Tag: indiantelevision.com

I&B ministry finalizing terms of law on broadcast regulator

MUMBAI: The terms of reference of a law that will bring about a separate broadcast regulator are almost ready.
This was revealed to Indiantelevision.com by Information & Broadcasting secretary SK Arora on the sidelines of the convention for the business of entertainment, Ficci Frames, this morning in Mumbai.

Once the framework of the law is finalized, it would be distributed among the interministerial committee for comments and any possible fine tuning, Arora said,”From here, the document would have to be scrutinized for a final say by the Union cabinet, after which it would then be presented before Parliament.”

While Arora declined to give a time frame under which this process would move forward, he expressed confidence that from his ministry’s end, the law would be ready “at the soonest”.

Queried about the role of the current regulator for both the telecom and broadcast sector, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), Arora noted that the challenges for the broadcast industry and telecom are different. First, it is important that convergence is facilitated within the broadcast sector. After that one can look at facilitating convergence between sectors i.e. broadcast and telecom. The regulatory body will work towards ensuring that the fruits of development are not vitiated by adversarial relations. “The aim of regulation is to preserve development. We will also be coming out with a regulation on content code,” he said.

Ficci is assisting in formulating the draft of the regulation. The Group of Ministers (GoM) who concentrate on the Ice industry will fine-tune it. Then it will be sent to the cabinet. It will be passed when the cabinet approves of it. A further announcement on this regulation is expected in the coming weeks.

Basically it is aimed at being a self regulatory mechanism. Arora however conceded that regulation always lags behind technological changes. The broadcast industry has been no exception. He also stressed the importance of content providers and creators reaching remote areas of the country. “Whether it is cable, DTH, cinema halls, no villager should be left behind. If we work on this, then the potential will be double than what has already been achieved.”

Arora also highlighted the concern of piracy. He said that the government has been working with Ficci on the Optical Disc Law and this work will continue in the months ahead. “The reason why we approach the industry is that we want to have a regulatory framework that helps the industry move forward.”

“Another important area that is growing is animation and gaming. We need investment from foreign players and leaders in this area. The challenge for us is to attract foreign firms in this area. At this time, there are foreign firms coming into India while Indian firms travel abroad. Foreign firms bring their brand in. However, Indian firms when they go abroad do so under an international brand. The exception is the Indian film industry and for this I want to congratulate them,” said Arora.

March 22, 2006
Decision on CAS appeal after stakeholders meeting 27 March: Arora

MUMBAI: The uncertainty over the implementation of conditional access system (CAS) is not over yet. The government will take a call on whether it should move the Supreme Court only after a meeting with the broadcasters, multi system operators (MSOs), cable TV operators and consumers on 27 March.

“We have invited all the stakeholders for a meeting on 27 March. We will take into consideration their views before deciding whether we should approach the court,” I&B secretary S K Arora told Indiantelevision.com.

Early this month, the Delhi High Court had ordered the government to enforce the rollout of addressability in cable pay television (conditional access system or CAS) in India within four weeks. After reserving the judgement for several months, the court had delivered the verdict on a writ petition filed by a bunch of MSOs.

On being queried whether one month was too short a time to implement CAS, Arora said the government’s argument in the court was that three months would be needed.

Was the old notification on CAS good enough? “We will discuss all this in the meeting. Only then can we take a stance on whether modifications are necessary,” Arora said.

The scheme as it was structured in 2003 ran into rough weather with some of the stakeholders opposing it, Arora added. “We need to resolve these issues. Consumers were opposing it because they felt they were forced to buy the set-top box (STB). Broadcasters came out with a pricing that wasn’t serious in intent.”

Arora also pointed out that the government was yet to receive the Delhi High court judgment. “We believe the implementation of CAS would come into effect one month from the date of receiving the certified judgment,” he said.

March 22, 2006
Trai’s Baijal ends tenure; Misra likely successor

NEW DELHI: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) chairman Pradip Baijal retired today from service after an eventful three-year tenure as the chief regulator and a civil services career spanning 40 years.

During his tenure as the Trai chief, Baijal has been instrumental in bringing various telecom services within the reach of ordinary people as prices fell and tele-density increased.
Under him, Trai also stood its ground in guarding the price line of cable TV services and did away with premiums to be paid on exclusive content much to the chagrin of pay broadcasters.

On his last day today, Baijal is said to have told a close associate that he’s going away with a sense of pride for having stood up for consumers’ rights about which much still needs to be done.

Baijal is likely to be succeeded by former telecommunications secretary Nripendra Misra, who presently heads a Centre for Department of Telematics-Alacatel joint venture as its chairman.

Misra, according to telecom ministry sources, is the front-runner for the top post at Trai, though last-minute calisthenics could see a surprise candidate being sprung on the telecom and broadcast industries, which are going through changing times and grappling with introduction of new norms and technologies.

Baijal, a 1966 Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre, was a hand-on person taking personal interest in important issues like changes to the access deficit charge (ADC) that punctured mobile phone bills and proposing a comprehensive rollout plan for the vexed issue of CAS, which, however, is gathering dust at the I&B ministry.

“Mr. Baijal was a result driven person, taking personal interest in key issues regarding the industry,” an associates of Baijal at Trai told Indiantelevision.com.

In fact, it was Baijal who is credited with suggesting a reduction in ADC, a fee that private telecom operators pay to the state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and its eventual withdrawal by 2009.

Even towards the end of his inning at Trai, Baijal continued to aggressively support and push for unified licensing under which a licencee can offer telecom, infotech and broadcasting services on a single licence.

The new chairman’s name is yet to be notified by the government and could take some days. In the interim, the senior-most member-secretary could function as the head of Trai.

Former secretary of the department of telecom (DoT) Misra is said to be front runner for the top Trai post. The name of GD Gaiha, chairman of Telecommunications Consultant of India LTD (TCIL) is doing the rounds of the media to replace Dr DPS. Seth as a member.

In recent times, Baijal’s stature had risen so much that its parent, the telecom ministry, had started feeling uncomfortable. The government is likely to get a low profile person as Trai chairman to avoid run-ins with the telecom minister.

Misra, a 1967 IAS officer, had worked closely with the present communications and IT minister Dayanidhi Maran whose elder brother and family control the South Indian media power house Sun TV group.

March 21, 2006
Endemol India upbeat as ‘Fear Factor’ opens well for Sony

MUMBAI: Endemol India is upbeat as the opening numbers of Fear Factor India have come in. The show opened with TVRs of 4.6 in the C&S 4+ Hindi speaking markets (HSM), whereas it garnered TVRs of 3.2 in the C&S 4+ all India markets.

Fear Factor, which airs on Sony Entertainment India’s flagship channel SET, has opened as the channel’s top rated show.

And it’s not just Fear Factor India that the production company is buoyant about. At present Endemol has three shows on two channels in the 8 pm – 11 pm band. On Sony it has Deal Ya No Deal from 8 – 9 pm and Fear Factor from 9 – 10 pm. On Star One, Endemol has The Great Indian Laughter Challenge Dwitiya (TGILCD), which airs from 10 – 11 pm.

Speaking to Indiantelevision.com on Fear Factor India, an elated Endemol India managing director Rajesh Kamat said, “We are very happy with the opening numbers of Fear Factor and they have met our expectations. We are confident that the numbers from here on will only be on the rise as word of mouth is sure to bring in new viewers to the show.”
Dwelling on the factor that worked for the show, Kamat said, “Fear Factor has a novelty aspect, which has a potential of clicking with the audience. Apart from that, the chance of seeing celebrities in real life situations that involve thrill and drama has also worked for the show.”

Kamat is of the opinion that even without the celebrity factor, the show will continue to deliver numbers because of its freshness.

Now moving on to TGILC Dwitiya on Star One, which opened at a TVR of 5.06 in the C&S 4+ HSM. This was the first major project Endemol started work on after setting shop in India. If one had to compare the opening ratings of the first season, TGILC has surely seen a considerable increase in ratings. The first season opened with TVRs of 2.3.

Kamat said, “This is surely a good sign for us as the show has opened at 5 TVRs. One must keep in mind the fact that Star One is having connectivity problems in Mumbai and despite that the ratings is good. If we had had no problems in Mumbai, I’m sure the show would have opened at a TVRs of 7, because at the end of the day Mumbai is an important for any channel.”

The format of Deal Ya No Deal underwent a revamp when the anchor R Madhavan called it quits. Post his departure, in came the suave Mandira Bedi who has kept the show going. However, on the numbers front, Deal Ya No Deal hasn’t managed to deliver much.

But there’s more to come from Endemol India’s kitty. The high-tension game show Heartbeat will soon be launching on Star One. So one can expect a lot of activity from Endemol in terms of new programming and also good ratings.

March 21, 2006

‘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.

March 21, 2006

‘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.

March 20, 2006

FM players to lobby for tax sops, music rights fee

NEW DELHI: The newly-formed Association of Radio Operators of India (AROI), a body of FM radio licencees, has decided to petition the government on tax sops and work towards rationalization of music rights fee.

In a meeting held here today, AROI members, approximately 35 in number, including the big ones like Radio City, Radio Mirchi, the Sun TV group, Adlabs, expressed serious concern over high rates being demanded for music rights and also by Prasar Bharati for sharing its infrastructure with private players in some cities.

In a recent interview with Indiantelevision.com Music Broadcast Private Limited CEO Apurva S Purohit had said, “It is a fairly high fee rate that we pay to the music bodies. And I think that’s where some rationalization needs to be brought about. It is calculated per hour per city. With a large of number of stations in the kitty, a consolidation in the amount has to be brought about. We are working with the industry to bring a rationale pricing. It is a big cost. It can range between five to seven per cent of the cost structure that goes to the music bodies, which is fairly high.

“The members feel there should be an all round rationalization of rights fee and money demanded by Prasar Bharati for sharing infrastructure, which certainly is unjustified as it doesn’t take into consideration that in smaller cities the level of investments will be comparatively less,” AROI co-coordinator and BAG Infotainment chief executive Rajiv Mishra told Indiantelevision.com.

Over 40 private sector companies, holding 287 FM radio licences across 91 Indian cities, are preparing to start operations.

According to Mishra, Prasar Bharati has demanded money for infrastructure at the rate of Rs. 54 to Rs 55 per square feet, which would bring the annual cost to around between Rs. 400,000-Rs. 500,000.

Such a cost will prove to be high for smaller operations in smaller towns, Mishra said, trying to explain the economics of setting up a radio station.

Today’s meeting of AROI, attended by most members, also decided to form a panel to frame the constitution of the organization. Radio operators will again meet on 29 March to finalize the constitution.

AROI will be a registered, non-profit, non-governmental society dedicated to protect the common and collective interests of FM Radio broadcasters.

It will have a core executive council and will be supported by several committees on areas like legal & regulatory affairs, finance & commercial, technology and dispute settlement.

March 17, 2006
Sesame Workshop in talks with DD

NEW DELHI: Children’s educator and creator of the world famous Sesame Street, Sesame Workshop is in talks with Indian pubcaster Doordarshan for an alliance to reach out to maximum number of children in India.

“Talks with Doordarshan are in early stages, but we are exploring an option to have a weekend window (time band or slot),” Sesame Workshop president and CEO Gary E. Knell told Indiantelevision.com today.

DD’s terrestrial platform is being explored by Sesame Workshop, a non-profit organization, as it wants to reach out to the maximum number of children through its innovative and educative programmes. Especially those who do not have access to cable and satellite television.

To target kids in India’s approximately 61 million C&S households, Sesame Workshop has tied up with Tuner International India (managers of Cartoon Network and Pogo) and the New Delhi-based production house Miditech to bring an Indian version of Sesame Street called Galli Galli Sim Sim from mid-2006 .

According to Knell, ideally his company would like to have a time slot on DD’s terrestrial network that is suitable for children viewing and where Sesame Workshop characters can be used to spread public service messages too.

Apart from that, the Sesame Workshop-Turner combine will also explore production of Sesame Street in another Indian language, which could be Tamil. Galli Galli Sim Sim will be in Hindi on Pogo.

“The work on the other language production, apart from Hindi, will start in a couple of months’ time,” Knell said.

Sesame Workshop is a nonprofit educational organization making a meaningful difference in the lives of children around the world. Founded in 1968, the Workshop changed television forever with the legendary Sesame Street.

Today, the Workshop continues to innovate on behalf of children in 120 countries, using its proprietary research methodology to ensure its programmes and products are engaging and enriching.

Sesame Workshop is behind award-winning programs like Dragon Tales, Sagwa, The Chinese Siamese Cat, Pinky Dinky Doo and groundbreaking multimedia productions in South Africa, Egypt and Russia.

March 16, 2006
Aditya Shastri quits UTV as motion pictures COO

MUMBAI: Aditya Shastri, who had joined UTV as COO motion pictures production in late 2004, has quit the company. “We mutually agreed to part ways,” a source in UTV said.

Shastri had moved to UTV from Twentieth Century Fox where he served as managing director. At Fox, he had handled and released several blockbusters such as Moulin Rouge, Die Another Day and The Day After Tomorrow.

“I have left UTV. I am joining a new company on 15 April,” Shastri told indiantelevision.com.
UTV has been enjoying major successes on the movie front this year with productions like the Aamir Khan superhit Rang De Basanti and Taxi No 9211 hitting the jackpot.

The company has also distributed products in various territories including heavyweight titles such as Lagaan, Lakshya, Mission Kashmir, Parineeta and Viruddh.

March 14, 2006
Sahara One programming head Kumud Chowdhary quits

MUMBAI: Sahara One Television programming head (fiction) Kumud Chowdhary has put in her papers. Chowdhary joined Sahara One in January 2004 from Star, where she was commissioning editor.

Confirming the development to Indiantelevision.com, Sahara One Television COO Purnendu Bose said, “Yes, Kumud has put in her papers today. She has done a terrific job here for the last two years and is moving on to pursue her personal aspirations. We wish her all the best.”

Chowdhary said that she was moving to pursue other things. When queried as to what her next destination was, she remained noncommittal, saying it was too soon to talk about it and “nothing was final as yet.”

In her tenure at Sahara One Television as programming head, Chowdhary was instrumental in bringing on board shows like Woh Rehne Waali Mehlon Ki, Hare Kaanch Ki Choodiyan, Kituu Sabb Jantii Hai, Kohinoor and Saath Rahega Always. “These shows have brought a lot of credibility to the channel and has brought Sahara One in synch with the other players in the industry,” Chowdhary said.

Chowdhary had joined Sahara One when post the restructuring of Sahara’s media and entertainment business under a joint venture management company with Percept, Sahara Media and Entertainment vice president programming Triptii Sharma put in her papers in late 2003. Chowdhary was brought in to step into Sharma’s shoes.

March 13, 2006