nepal, Mauritius, the UAE, the UK, the USA, and parts of Africa and Southeast Asia. Diaspora communities often tune in to these shows to stay connected with Indian culture, while local audiences are drawn to the stories, music, and traditions portrayed. These soaps bring Hindi into homes daily, reinforcing vocabulary, idioms, and cultural references, while shaping social conversations and entertainment habits. From family dramas to mythological epics, Hindi television has become a vibrant vehicle for both cultural preservation and global reach.

The language has also captured the attention of global celebrities and influencers. Stars like Nick Jonas have been spotted jamming to Hindi tracks, while other international musicians and social media personalities incorporate Hindi music into performances and content. This crossover into mainstream global entertainment highlights Hindi’s appeal as a vibrant, expressive language that resonates across cultures, making it not just a language of heritage, but a dynamic force in contemporary global culture.

On January 10 each year, as events unfold from Nagpur to Nairobi, from Suva to San Francisco, that force is recognised and celebrated. Hindi’s journey from village speech to global stage continues, nuanced, powerful and unmistakably human.

In nations such as Mauritius, Hindi enjoys cultural significance and is commonly spoken, but it is not listed as a constitutional language. Similarly, in Nepal, Hindi is widely understood and used, yet Nepali remains the official language. In Suriname, the Indian-origin community predominantly speaks Sarnami Hindustani, a variant of Hindi. Other countries, including Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, South Africa, the UAE, the USA and the UK, also have sizable Hindi-speaking populations, and in some cases, Hindi is recognized in limited contexts, such as court proceedings in Abu Dhabi, but it does not hold national official status.