ITV

Tag: Katial

  • Media cos give the edge to India over China

    Media cos give the edge to India over China

    SINGAPORE: India vs China! That was the theme of one of the sessions at the Asia Television Forum. And guess what? It was India that came out with flying colours as the market thats working for media companies.

    Panelists were clear in their opinion that India is amore media friendly market. As expected.

    CNBC senior executive VP distribution and channel strategy Greg Creevey said, “India is fertile ground. There are lower barriers to entry. Even if the regulatory environment is chaotic, it can work in your favour. You can define your strategy better. The advantage with India is that it is market lead and not government lead.”

    Wuhan TV CEO Liu Fei, was almost apologetic about the fact that even large foreign media companies have failed to make a profit in China. “I know it is a difficult market But you cant ignore it.”

    Beijing TV director Chen Hu pointed out that China offers lots of opportunities for companies which are willing to look at the medium to long term time frame. According to Odyssey Media Investment chairman Rowan Simmons the 2008 Olympics in China are going to spark off a media boom for Chinese media. “Already several international companies are planning documentatries on China as a run up to the Olympics. And these are huge budget ones. China is in for a media explosion.”

    He pointed out that you cannot but be in China. “1.3 billion people, A 9.5 billion dollar TV advertising market. 190 million C&S homes. 300 million mobile phone users. 30 million broadband consumers. Can it get any more attractive?” He added that there is demand for TV Dramas, Documentaries and formats in China.

    However SET India vice-president Sunil Lulla stated that it is Indias has lower C&S numbers that are making it more attractive. “We have 250 million homes and only 40 million of them are on cable. That is a tremendous opportunity,” he elucidated.

    “Today TV is a necessity. Earlier it was not so,” he added. “Anyone coming in will probably follow the following model. At least we have historical evidence to show it., First year, you will enter, the second year you will restructure and by the fifth year, you will be in the black. But you need to understand the Indian viewer.

    “TV accounts for 70 per cent of the entertainment industrys revenues in India,” Lulla opined. “But it is films that drive international perceptions. This is ironical.”

    Dish TV chief Sunil Khanna pointed out that the lack of regulation in India cannot go on forever in the area of television. “It has been a free for all so far. But this cannot continue for long. The Indian regulators are slow to move, but they are very sure. In the next few weeks I expect to see a downlinking policy coming in place, a digitization policy for cable. This will help bring a lot more sanity in the cable and satellite business in India.”

    CO-PRODUCTION STRATEGIES

    What is the ideal strategy if international companies want to get into coproductions in India? What works? What has the experience been so far?

    SET India programming head Tarun Katial provided some insights to this in a session on coproductions at the ATF forum here in Singapore Shangri- La Hotel.

    You need to bring in different interest groups with different skill sets. Indian Idol is a striking example., Katial said.

    We have Sony Entertainment as the broadcaster providing the platform to showcase Indian Idol. It financed Indian Idol and creatively led it. Miditech brought in the experience it has with reality show. Optimystix has worked for years on studio-based format shows. They brought in that richness.And Fremantle, which licensed the format to us, well it has several years of knowledge creating successful programming worldwide. They all brought different skill sets to the table. You put them together, and you have a show like Indian Idol which gets amazing ratings for Sony.

  • Sonys Indian Idol comes to Mumbai

    Sonys Indian Idol comes to Mumbai

    MUMBAI: “It is not about unveiling some Pop Star, nor is it about another jury star. But Indian Idol is really all about unearthing one amazing talent.”

    Taking a clear jibe at the rest of the musical talent hunts going around, Sony Entertainment Television Indias executive vice president, programming and response Tarun Katial, flagged off the Mumbai leg of the ground hunt at a press conference held at Mumbais JW Marriott today.

    Promising some high drama and emotions, the talent hunts Mumbai auditions will be held at Ravindra Natya Mandir, Mumbai on 25, 26 and 28 September. Accompanied by a 360° promotional campaign, Indian Idol is being tomtommed as the key driver for Sonys programming.

    According to the Katial, the Delhi and the Kolkatta auditions were a huge success with over 3,000 candidates auditioning at each centre. Delhi, according to him, did surprise them with its talent.

    With the channels latest launches like Hum 2 Hain Na and Aayushman flickering on the popularity charts, a lot is being pinned on the talent hunt. But the channel is hopeful that the seven-month long activity, which will culminate into a grand finale in February 2005, will help it turn around its fortunes like the original Fremantle Media concept Pop Idol did for its broadcaster ITV. The original hunt managed to catapult ITV’s rating by 57 per cent.

    But the conference really was an attempt by the channel to give the sneak preview of the programming to come. The easy banter between the celebrity judges, music director Anu Mallik, singer Sonu Nigam and director-choreographer Farah Khan, was a clear plus, just like in the hugely successful American version of the hunt “American Idol”. While there are no prizes for guessing who will play Paula Abdul, what could well be worth watching out for is Anu Mallik’s mean impression of Simon Cowell.

  • After Max, Sony comes out with branded postcards

    After Max, Sony comes out with branded postcards

    MUMBAI: “The postal department has met Sony Entertainment Television half way to make it possible,” Maharashtra Circles’ chief post master general K Noorjehan was quick to offer. The occasion  to inaugurate the special cover with cancellation and Meghdoot postcards marking the first anniversary of Sony’s flagship show Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahi.

    Showering the show (Jassi…) with a liberal dose of praise, Noorjehan said that she had been flooded with numerous calls from media about the preferential treatment meted out to Jassi. Rightly so, as she and the speaker before her – Sony Entertainment Television India’s CEO Kunal Dasgupta – informed that the special cover with special cancellation was normally offered only to commemorate meretious services of over 50 years and above.

    “Even to consider the proposal and to process the demand, the postal department requires one year’s time,” Noorjehan said. So what makes Jassi so special that she could jump the queue? “She rescued us from the weepy dramas. General masses like you and me can identify with her. She has shown us that its is not really important to be good looking but you can succeed if you have enough grit and determination,” she said.

    The same sentiment was echoed by the Sony team and as executive vice president programming and response Tarun Katial put it in his inaugural speech, “One year already since we introduced the masses to this unlikely heroine with spectacles and braces. Despite being labeled an ugly duckling, she has shown the world that you can succeed just on merit with your grit, determination, intelligence and hard work.”

    But hasn’t the show been slipping lately. “Not really. It is just a cyclic phenomenon. In fact, we have quite a few changes in the pipeline to pump in the vigour.” Although he said that Jassi won’t really be shedding her braces and spectacles soon, but viewers will witness a transformation in her attitude, Katial informed. “Plus we will have a climax to the current build up of the plot, where Jassi becomes aware of Armaan and his devious plots and falls in love with Purab,” he added.

    What the show has offered to television besides a different storyline is a case study for marketing innovations.
    “We get numerous phone calls every day from educational institutes, who want to speak to us about the effectiveness of the marketing innovation and the excellent adaptation,” DJ Creatives producer Deeya Singh said. But she did admit that the story wasn’t following the original very closely. “But it has worked wonders for the show. Look at the way Purab’s track has been accepted by the masses,” she argued.

    A clear indication of the popularity of the show was the Centrium Auditorium at the World Trade Centre in Mumbai, where the press conference was held. Professionals working in the neighbouring offices were trying constantly to sneak in to get a peek of their favourite telly character.

    And what did the star of the show Jassi aka Mona Singh have to say about it, “I am extremely honoured and deeply humbled.”

    It needs to be noted here that in February this year, Sony’s sister channel Max had also introduced branded postcards wherein they had tied up with the Indian postal department. The post card, apart from carrying the Max logo, also promoted the 5 pm movies on the channel with a message: ‘Har shaam paanch baje dekhiye.’

  • Sony unveils ‘Indian Idol’ plans; winner to be crowned in Feb

    MUMBAI: Sab Kuch Bhula De! (forget everything). That is Sony’s tagline for its biggest show of the year, the reality-themed music event Indian Idol.

    As reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com, the show, which will have 33 episodes, hits Indian television in October.

    The entire process, which kicks off with the auditions next month, will last seven months. The winner will be crowned in February and would get a contract worth Rs 10 million with Sony Entertainment. He/she will also be awarded a recording contract with a major Indian music label.

    The channel’s massive audition hunt will commence next month. It has signed two production houses – Optimystix and Miditech – to assist in its Indian Idol journey. The latter will look after the auditions while the former will be in charge of constructing the studio for the later stages of the event.

    Channel Speak

    Present at a media briefing this morning to announce the show’s launch was Sony’s executive VP programming and response Tarun Katial. 

    Said Katial, “This is not just about who sings best. It is about who makes the nation sing. This is a part of our attempt at building distinct and alternative content. Next month we will be launching two shows in the 8 to 9 pm slot. Through Indian Idol , we are capitalising on the trend of music becoming the lifestyle of the youth. It is not about finding another pop band to put on air. It is about finding real talent from different genres of music the democratic way, as viewers will get to choose the winners. The show will be hosted by Aman Varma and Mini Mathur.”

    Katial, however, did not divulge details of time bands or slots that Indian Idol would be put on saying that an announcement to this effect would be made in due course.

    The format was conceived by Fremantle Media, 19TV and Simon Cowell, one of the judges on the American Idol panel. 

    Present today was Fremantle Media Asia operations director Patrick Shult. He said, “It was in 2001 that 19TV’s Simon Fuller presented the concept to our president Allan Boyd. It was picked up by ITV. 14 million viewers tuned in for the final episode to see Will Young become the first Pop Idol. It spread quickly to South Africa, the US. Now besides India we are developing localised versions for Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia.”

     
    The Process

    The first phase of the Indian Idol rollout is from 20 August. Here, aspirants between 16 and 35 would be invited to phone-in — either through a landline phone or a mobile — and register. This is also the show’s target audience. This would be applicable to ten cities. Auditions will then be held from 8 September to 8 October in Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

    From what could be 40,000 hopefuls, between 100 and 160 contestants will be chosen for the second round of auditions to be held in Mumbai. And from 100 -160 participants, the list will be narrowed down to 30 in the Theatre Round. This will be followed by the Piano Round scheduled to take place in November.

    At this stage, the viewer gets involved from home. He/she through mobile or e-mail picks out the preferred singer during each episode.

    This way the viewer picks ten finalists who would participate in the Gala episode. The Gala episode would kick off sometime in December. The show by then becomes a nail-biting countdown with one member getting eliminated in each episode.

    Production Challenges

    Each Gala episode will be built around a particular theme, therefore, Optimystix’s challenge will be to change the look and feel of the set each time. 

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, company director Sanjiv Sharma said the set would not be an exact replica of what could be seen on American Idol on Star World. Added Sharma: “We have been able to study the different sets of the countries where localised versions of Pop Idol have been held. We will combine different elements. Of course, the look and the feel of the show will get more sophisticated as it progresses.”

    Miditech will have a 100-member crew working during the previously-mentioned one month audition period. From the creative viewpoint, the challenge will be to create a personality around each participant. This will start from the audition process itself and promises to be more than a handful from the logistic point of view.

    Miditech president Niret Alva said that different kinds of venues ranging from stadia to conference halls had been chosen in the host cities.

  • Sony announces Katial’s appointment as exec V-P prog & response

    Sony announces Katial’s appointment as exec V-P prog & response

    MUMBAI: It’s official! Tarun Katial has joined Sony Entertainment Television as the executive vice president – programming & response.

    Katial, according to a company release, is to oversee the channel’s creative content, programming and on-air promotions. Interestingly, despite Katial’s being at the same level in terms of designation (as executive V-P), the release makes it clear he will be reporting to Sunil Lulla, executive vice-president and business head of SET.

    Sony Entertainment Television Network’s chief executive officer, Kunal Dasgupta offers, “Tarun brings with him valuable experience in programming. As a member of Sunil’s team, he is tasked with driving Sony Entertainment Television’s programming profile and I am sure, he will add enormously to the momentum of the channel.”

    Says Lulla, “Tarun’s creative drive will further catalyze the channels process of growth. I do believe we will see significant innovations and breakthrough programming in the year to come.

    As for Katial himself, who has been in the denial mode ever since reports first surfaced that he was joining Sony, is quoted as saying, “I am happy to join Sony Entertainment Television and believe it will expand my portfolio of work and creativity. It provides me with a stimulating challenge to create a differentiated product offering and help the brand grow to newer heights.”

    Hailing from a media & communications background, Tarun has worked with leading advertising firms of the country including Saatchi & Saatchi, Nexus Lowe and Ogilvy & Mather. He last held the position of senior vice-president – Content & Communications at Star Network.