ITV

Category: Television

  • ‘I never lose sight of topline, bottomline growth’ : Subhash Chandra – Zee Telefilms Chairman ( Gave the interview to Awaaz )

    ‘I never lose sight of topline, bottomline growth’ : Subhash Chandra – Zee Telefilms Chairman ( Gave the interview to Awaaz )

    It’s been a long haul back on the upward curve for Subhash Chandra’s Zee Telefilms but things are certainly moving north for his network (including the Zee scrip which is currently quoting at Rs 250). With flagship channel Zee TV firmly ensconced in the number two slot in the Hindi entertainment stakes, Chandra’s has a lot to say on the heightened action in the media and entertainment.

    Given below is an interview the media baron gave to Sanjay Pugalia, editor of CNBC TV 18’s Hindi news channel sibling Awaaz, which aired on 17 March. Indiantelevision.com has excerpted it with due permission:

    There is a perception about you that you start something and then forget about it. You move on and start a new project. Whatever you do is known for its novelty. There are reports that you are planning a mega entertainment city. We want to know more about that.
    Our newspaper friends broke the news before time. Still I will say that we are planning an entertainment, health and sports SEZ. Several SEZs have been planned in the country but none in the field of entertainment, health and sports. I clearly see an opportunity in these areas. As you know getting treatment is very costly abroad. Several insurance companies are thriving on this. I have heard insurance companies abroad asking its customers to go to India and get themselves treated. They are even willing pay for airline ticket. Such is the cost advantage in India.
    Similarly, so many people in Hollywood are interested in shooting their films in India. But the process is so complicated. They need 70-80 clearances to shoot their films here. With such SEZ in place, they can come and shoot their films without any hassle.

    How hopeful are you of getting clearance and tax concessions for such SEZ?
    We had applied for it when the SEZ policy was being formulated. We have been planning such a venture for almost five years now. This is not an overnight affair. I am not asking for any extra favour. We are hopeful of getting what is due.

    What is the kind of investment do you see and when do you expect to complete the project?
    What we will do is to build the infrastructure so that others can come and make use of that. We have some land and have asked for some more from the Maharashtra government.
    After such hard work, Zee Telefilms has finally become number number two. When you look back what do you think went wrong?
    Let me correct you. Zee Telefilms has always been number one. It is Zee TV that had slipped. Now Zee TV has reached number two position. However, with the kind of effort that has been put in now I am confident that it will soon regain number one position.

    Suddenly we see Zee stepping up its expenditure on marketing, new shows and new channels. What will be its impact on the revenue side of the company?
    Once you slip you need to put that extra bit to regain the top slot. We are doing exactly that. But this is an investment which will pay rich dividends. As far as new channels are concerned, I am of the opinion that entertainment space is going to expand further and you need to be present in all the segments. While existing players can afford that, it is going to be pretty tough for the new players.

    One of the criticisms against you has been that you spread yourself too thin. That you lose focus. That you are present everywhere even if that means some compromise on quality. Can you recall how many channels the group has at the moment?
    Yes I can. There are nearly 25 channels. I don’t need to personally focus on all the channels. There are good people in our group. Four of my brothers and five people from the next generation are involved with various projects. Then there are capable people who are almost like my family. They are capable enough to handle things on their own. At the level of perception, though, we are seen to be compromising with quality. But that is only at the level of perception. I am confident that this will also change soon.

    What are you focusing on currently? There’s the sports channel about which there is a view that it will take some time before making its presence felt as it didn’t get cricket telecast rights?
    Those who follow the beaten track think that sports channel cannot survive without cricket. I am not one of those. It is a different matter that we could have got a head start if we had cricket. But there are other areas to be explored. India is a cricketing nation. I want it to be a sporting nation. We have got telecast rights for football for ten years. In association with the Indian Football Federation we want to establish many football clubs across the country. I believe that in the next five years, football will be bigger than cricket in the country. As per my own focus, I look after the sports channel and with my colleagues I look after the launch of new channels in South India.

    As you said you are focusing on sports and regional channels. What are the other new initiatives?
    We are doing so many things in the existing ventures. As per new initiatives, we have just launched channels in Indonesia and Malaysia. What we are doing is dubbing Indian content in their local languages. Soon we are going to launch a similar channel in Afghanistan. Efforts are on to dub Indian content in four foreign languages. This will be over and above what we have been doing so far. Zee network is already present in 120-125 countries.

    There are reports that you are planning a channel with international content. Maybe a news channel?
    Now you are forcing me to say things. It is true that we are planning a channel for more than two years. The work on content has already begun and I can assure you that it will be quite unique. Now I will tell you why we slipped. As long as we tried out new and innovative ideas we had no competitor. We launched a show on extra-marital affair theme way back in 1994-95. The launch of Sa Ra Ga Ma was equally unique. We slipped because we started imitating others. Now this is going to change. We have started doing new things. We have realized that the spirit of entrepreneurship is quite strong among Indians. So many people want to do things on their own. To catch that spirit we have planned a new show called Business Bazigar. The contest is open to all. We invite ideas, scrutinize them and if they are worthwhile, arrange for funding.
    Maybe this programme is a reflection of your business journey. Will you please elaborate on this? How will it help people with ideas?
    We invite entries. So far we have received 1.2 lakh (120,000) entries. Our experts scrutinize those ideas. If they feel that ideas are good we invite people to explain their plan. When we realize that they have a sound plan to execute their ideas we make them go through difficult tasks like setting up office in four hours, surviving in Mumbai on a rupee and a glass of bottle for 24 hours. Once through this also, we arrange for funding those projects. It could be five lakhs or ten crore rupees (Rs 100 million). We arrange funds.
    From a shareholders’ perspective, when they see you going for so much investment they often wonder what will be the value of their investment?
    I never lose sight of topline, bottomline growth. As long as topline is growing bottomline will keep growing. So more investment means more topline growth.
    So many people would have asked you this question before. Do you think Indian television space is crowded? Will so many players survive? Is consolidation bound to happen?
    Consolidation has already begun. Your group has bought over Channel 7. Some more things are happening behind the scenes. So consolidation is bound to happen and it has already started. I believe that it will be tough for independent channels to survive.

    So you mean to say that groups with one, two or three channels will find it tough to survive?
    It will be difficult. But you never know. The country never fails to surprise us. I see so many newspapers coming out from so many towns and cities. I cannot figure out what is their source of revenue. But they are there. Maybe they have some other income.

     

    ‘I keep telling Mr Murdoch that India is not a soft state. It has certain laws which need to be followed‘

     

    Quite a strong view on other income of newspapers. What is your assessment of the journey of DNA so far?
    It started off with two lakh copies and the figure is growing everyday. The circulation has reached 2.3 lakhs. We expect that in the next 12 to 18 months it will be close to The Times of India.
    Planning new editions of DNA?
    Yes.
    I believe the next edition will be from Delhi.
    Not necessarily.
    Your group has presence in whole host of businesses.Will you please list out your businesses- from real estate to wireless radio- for people who are not so familiar with those aspects of your group?
    In real estate we are developing properties in Delhi and other cities in North India under the brand name Sun City. We have a partner in this venture. And our joint venture is doing quite well. In the business of wireless radio, we have 18 operating licenses and 80-85 per cent market share. We are thinking of expanding this business.
    In percentage terms what is the contribution of your different businesses to the entire group?
    In percentage terms, media and entertainment business contributes 20 per cent to the group’s revenue, rest 80 per cent comes from elsewhere. There is a group company called Essel Propack. It has 19 plants in 12 countries. It is truly a multinational company and number one in the world in its area of operation. It manufactures tubes for toothpaste and cosmetic items. It has 40 per cent market share in the world.

    Following the High Court order where do you see the implementation of CAS headed now and how will CAS and DTH impact each other?
    I don’t think CAS is an appropriate name. The name sounds a bit negative. CAS is bound to happen. The toss up is between analog and digital signal and I think it is in viewers’ interests to have digital signal. In this respect CAS is bound to happen. One broadcaster is opposing the implementation of CAS because it wants to roll out its DTH business. But I don’t think that is fair.
    How is your DTH business doing?
    We have got one million subscribers so far.

    DD has more?
    Yes, DD has more. It caters to a different segment. It doesn’t charge anything whereas our subscribers have to pay some amount every month.

    This has happened without Sony or Star?
    Yes. Now Sony, Discovery and some other channels are joining our platform. However, we have proved that one million customers can live without Saas Bahu.

    Now that Star too is gearing up to launch its DTH business what will be its impact on the DTH business? What about must carry clause?
    Must carry clause came into force in December 2004. However, Star group never bothered to comply with the clause. Star Group doesn’t seem to have any respect for the law of the land.

    With recent reorganization and all where do you see Star Group headed now?
    My best wishes for Mr Rupert Murdock. We do talk to each other sometimes. He was my partner earlier. I keep telling him that India is not a soft state. It has certain laws which need to be followed. You cannot keep flouting rules and regulations every now and then. Law of land will catch you in due course. But when you are successful you don’t listen to even sane voices.

    Do you think broadcasting sector should have a separate regulator?
    Definitely. Indian media houses representing print, radio and television businesses came together to form Indian Media Group. We have demanded that broadcasting sector should have an independent regulator.

    Given the favourable response of the present government towards globalisation do you see other media giants freely accessing Indian market, something you may not like?
    India already is the most open country in this respect. Each and every country worth its salt has some restriction in this sector. Almost everywhere preferential treatment is being given to local players. We don’t want preferential treatment. We want level playing field. All businesses that operate in this country have to pay taxes.

    One final question. Are you satisfied with the
    present rating system? Do you think it is authentic?
    Like all areas, competition should be there in the
    rating business also. It is not fair to judge people’s mood on the basis of 4 to 5 thousand meters. I think given India’s size, there should be at least 20,000 meters to gauge people’s perception.
  • Verizon, CBS reach programming deal on FiOS TV

    Verizon, CBS reach programming deal on FiOS TV

    MUMBAI: Verizon and CBS have reached a deal in which Verizon will carry CBS programming on its new television service.

    The companies announced a comprehensive retransmission consent and video-on-demand (VOD) agreement, which includes analog, digital, multicast and HD rights to programming on CBS owned-and-operated television stations; local VOD content from those stations; and CBS Television Network VOD content, including such current popular network series as CSI,NCIS and Survivor.

    Verizon will offer the programming on its new fiber-optic TV service FiOS TV, which is now available in parts of seven states of the U.S. All FiOS TV subscribers with a set-top box will receive the CBS Television Network VOD content at no incremental cost, which will also be true for FiOS TV subscribers in CBS owned-and-operated markets with regard to the local VOD content.

    “With each subscriber that Verizon’s FiOS TV adds, CBS will directly benefit, and therefore, we look forward to our partnership as Verizon showcases our programming both in our (owned-and-operated) markets and across the country,” CBS chief executive Leslie Moonves said in a statement.

    Verizon Chairman and CEO Ivan Seidenberg said the deal expands the market for both companies.”For us, it means we can offer our customers the tremendously valuable content provided by the CBS Television Network and local broadcast stations,” Seidenberg said.

    CBS locally owned-and-operated stations are in all Verizon TV markets except Washington, D.C.Verizon said its retransmission consent agreement with CBS is its largest such deal. Prior to the deal, Verizon provided programming from the CBS owned-and-operated stations under a special agreement with CBS.

  • CNN once again has its ‘Eye on China’

    CNN once again has its ‘Eye on China’

    MUMBAI: News broadcaster CNN will once again dedicate its global resources to China for incisive debate, programming and insights next month. The network will have its second week-long Eye On China. A 20 member newsgathering team offers analysis, documenting the latest cultural, economic, and social developments in a country rapidly emerging as a pre-eminent global force.

    The week begins with CNN Connects – an hour long debate on The Price of Progress and continues with a blend of live reporting and features from Shanghai in the show CNN Today. Two editions of the talk show Talk Asia also go behind the headlines with China ‘s leading newsmakers.

    Following on from debates in Davos, Beirut , Mumbai, Beijing and New York CNN Connects visits Shanghai for an hour-long round table debate evaluating the issues in balancing double-digit economic growth and the environmental challenges this presents.

    Jim Clancy anchors The Price of Progress with a panel of environmental experts including Jim Harkness of the World Wide Fund for Nature, academics and specialists debating in front of a live audience including students from China’s prestigious and internationally respected Fudan University.

    Throughout the week, Kristie Lu Stout reports live from locations around Shanghai for CNN Today. In addition, Kristie and correspondents Stan Grant, Mike Chinoy and Tara Duffy bring a number of reports charting contemporary China in all its fascinating complexity. Topics cover a wide range of issues including Shanghai ‘s rise as a new business Mecca , preparations for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the nation’s growing environmental challenges, the rise of the blogger and a look at China ‘s new sexual revolution. And, of course, Shanghainese food.

    With the Olympics just two years away, China ‘s political, environmental, and economic outlook is being scrutinised as never before. Eye On China reveals the drive behind modern China, assessing how its inhabitants are adapting to a more affluent economy while also examining efforts to balance modernisation with traditional values.

  • Intelsat appoints Jeffrey P Freimark as CFO

    Intelsat appoints Jeffrey P Freimark as CFO

    MUMBAI: Intelsat, Ltd. has announced the appointment of Jeffrey P Freimark as its executive VP and chief financial officer, effective on the resignation of Robert Medlin.

    Medlin has been serving as acting chief financial officer of Intelsat since June 2005, and is expected to resign from his post in April 2006.

    Jeffrey P Freimark resigned on 15 March as executive vice president, chief financial and information officer of Beverly Enterprises Inc., a provider of healthcare services to the elderly.

    Beverly Enterprises was sold to Pearl Senior Care, Inc. in a transaction that closed on 14 March, 2006. Prior to his role at Beverly, Freimark held senior-level positions at a number of public companies, including serving as chief financial officer of OfficeMax Inc., CEO, president and CFO for Grand Union Company, and chief financial officer of Pueblo International, Inc.

    Freimark, who holds an MBA in accounting and taxation from the Stern School of Business at New York University and a JD degree from New York Law School, is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the New Jersey Bar.

    Intelsat chief executive officer Dave McGlade says, “Jeff’s experience in working with the capital markets and building strong finance and accounting teams will be very valuable as Intelsat completes the PanAmSat merger. Including his work on integrations, Jeff has successfully implemented significant cost reduction and process improvement programs, demonstrating his strong abilities and effectiveness in driving company value. We know that he will be a major contributor at Intelsat.”

    McGlade also noted the role played by Robert Medlin for Intelsat: “Bob Medlin has been very important to Intelsat over the past several months, and he has assisted in maintaining solid financial controls and processes during this period. All of us at Intelsat are appreciative of the efforts of Bob and his team.”

    Medlin, a senior managing director of FTI Consulting, Inc., will continue to support Intelsat’s financial operations for an interim period on a consulting basis.

  • NBC to make webisodes for sitcom ‘The Office’

    NBC to make webisodes for sitcom ‘The Office’

    MUMBAI: In a move to further leverage the internet US broadcaster NBC has announced that its sitcom The Office goes digital with 10 stand-alone webisodes premiering on NBC.com this summer.

    The serialised arc will star the accounting staff of the Dunder Mifflin paper company in a whodunit.

    When the Dunder Mifflin accountants — Angela (Angela Kinsey), Kevin (Brian Baumgartner) and Oscar (Oscar Nunez) — discover that $3000 is missing from the Scranton office, no one is above suspicion, as the crack team of numbers crunchers tries to solve the mystery before turning on each other. Rainn Wilson, Melora Hardin, Phyllis Smith, Kate Flannigan, Leslie David Baker and David Denman also star.

    Earlier NBC had announced a deal with MSN to stream to stream the entire first two episodes of the upcoming drama series Heist on the Internet. NBC will also provide MSN Video with a 16-minute special sneak-peek presentation of the debut episode from 14 March until the 22 March broadcast premiere

    NBC says that since moving to Thursday nights in January The Office has averaged a 4.5 rating, 11 per cent share in adults 18-49 and 8.7 million viewers overall. That represents a 22 per cent increase over the show’s 18-49 average for Tuesday telecasts earlier this season (3.7/9 in 18-49, 7.7 million viewers overall) and an 80 percent increase over The Office’s average for the 2004-05 season (2.5/6 in 18-49, 5.4 million viewers overall), when it also aired on Tuesday nights.

    The Office takes a funny look at the interactions of the desk jockeys at Dunder Mifflin paper-supply company in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Golden Globe winner Steve Carell The 40-Year-Old Virgin, whom E! Online said, “might be the funniest man alive” stars as unctuous regional manager Michael Scott who hosts the documentary crew on a tour of the workplace. Jenna Fischer, John Krasinski, Rainn Wilson and B.J. Novak star as the employees who tolerate Michael’s inappropriate behaviour only because he signs their pay checks.

  • News channels gear up for Clinton

    News channels gear up for Clinton

    It is that time when cameramen will jostle to get a good angle and TV journalists will hanker for a sound byte from the US President, Bill Clinton, and Indian President and Prime Minister. After all, Clinton’s visit to India is big media event.

    And almost all the satellite channels and Doordarshan are trying to find how they can be different from the others. As managing director of TV Eighteen India Ltd, Raghav Bahl, said about the coverage on CNBC India, “It will be hectic time, but we will be focussing more on the business aspect of Clinton;s visit and what it means for the two countries.”

    What’s more, with the Indian government giving permission to almost all the channels to go live, the channel managements are leaving no cameras unturned to bring to their audience round the world the event which is being billed as one of the the biggest media events of 2000.

    CNN which is not only flying down celebrity anchor Riz Khan to do special interviews with the likes of Yashwant Sinha relating to Clinton’s visit, but the channel’s special event team too is coming (with the US president) to see there are no last minute glitches.

    “CNN has planned a special series of stories on the US President’s visit and the countdown has already begun with some stories already on air,” a senior executive Turner International India, the parent company of CNN, said, adding, most of the programmes will be live.

    Zee News, like Star News, will attempt to be different from the likes of CNNs and BBCs. Beginning with a story on presidential aircraft, put out yesterday, Zee News, as a senior executive of Zee pointed out, “will be hoping to do some value additions on the other aspects of Clinton’s visit too, apart from the political and business angles.”

    Since a major portion of Zee News’ audience are Hindi-speaking, the channel is trying to do a voice over in Hindi for important speeches, etc made by the US president.

    There’ll be every day, beginning Monday, a 30-minute programme on Clinton’s visit from 8.30-9 p.m. till Saturday.

    “This apart, we will be following the Clinton family and the President in Hyderabad, Agra, Rajasthan, Mumbai, etc,” a senior executive of Star News said.

    British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is planning one of its biggest ever series of live broadcasts from South Asia during the Clinton visit to the region.

    Special television and radio programmes will be aired from Delhi and Islamabad anchored by the BBC’s South Asia correspondent and regional bureau chief Mike Wooldridge.

    “This is a historic visit for the region and a crucial news story for BBC. South Asia is and always has been one of the cornerstones of BBC’s international broadcasting and this tour will showcase our unrivaled expertise and resources in broadcast news,” Wooldridge said.

    BBC had covered the last presidential visit to the region by Jimmy Carter when many of the news organisations around today did not even exist, according to Wooldridge.

    The BBC’s deputy bureau chief Satish Jacob, who covered the Carter visit to India for the BBC in 1978, will also be part of the commentary team. India correspondent Daniel Lak who is traveling the country with the Clinton entourage and BBC’s Washington correspondent Richard Lister as part of the White House Press Corp to give the inside information from the Clinton camp.

    The live coverage on BBC World television and BBC World Service radio will start from March 20 evening.

  • Endemol inks two-year deal with Channel 4 for ‘Deal or No Deal’

    Endemol inks two-year deal with Channel 4 for ‘Deal or No Deal’

    MUMBAI: Endemol has inked a two year deal with Channel 4 in the UK for the game show format Deal or No Deal.

    The deal runs from January 2006 to December 2007.

    Channel 4 has been broadcasting Deal or No Deal in the afternoon slot since October 2005 and has been winning audiences of up to 4.8 million and has a 38 per cent share.

    It has consistently been the most watched programme in its slot across all UK channels and won the Royal Television Society Award for Best Daytime Programme last week.

    The show has also just achieved an audience of up to five million viewers and a 23.6 per cent share in an additional peak time Saturday night slot on Channel 4. This was also the highest number of viewers across all channels at that time.

    Endemol International has now sold the Deal or No Deal format to 45 countries worldwide including the USA where it is a prime time hit for NBC. In India, the show airs on Sony and is hosted by Mandira Bedi.

  • CBS’ reality show ‘Rock Star’ returns by looking for a singer for Supernova

    CBS’ reality show ‘Rock Star’ returns by looking for a singer for Supernova

    MUMBAI: US broadcaster CBS and reality TV guru Mark Burnett have announced that musicians from some of the biggest American rock bands have joined forces to form a new band, Supernova.

    They will use CBS’ reality show Rock Star as the competition to determine the new lead singer.

    Supernova will feature drummer Tommy Lee (Motley Crüe), Jason Newsted (Metallica) and Gilby Clarke (Guns N’ Roses). The second edition of Rock Star kicks off later this year. Rock group INXS found their new lead singer in Canadian heartthrob J.D. Fortune.

    Since the show, INXS has taken to the studio and the road, releasing their hit single Pretty Vegas and selling out every concert in their North American tour. Their new CD Switch debuted in the Billboard Top 20, and is currently going gold and platinum in countries around the world.

    Burnett says, “Millions dream of becoming a rock star…our show actually makes that happen. The winner of CBS’ Rock Star will not only play in huge stadiums before sold out crowds, they will do it alongside legendary musicians from three of America’s biggest, all-time rock bands who have sold a combined total of a quarter of a billion albums: Motley Crüe, Guns N’ Roses and Metallica. Fronting Supernova is the ultimate rock ‘n’ roll dream and it’s about to come true.”

    After the winning singer is selected Supernova will record an original album that will be released in the fall before the band embarks on a world tour starting in early 2007. Lee says, “I have toured with both

    Gilby and Jason. They’re incredible musicians and I’ve always wanted to play with them. Starting a new band with old friends on worldwide television is going to be a blast, and we’re going to pull out all the stops to find the most charismatic and musically talented lead singer to front Supernova. I love breaking the rules.”

    Bassist Jason Newsted said, “This is a fantastic opportunity for me to play with guys I’ve respected for a long time. It gives us a chance to be innovators. This is a new thing. It’s never been done before. We’re going to break new ground musically and on television. The anticipation is building in me every day. This is a supergroup in the truest sense.”

    Lead guitarist and co-writer Gilby Clarke proclaimed, “Rock n’ Roll is so alive and I’m so excited to be a part of CBS’ Rock Star. This is television history. Where else can you raid three historic bands to form
    one great band? I can’t wait for the summer to begin.”

    Butch Walker will join the project as co-writer and producer of the new album. Dave Navarro and Brooke Burke will return as hosts, with Burke returning to the stage for introductions and Navarro returning to the judges’ couch for input and evaluations. He says, “Last year, doing Rock Star: INXS was the greatest summer job of my life. This year, I’m on the couch with my friends Tommy Lee, Gilby Clarke and Jason Newstead as they choose Supernova’s lead singer.”

    The second edition of the show will also feature some format twists with a different music celebrity or rock legend each week. Navarro adds, “Friends of mine, like Slash, Macy Gray, Moby and Rob Zombie, will join us and throw in their two cents about who should stay and who should go.”

    In India the first season of Rock Star had aired on Star World.

  • NBC Universal signs deal with UK video on demand firm FilmFlex

    NBC Universal signs deal with UK video on demand firm FilmFlex

    MUMBAI: UK video-on-demand (VOD) service provider FilmFlex has signed a multi-year licensing deal with US media conglomerate NBC Universal to offer the studio’s current and library feature films.

    FilmFlex is a joint venture between Sony, Disney and the pay-TV specialist ON Demand Group.

    The deal covers films like King Kong, The 40 Year-Old Virgin, Jarhead, Nanny McPhee and Pride & Prejudice. FilmFlex MD Andrew Keyte says, “The depth and breadth of films on offer is one of the key features that attract users to VOD. We are delighted that NBC Universal is providing some of its great movie classics and new releases for the FilmFlex service which further underpins our objective in creating the pre-eminent movie experience for cable customers in the UK.”

    FilmFlex says the deal makes it the largest movie Vod service provider in Europe, with some 500 films available at any one time.

  • ‘Our primetime viewership has increased 78%, revenues by 400%’ : Purnendu Bose – Sahara One Television COO

    ‘Our primetime viewership has increased 78%, revenues by 400%’ : Purnendu Bose – Sahara One Television COO

    After joining Sahara One Television in April last year as COO, Purnendu Bose has been able to steer the channel through a period of growth and turnaround. Bose has been responsible for Sahara One Television’s new fresh look and content.

     

    Bose was also a part of the team that launched Radio City, Star News and Hungama TV.

     

    Under his leadership, Sahara One has seen an almost 400% jump in revenues and a 78 per cent rise in primetime viewership. In this interview with Indiantelevision.com’s Hetal Adesara, Bose speaks about cricket, the new shows lined up on the channel and more…

     

    Excerpts:

    Let’s start with the current hot topic of cricket. What do you expect cricket to do for the channel?

    With cricket we found a lot of synergy. First of all, rival channels do not carry our ads and the second thing is that housewives don’t read newspapers. And cricket is religion in our country. With cricket we hope to increase the sampling of the channel and it has all the ingredients — drama, excitement, highs and low — that we aim to offer viewers with our soaps.

     

    Apart from this, post cricket, our viewership in prime time has gone up by 78 per cent.

    How much has the switch of Sahara One signal to Filmy impacted the connectivity of the channel considering the fact Filmy has just launched?

    There is no loss of connectivity post the switching of signals. We have encrypted our channel and in fact we have almost 99 per cent connectivity in Tam towns. Earlier it was 94 per cent. We just had 48 hours to do the needful and the team did a fantastic job of ensuring availability of the channel across the country.

    Since you have encrypted your channel, are there any plans of going pay?

    Going pay is very much on our agenda but not immediately. Maybe in the next six – seven months, we will go pay.

    Your afternoon band has completely gone off with cricket coming in. Doesn’t that bother you since after cricket gets over, it will have to be brought back and viewers may not come back?

    Our afternoon band comprised repeats of our primetime shows – Woh Rehne Waali Mehlon Ki, Hare Kaanch Ki Choodiyan and Kituu Sabb Jantii Hai. We did not have an afternoon band where we showed other new soaps. Now with cricket on, our loyal viewers are watching those shows on primetime. When cricket does get over in April, we are sure that they will come back to our channel in the afternoon.

    How is cricket being used to build other properties of the channel? One of the things one would expect would be to make a big noise around a new or existing property during this time?

    We already have our key leading ladies from our primetime shows in an ad campaign around cricket. That is being aired on our channels (Sahara One and Filmy) and we also have online ads on the same theme. Apart from that, we keep promoting these shows during the match ad breaks.

     

    As far as launching new shows is concerned, we do have a few in the pipeline, which will go on air in April – May. These are fiction shows and are tentatively titled Sati and Kya Socha. Sati is most likely to replace Buniyaad when it ends its run in May.

    How would you define 2005 for Sahara One in terms of the programming and marketing initiatives taken? How much has the channel grown in the last one year in terms of viewership and revenues?

    Last year has been good for us in terms of programming. We had success with our shows like Woh Rehne Waali Mehlon Ki, Hare Kaanch Ki Choodiyan, Kituu Sabb Jantii Hai and Kohinoor. Buniyaad is also doing well on the channel. As I already mentioned, our primetime viewership has increased by 78 per cent. On the other hand, our revenues have increased by 400 per cent. We have more than 260 advertisers on board. Clients are also seeing value in our programming and hence are advertising more with us.

     

    Recently we have divided our programming into two blocks and moved away from classifying shows as fiction and non-fiction. The first time band we will focus on will be the 7 pm – 9 pm one and the second will be from 9 pm – 11 pm.

     

    These two time bands will be overseen by two programming heads. Naina Toor Singh will be looking after the 7 – 9 pm band and for the time being, I will be looking after the 9 – 11 pm band — until we find a replacement for Kumud (Chowdhary).

    What was the reason behind bringing about this change?

    It’s quite simple. Viewers don’t classify shows as fiction or nonfiction They focus more on the timings of the shows that they want to watch or are interested in. Our aim will be to look at programming from the viewers’ eyes.

     

    Hence we will be looking at strengthening programming in these time slots. That’s where our new shows will also come in a couple of months.

    Apart from ‘Sati’ and ‘Kya Socha’, another property will be the game show ‘Mission Ek Crore’ with Sanjay Dutt as host. When is it likely to launch and how is the production progressing?

    We will launch Mission Ek Crore some time around the end of April or beginning May. The initial plan was to launch it before the end of this fiscal year. But we have stalled it. One of the main reasons behind this is that we first want to build our programming lineup in the 9 to 11 pm time band.

     

    Currently we have Woh Rehne Waali Mehlon Ki, Kittu Sabb Jaanti Hai and re-runs of Virasaat and Kadam in this time band. We will be introducing new shows and once that is done, we will launch Mission Ek Crore.

    After the launch of Filmy, how much importance will the movie band on Sahara One hold? Will the premiers be on Filmy now? Would you take off movies from Sahara One and place shows in the weekend or will movies remain a part of the weekend lineup?

    Movies are an integral part of our weekend lineup and they will continue to remain so. We have introduced the concept of multiple premiers wherein the movie will be premiered on Sahara One at 12.30 pm and on Filmy at 3.30 pm and then again on Sahara One at 7.30 pm. So we will be airing the movie premier three times in a day. It’s on the model of a film airing in a theater at different time slots. The idea is that maximum number of people can watch it at whatever time is suitable for them.

    In the GEC space where would you rate Sahara One and why?

    Let the viewers say the same. Recently we did a survey with 2000 general entertainment TV viewers across five cities. And they personified Sahara One Television as the Abhishek Bachchan of Indian television – a star with the potential of becoming a super star. That’s how viewers rate us. And this is a strong endorsement and a matter of satisfaction for us.

    What has contributed to the growth at Sahara One in the last one year?

    It’s not one big thing that matters, but doing thousands of small things behind ever big decision, separates the winners from the others. It is a team effort that has resulted in the change we see on the channel.

     

    I’ll attribute this to the programming, on-air promos, off air marketing, sales and distribution of the channel. The program strategy of women are real on Sahara One, we have consciously stayed away from stereotypical programs and portrayed the real women that we see all around us.

     

    The on-air promos strategy has been cutting edge to the brief with simple and crisp messages communicating the channel differentiator. Marketing has burnt the mid night oil to evolve below the line strategies / activities to increase sampling and using mass media to reinstate the differentiator and driving traffic to the channel.

     

    Sales backed it up with exceptional revenue growth, through innovation thus creating value for money for advertisers leading to over 260 brands advertising with the channel resulting in a 425 per cent growth, in last six months over the first six months of this fiscal. Distribution ensured that we are available in over 96 per cent of 60 million cable viewing homes. All being a team effort.

    Despite the fact that individual shows are doing well on the channel, why does it not reflect in the ratings?

    We have seen an improvement in ratings over the last few months. But the reason why ratings of shows that are doing well are not reflected remains a mystery to us.

    Sahara One was due to launch in the UK before the end of this fiscal. Has that happened as yet?

    No, we have not yet launched in the UK. We want to ensure that we launch in this market with the best partner in order to ensure the maximum reach of the channel from the very beginning. We are in active talks with leading potential distributors which we would close shortly. We will be looking at launching Sahara One there in early 2007, not before that.

    How is the channel faring in the US?

    We have got a good response from our viewers in the US. We get letters from all over the States. In the first six months, we have close to 70,000 subscribers there.