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Tag: Prabhat Dabral

  • Sahara Samay VP Prabhat Dabral to oversee news bureaus

    MUMBAI: Sahara Samay vice-president Prabhat Dabral, who has been managing the network’s national channel Sahara Samay Rashtriya, now has editorial functions added to his portfolio. Dabral will shoulder additional responsibilities in the network as head of all Sahara’s news bureaus.

    According to a company source, the creation of a position of head of Sahara News Bureaus has been done mainly to oversee the operations of the news channels. The person will also function as a focal point to whom all individual channel heads will report.

    Another change being instituted is that Rao Birendra Singh, who had been looking after Sahara Samay UP (the Uttar Pradesh-specific news channel) and Sahara Samay Rashtriya, will now only have Sahara Samay Rashtriya under his editorial charge.

    Sahara India Media and Entertainment (SIME) head of media operations Sudhir Kumar will now have to decide who is to head Sahara Samay UP. According to company sources, the post will in all likelihood be filled by an internal appointee.

    A point of note is that Sahara Samay Mumbai is not part of the new reporting structure.The Mumbai operation is looked after by Sahara Samay vice-president Rajiv Bajaj.

    When queried as to why the Mumbai head does not have to report in to Dabral, it was pointed out that the Mumbai operations, including the channel’s uplinking, are taken care of in the city, whereas the other news channels are uplinked out of Noida on the outskirts of Delhi.

    Dabral would also oversee the launch of Sahara Samay Gujarati and English for south India, which are in the pipeline. The two region-specific channels are targeted for a year-end launch.

    Last month, SIME senior VP Ambikanand Sahay quit from the post suddenly. The management has yet not taken any decision as to who would take over from Sahay after his departure.

  • Sahara merges all its news bureaux; targets Bihar channel launch this month

    Sahara merges all its news bureaux; targets Bihar channel launch this month

    MUMBAI: The news channel business of the Sahara group is undergoing a revamp after some top level executive reshuffle.

    For starters, all the bureaus of the region-specific and national news channels are being merged to bring in more synergy and avoid duplication of responsibilities.

    Hence forth, a TV news bureau will not only report for the region specific channels, but also double up for the national channel, Sahara Samay Rashtriya, if need be.

    What’s more, the print medium bureaus (working for Sahara group’s newspapers and weeklies)would also chip in with their bit for the electronic medium venture.

    Confirming the development to indiantelevision.com, Sahara’s Prabhat Dabral (who holds additional charge of the national news channel after Arup Ghose and Shireen quit) said, “Yes, we have re-organised the Sahara news bureaus and have made it one news gathering system for out print and television endeavours.”

    Dwelling on the reason for this restructuring, Dabral said the mergers were done to optimise the group’s resources. “The aim is to avoid confusion and have more synergy,” he added.

    So there would be no separate Sahara UP bureau and Sahara Rashtriya bureau as was the case earlier. From now on, all reports would be filed under the tagline Sahara Samachar.

    As part of the revamping, the Bihar-specific news channel too is being launched later this month.

    Pointing out that a final date for the formal launch has not yet been decided, Dabral said that the channel’s dry runs of a few hours has already started with the day-long run starting few days later.

    The Bihar channel is being launched to coincide with the elections being held in the state early next year.

    At the moment, Sahara has four news channels, including one for Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

  • Sahara Samay launches in MP, Chhattisgarh

    MUMBAI: News channel network Sahara Samay has launched its regional edition for Madhya Pradesh (MP) and Chhattisgarh, on Friday.
    News agencies quoted Sahara India V-P and head of Sahara Samay News Prabhat Dabral as saying, “Sahara Samay-MP and Chhattisgarh has a key focus on news from the two states and separate bulletins for Jabalpur, Gwalior, Indore, Bhopal and Raipur.”
    The MP-Chhattisgarh channel promises instant, in-depth and exhaustive news coverage in the four cities, agencies quoted the channel as stating.
    The network soft launched its Western India specific channel Sahara Samay-Mumbai on 26 September. Pitched against a plethora of Hindi language news channels in Mumbai, the USP of this channel according to head Rajiv Bajaj is that it covers Maharashtra, parts of Gujarat and Goa. He had earlier referred to his channel as a tabloid on television. The much delayed Sahara Samay-Mumbai still awaits its official launch.
    Sahara Samay-MP and Chhattisgarh is a free-to-air, digital satellite Hindi news channel which will give viewers of the two states complete local news and events with regular updates, agencies said.
    Sahara India Television Network president Satish Menon and Dabral, were present when the regional bulletin was launched on Friday, a company release stated.

  • Badrinath’s Kapaat ‘live’ on Sahara Samay UP

    NEW DELHI: Sahara Samay Uttar Pradesh, the free-to-air and digital 24-hour Hindi city-centric regional news channel will telecast Badrinath’s Kapaat opening live from Badrinath on Thursday, 8 May 2003 at 4.00 am. 
    “This is the first time in the history of television when the viewers will be able to see the grand event live sitting in their homes,” Sahara Samay Uttar Pradesh head Prabhat Dabral was quoted as saying in a release.
    “We will use the best of state-of-the-art resources including OB Vans and helicopters to ensure complete and comprehensive coverage of Badrinath’s Kapaat opening,” Dabral added.
    Sahara Samay Uttar Pradesh, a part of the network of 31 city-centric regional news channels was launched on 28 March 2003. The release states that the first-of-its-kind news channel offers local news in an international packaging. Sahara Samay Uttar Pradesh offers local city news bulletins for six cities of Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal, viz Agra, Gorakhpur, Kanpur, Lucknow, Varanasi and Dehradun in addition to state news, national news and international news to keep its viewers abreast of the latest news and events.
    “Sahara Samay will not only report and analyse news, views and issues as they happen but follow them to their logical conclusion. Sahara Samay Uttar Pradesh has been positioned as a people’s channel and will be the voice of the people in every sense of the word,” said Sahara TV vice president (Publicity & PR) Prriya Raj.
    Explaining the relevance of coverage of events like Badrinath’s Kapaat opening, Raj elaborated: “Such local events are newsworthy and people do want to watch them. Sahara Samay is a people’s channel and these kind of events will surely create an emotional bonding with our viewers who can now watch it live through satellite in the comfort of their homes anywhere in India – and several other countries under the footprint of AsiaSat 3S.”
    The release states that Sahara Samay Uttar Pradesh offers instant, in-depth and exhaustive local coverage on the same day to its viewers instead of them waiting till the next morning. It attempts to offer maximum possible coverage with minimum possible repetition using the world’s most advanced, Asia’s largest and India’s first fully-automated electronic news production and state-of-the-art transmission technology.
    Sahara Samay Uttar Pradesh has an impressive line-up of special programmes including Subah Parikrama (daily 8.00 am. – 9.00 am.), Samay Shikhar (daily 8.00 pm – 9.00 pm), Sahara Abhiyaan, Biscope, Aap Ka MLA and Aakhir Kya Hua.
    On its plans to cover more local events live Dabral said: “After the live event of Badrinaath’s Kapaat opening, we are planning to cover several other local events of Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal on our newschannel. You will see Urs of Deva Sharif, Barsane Ki Lathmar Holi, Ganga Aarti at Haridwar Youth festival at Universities & IIT and much much more.”
    “And all this in truly international packaging and presentation live only on Sahara Samay Uttar Pradesh,” Prabhat was quoted as saying.

  • “The news channels will make profits by the end of the first year” : Sumit Roy Sahara India deputy director

    “The news channels will make profits by the end of the first year” : Sumit Roy Sahara India deputy director

    The Sahara India Parivaar, estimated to have a turnover of Rs 160 billion, has this knack of getting into the news and, most of the time, for all the wrong reasons. The group’s media and entertainment business, a growing revenue stream for the diversified conglomerate, has been no exception to this rule.

    Critics had sniggered at the group’s foray into the domestic airlines business some years back, but have been more or less silenced since then due to the creditable performance. Similarly, when the Sahara group decided to dabble in media products, starting off with a Hindi language daily, the critics had pointed out that it is another flight of fancy of the group’s managing director, Subroto Roy, who prefers to call himself the managing worker much to the chagrin of critics who claim that the group doesn’t have any creditable HR policy.

    Then came a Hindi general entertainment channel! Critics crowed that Sahara’s media & entertainment business was just another ploy by the Roys to give themselves some power, the likes of which is wielded by the Jains of the Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd., or the Birla-Bharatiyas of the Hindustan Times Ltd. or the Kasturi family of The Hindu. Sceptics also pointed out that Sahara’s flirtations with media would end soon. The speculations have died out now that Sahara has emerged as a serious player in the media business in the country.

    One of the reasons for such an all-pervasive notions about Sahara may be because the group’s senior executives, leave alone Roy, seldom interact with the media. Instead, Roy prefers to throw lavish and star-studded parties (attended by topnotch editors, of course) which become the talk of the town and regularly get featured on page three. But for a change, the Sahara group decided to open up a bit and talk about its media & entertainment business.

    In this rare interview conducted just before Christmas, Sumit Roy (no relation of the promoter family), a deputy director in Sahara India and head of the group’s media & entertainment business discusses with indiantelevision.com’s Anjan Mitra the future prospects of the company, the reason for attempting to launch 30-odd region- specific news channels (Sahara plans to invest close to Rs 6,000 million on the whole news project) and, more importantly, the yearning to be taken seriously, whether it be in general entertainment or in the news category. Roy, as per his own admission, is not new to media as he has been handling the media and organising press conferences from the time he joined Sahara almost 16 years ago.

    What is the status of Sahara’s news channels projects?
    Let me make this official. We have plans to launch 30 plus news channels which will be targeted at various regions of the country. The first two: the national news channel and Sahara Samay Uttar (meant for the state of Uttar Pradesh from where the promoters hail) have been slated for launch in February.

    Then, between February and June 2003, some of the other news channels will also be launched in a phased manner. In the pipeline are Sahara Samay Mumbai (which will also cover part of the state of Gujarat, apart from Maharashtra), channels meant for the other Hindi-speaking states like Rajasthan, Bihar and National Capital Region (covering Delhi and surrounding areas). So, basically we are looking at six region-specific channels, plus the national news channel by June.

    Let me also assure you that the work on the first two channels, slated for February launch, are at an advanced stage and the progress is satisfactory. I am also told that some dry runs for training purposes did start some days back.

    Did the company bring Vinod Dua in because the whole venture was getting delayed because of internal politics and differences between the various channel heads?
    Certainly not. You journalists love to speculate even when the facts are far away from the truth.

    Really? But Sahara has not denied the stories that have appeared on these lines in the media, including the one on indiantelevision.com.
    I don’t know what exactly appeared on indiantelevision.com, but I did see some other reports that were pretty wild. It is a documented fact that (Vinod) Duaji has been brought in as an advisor and this doesn’t mean or suggest that the company’s management does not have faith in the channel heads.

    “Our aim will be to offer products which will be as good as BBC and CNN. “

    That’s exactly the point. If you have faith in the channel heads, then why bring in Vinod even as an advisor?
    Duaji has had a long association with Sahara and he was responsible for the first news and current affairs programming introduced on Sahara TV. Our managing worker thought of formalising the relationship with Duaji and he was named the advisor to the news project. But let me tell you; Duaji’s presence in no way undermines the importance of the channel heads, which include Arup Ghosh (incharge of the national news channel); Prabhat Dabral (incharge of the news channels meant for the Hindi heartland); Rajiv Bajaj (incharge of the Mumbai channel); and Shireen (incharge of the NCR channel). The team spirit is very high and everybody, including Duaji, is working towards a common goal.

    Sahara’s media ventures, especially the news channels project, have been plagued by delays in what looks like a classic case of failing to deliver on promises made. The announcements were made in 2000 whereas the delivery will be in 2003. When will Sahara clean up its act?
    The delays you are talking about were all perceived delays. The first general announcement was made in 2000; we made a definitive announcement earlier in 2002 and we’ll be starting off in February 2003. I don’t think that is time enough to be called a delay for a mammoth project like this. Tell me, who else is setting up such a vast infrastructure nation-wide? V-sat networks, human resources, equipment. The logistics are huge and need time to get sorted out. The equipment that we are getting, and have got, are not available off the shelf.

    Despite the best of our efforts, some things are out of our hands. Let me give you an example – people from the (foreign) companies which are working on the technology aspects, like EMP and Omnibus, want to go on holiday at this time of the year. We cannot stop them as Christmas is around. Moreover, our plans too underwent some changes over a period of time. Broadcasting is a dynamic situation and thanks to our managing worker’s vision, the group realised that a different approach has to be adopted for the news channels project. Instead of having a national news channel, it was thought to be better to have several region-specific channels to cater to the huge demands of small advertisers (for a viable advertising platform in the electronic medium) as also the needs of various categories of audiences in this vast country.

    We are in a unique position to cover the country via our 30 plus news bureaus and other outlets. That’s why I’d say that the delays you are referring to are all perceived delays considering the logistics of the project.

    Since you are launching region-specific news channels, I am sure the group has done some market research. What would be the advertising market size that you are targeting?
    Some research has been done though I cannot tell you all the details. But the findings show that the needs of the Indian audiences are different from region to region. Moreover, the retail market in India, according to published reports, is around Rs 32 billion and that has encouraged us to tap the regional market through regional-specific news channels. I’d be unable to tell you about the size that we are targeting because these situations and figures constantly fluctuate. But there is certainly a market to be exploited. Moreover, after September 11, 2001 there is a hunger for news programmes in India and around the world.

    Distribution of satellite channels has always been a challenge for broadcasters in India, especially if they are not part of a bouquet, as is evident from the low penetration of the general entertainment channel Sahara TV. How is the group tackling this issue where the news channels are concerned?
    I agree that this is a big issue, but we are closely working with the cable fraternity to counter the issue of low penetration for Sahara TV as also the distribution of the proposed news channels. Since the news channels will be transmitted on digital mode (from Asiasat 3S satellite), set-top boxes would be needed to access those channels. We are evolving schemes whereby cable operators will get the boxes without adding to their existing expenses. Schemes are being finalised. But the boxes would not be given out free.
    “We are looking at launching Hindi and English weeklies, including three English weeklies, for the markets which will be targeted by the 30-odd news channels”

    Has the market been already seeded with STBs for the news channels?
    The process is on and the boxes are slowly going out. We are looking at distributing about 1,000 boxes for the Uttar Pradesh channel not just in UP, but also in Maharashtra where we have found there is a demand for news from UP. For the national news channel, about 5,000 boxes would be distributed initially.

    So, you have realised that distribution is a problem. Apart from pleasing the cable fraternity, what else is being done?
    We have also realised that we need driver programmes on Sahara TV to pull in the viewers which will create a demand for our channels. A new programming strategy is being put in place. There are programmes in the pipeline which feature Karisma Kapoor as also Sridevi. We hope that such programming will do for us what Kaun Banega Crorepati did, for example, for Star Plus and the demand from viewers will get us to the top (read – on prime band). By middle of January or so, you’ll see a Sahara TV with a brand new contemporary look and new programming. I promise you we’ll come back with a bang.

    Sahara has set up an earth station on the outskirts of Delhi for uplinking its channels. How much of investment has gone into this and will the uplink facility be used for in-house purpose only or also rented out to outside broadcasters?
    The investment is typical of that made in uplink facilities, but I cannot give out exact figures on the investment made here or in the news project. What I can tell you is that the uplink centre is state-of-the-art. And we have too much on our hands to think of doing something else with the facility.

    What sort of branding and positioning is Sahara looking at for its news channels?
    Can you tell me what sort of branding or positioning that Star looked for when it started Star News? Our aim is clear : address the mass(es) with class products. If you insist, we are trying to have satellite newspaper editions on television with the advantage of having a national edition too. Our aim will be to offer products which will be as good as BBC and CNN. Advertisers from Bihar to Faizabad (in Uttar Pradesh), from Devas (in Madhya Pradesh) to Pune (in Maharashtra) can all come on to our channels and get mileage for their products without burning holes in their pockets.
    “I feel DTH is not going to be a successful proposition in India. “

    But don’t you think that there are already products like Zee’s Alpha channels and ETV’s language channels, not to mention Doordarshan’s vast network of regional channels, tapping the regional advertising market which will pose competition to Sahara’s news channels?
    I don’t think those channels are a competition. Our model is different and we are confident of ourselves. For Sahara, media is more of a mission than business. We don’t want to wield powers through our media products, though the group has faced pulls and pressures from various quarters many times.

    Mission and not business? You mean to say the group is into the media business and investing so much in the electronic medium out of charity and the purpose is to serve the people only?
    I am not saying we are here to do charity. What I am trying to say is that we will not do anything by hook or crook. We believe in ourselves and we are sure of our bottom lines. We shall make profits by the end of the first year.

    Is Sahara looking at making forays abroad with its media products?
    We have definitive plans to enter the markets of the US, UK and Canada by 2003 or early 2004. Our experience in places like Dubai (where Sahara TV is available) has shown us that there is a market outside of India too. Talks are on at the moment with companies abroad to distribute Sahara TV there. The broadcasts will also contain news and current affairs programming apart from entertainment fare. We may either distribute the channel ourselves or hitch up with some company (or companies) there for distribution.

    Apart from the electronic medium, what are the plans for the other media business that Sahara is in?
    We are looking at launching Hindi and English weeklies, including three English weeklies, for the markets which will be targeted by the 30-odd news channels. The launch may coincide with TV channel launches or may be done slightly after the TV launches. The process of finalising the launches are on and we are still debating the brand name to be used for the weeklies.(Sahara group brings out a Hindi daily, Rashtriya Sahara, from several centres, including Delhi.) Then, we have plans to increase the number of editions of the Urdu daily to include centres like Kolkata, Hyderabad and Mumbai.

    What is Sahara’s stand on conditional access?
    At Sahara, we believe that CAS is a positive development and were amongst the first to support the government on CAS. There have been some instances when the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (the apex body of broadcasters operating in India) has held meetings of only pay channels leaving people like us out on CAS. But we feel that CAS will be beneficial to all the stakeholders of the industry: including broadcasters, cable operators and viewers.

    The only objection we had to CAS implementation is that the government should not decide on the channels to be carried as part of the basic tier of free to air channels. The government should decide the minimum number of channels (in the basic tier) and the maximum rate for the service. We have communicated these views to the government.

    But if, I repeat if, we feel Sahara is not benefiting from CAS and not taking advantage of it, then we may need to change our strategy.

    Is Sahara TV or the news channels looking at turning pay to increase subscription revenue post-CAS?
    Not at the moment.

    Does Sahara have any plans where KU-band DTH service is concerned?
    Not at the moment. But, personally, I feel DTH is not going to be a successful proposition in India.
    Why is Sahara group’s HR policy so maligned and criticised? Any improvements in the near future?
    I don’t subscribe to the view in the first place at all. The group functions like any other diversified company. Look what happened to the critics of the Sahara’s airlines service? Now, along with Jet Airways, we are one of the sought after airlines (in the domestic circuit). And the success for that is largely due to all those who work there as a team.
  • Swaraj favours more teeth for Press Council

    Swaraj favours more teeth for Press Council

    NEW DELHI: India’s Information and Broadcasting minister Sushma Swaraj today said that the government would consider providing more powers to the Press Council of India, including the penal powers which the Council wants in order to enforce its decisions on offenders.

    She said the government is also considering setting up an independent Broadcasting Regulatory Authority for the electronic media to check the onslaught on our culture, traditions and other undesirable telecasts. She invited suggestions from women’s organisations in this regard so that the government could take an overall view before arriving at a decision.

    Inaugurating the Platinum Jubilee Celebrations of the All India Women’s Conference here today, Swaraj regretted that a large number of serials, telecast mostly on private electronic channels, portray women in a very derogatory manner as if women are always conspiring, quarrelling on small issues and indulging in intrigues. 

    She said advertisements both in print and electronic media show semi-nude pictures of women, treating woman as a commodity to boost the sales of different products. Films too show women as either submissive and meek or only as objects of pleasure. The struggling and successful aspects of women are not projected to inspire others, Swaraj regretted.

    She also inaugurated a seminar on “Women and Media” and released a First Day Special Cover issued by the Postal Department on the Platinum Jubilee of AIWC. Prominent mediapersons who participated in the seminar included journalist Usha Rai, and TV personalities Rajdeep Sardesai, Prabhat Dabral and Deepak Chaurasia.

  • Vinod Dua to head all Sahara news operations

    Vinod Dua to head all Sahara news operations

    NEW DELHI: In a swift and major reshuffle of work responsibilities, the Subrata Roy-promoted diversified Sahara India group has brought in ace TV personality Vinod Dua as a consultant and co-ordinator of all proposed news operations, including the various state-specific news channels.

    The independent heads of the proposed news channels like Prabhat Dabral, Arup Ghosh and Rajiv Bajaj will now report to Dua who, according to company sources, will also be co-ordinating the financial and other aspects of the up and coming news channels. Dua, in turn, will report to the promoter family and Sumit Roy, in particular, who is the head of Sahara groups entire media and entertainment activities.

    Confirming the move, when contacted, Dua told indiantelevision.com, “Yes, I have been entrusted with co-ordinating the work and putting in place the infrastructure for the seven (proposed) news channels at least.”

    However, Dua also added that “it was an honorary post” which is the reason as to why he would not like to specify any designation.

    Though Dua insisted that his was an honorary responsibility, TV industry sources indicated that he will receive a hefty remuneration packet which equals the pay packet of any other CEO of media companies like Zee Telefilms.

    The changes that were effected on Monday were the result of a meeting on Saturday in Lucknow of the bigwigs from Sahara group.

    Though the exact reason for the move to bring in Dua over Ghosh, Dabral and Bajaj, effectively curtailing the powers of the three up to a certain extent, is not immediately known, but Sahara insiders indicate that there was resentment amongst the employees of Sahara over the functioning style of the various channel heads.

    A source went to the extent of saying that “differences also existed between various channel heads” who had powers to recruit too.

    While Dabral, a former Doordarshan reporter, is the head of news channels meant for Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar, Ghosh, a former NDTV star anchor, is the head of the proposed national channel. Bajaj, a former print medium journalist, is the head for the Mumbai news channel.

    Dua — one of the first products of Indian television news along with Prannoy Roy during the good old days of Doordarshan — in recent times has been doing news and current affairs (N&CA) shows for Sahara channel which, at present, is a mish-mash of entertainment and N&CA programming.

    The three channels which are expected to first get off the block from the Sahara stable early next year (Republic Day, 26 January?) include the Sahara Samay UP, Sahara Samay Mumbai and Sahara Samay national.

  • Sahara TV news channel launch likely in August

    Sahara TV news channel launch likely in August

    The Sahara India Group’s ambitious plans to launch a national Hindi news channel, along with a number of independent city-based regional news stations (mainly in the Hindi-speaking belt), is taking longer than initially planned.

    According to Sahara TV vice-president (publicity, promotions & PR) Priya Raj, the launch of the news channel will most probably be in August. If the channel does launch then, a likely date to start broadcast could well be 15 August (Independence Day) because of the patriotic linkages.

    Queried as to the reasons for the delay (the original plan was for an April kick-off), Priya Raj said there were no specific reasons other than the fact that getting everything in place was taking longer than initially anticipated. Priya Raj added that Sahara was looking at a simultaneous launch of the news channel and the broadsheet weekly newspaper the group was starting.

    Priya Raj said there were four key people who would be heading news operations. Arup Ghosh and Shirin, former anchors at Prannoy-Roy’s NDTV who left in September 2000 to start their own operation Network One, head the main national channel.

    The Mumbai station (includes all stations that may come up in the West) is headed by Rajiv Bajaj, president of the Hinduja Group’s IN TV till February 2002. Before IN TV, Bajaj was editor of the now defunct Mumbai-based “Daily” newspaper.

    Heading the North Indian regional channels is veteran journalist Prabhat Dabral.

    The way the news heads have been positioned, it does appear that the original rollout plan of one main news channel and 37 regional stations, is going to see some modifications.

  • Prabhat Dabral may not look like an archetypal head

    Prabhat Dabral may not look like an archetypal head

     Fifty-something Prabhat Dabral may not look like an archetypal head of a clutch of news channels, but this former Doordarshan man has managed to climb to the top on the basis of sheer tenacity. At times braving downsides in life — “being sidelined professionally,” as he would frankly admit. Managing Hindi language region-specific channels for a group like Sahara is not easy. And, that too when the group is known for making frequent structural changes and has flirted over the last few years with some big names of Indian television — like one of the original poster boys of domestic TV broadcasting Vinod Dua.
    Dabral admits that when he looks back over the eight years that he has spent with the Sahara group’s media venture — the news channels project is barely three years old — one thing that has stood him good is loyalty. “At time, I have thought what am I doing here? But then I have managed to hang on and ride out the rough patches, firmly believing in the vision of the group’s chairman (Subrato Roy),” says the man who at one time in his career has also worked with the Delhi bureau of GDR TV before the collapse of the Berlin Wall.
    In this interview with     Indiantelevision.com’s Anjan Mitra, done over a rare leisurely Sunday lunch of traditional home cooked fish curry and rice, vice-president of Sahara India Media and head of television news venture Dabral discusses the future of Sahara Samay news channels, which have been languishing towards the bottom of the ladder, except for a brief period of time when the national channel, Sahara Samay Rashtriya, shone brightly immediately after launch few years back. Surprisingly, Dabral also does not flinch away from some ground realities, which, according to him, may also change in the future.
    Excerpts:

    Why don’t you start off by giving an overview of Sahara Samay news channel venture?
    Sahara Samay (samay in Hindi means time) is a clutch of Hindi news channels targeting various Hind-speaking regions of North India and Mumbai. The venture was started with a view to have a new kind of television news dissemination whereby we targeted Hindi regional areas. We thought that the regional markets were growing for a variety of reasons and there was an opportunity to satiate the hunger of people there for news and also attract advertisers who would always not like to address audience at the national level with particular products. In fact, that is our strength still, criticism notwithstanding.

    The basic vision was simple: television market was not confined to metros and urban areas only. Boosted by an economy on the upswing and growing consumerism, newer markets were getting created and our news channels try to address these emerging markets where the needs are more local (news), rather than national or international.

    Over these three years, we have managed to create a mechanism where through our state-specific channels we target small city audiences through 50 bureaus. We have Sahara Samay Rashtriya channel, which operates at the national level, apart from those dedicated for states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, National Capital Region of Delhi, Rajasthan, Bihar and part of Maharashtra (Mumbai). In a way, each of these channels can be further sub-divided into smaller cities of these states whereby we try to address the needs of viewers through appointment viewing at particular time bands.
    'We talk to small town audiences in a language that they understand and present a look that they can relate to. From Delhi or Mumbai’s perspective, it might be down market'

    Did Sahara conduct some sort of a survey to assess these ‘emerging regional markets’ within India or just went ahead to fulfill desires of the top bosses of the company?
    Yes, we did carry out several surveys on regional markets and their growth potential. For example, government subsidies to rural and semi-urban areas amounted to almost Rs. 40 billion few years back, which makes for huge amount of investible surplus in these areas. That’s the type of revenue support any sort of activity is likely to get there.

    Our surveys also told us that consumer products were increasingly targeting such areas as urban markets got saturated. Beyond a point there isn’t much investible surplus in metros and bigger cities of India. Newspapers spotted this earlier than the electronic medium and started targeting readers in smaller towns and cities in local languages.

    I would also put my neck out and say in today’s time, there aren’t very many national newspapers. Most target smaller groups or markets and from there they make money. Why is it that Times of India in Mumbai has supplements for various regions of Mumbai and a Hindustan Times has similar fare for areas around Delhi? Simply because these newspapers realized early there is an opportunity to target advertising at a very local level. In way, I’d also say that Hindi television news market leader Aaj Tak partly rode this trend initially to attract small time advertisers at low rates.

    The basics are simple: cater to regional aspirations.

    Has Sahara Samay channels got its act right by hitting upon the correct permutation and combination of news content and packaging?
    I agree it’s a matter of content strategy and we have learnt a lot over these years. However, learning is a continuous process and we constantly keep on changing according to the needs of the regional audiences. That our larger outlook was correct is proven by the fact that even market leaders are now launching city-specific channels or are exploring the possibilities.

    I would also agree that our learning curve has been long, but better late than never. We recently appointed marketing personnel for some untapped parts of Uttar Pradesh and in the very fist month the ad sales collection was so encouraging that our marketing team is confident of doubling it the next month. This is just to give an example of the type of response that we are getting in Uttar Pradesh for our channels.

    Where do these regional channels of Sahara stand in the ratings heap?

    If you just take a particular state in which we operate, then we are successfully competing with Hindi language national news channels like Aaj Tak, Star News, Zee News, etc. in that particular state market. At times, we have also beaten them in the local game. But if you compare Sahara Samay UP at an all-India level, for example, it would not cause even a blip. But that would be a wrong comparison because that channel is only distributed in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

    So our aim is to present to advertisers regional platforms through content packaging that satiates the local needs of audiences in a particular market. Today, hardly any local press conference is started in the states of our operation without our presence. It may sound as if I am blowing my own trumpet, but it’s also a matter of pride and realization that our state-specific channels are important enough for people residing in those states and its smaller towns and cities.

    What improvisation was made on the content side to build up a loyal regional audience?
    The mantra is simple: go local and more local. More our news channels talk about and pick up local issues, more the audience we get. For example, a viewer may get to hear that freak floods are created havoc in the desert state of Rajasthan from a national channel, but will switch to our local channel to know more about his or her own locality and area. I am also told that police stations in smaller towns keep tuned in to our channels to track untoward incidents in their areas of jurisdiction like an employee of a very big company would turn to an in-house journal to know about the daily happenings.

    Let’s take the city of Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh. No national news channel would have more than two reporters and an equal number of camera units to cover the city, but we have 10 reporters routinely fanning out in the city looking for developments and news. When a big development takes place, Sahara Samay Rashtriya (the national news channel) may air the story for a couple of minutes, but our local channel would cash in on that further and devote more time for the viewers’ benefit.

    Now, if we are able to offer advertisers such dedicated and loyal viewership, revenue is bound to flow in.

    It seems Sahara’s philosophy is to cover small town news through a down market product. Would you agree?
    That’s an urban or a big city perception. From our point of view, it’s coverage of even the smallest of news in an up market fashion. After all, our technology and equipment are second to none, if not better. We talk to small town audiences in a language that they understand and present a look that they can relate to. From Delhi or Mumbai’s perspective, it might be down market. Still, the revenues being generated tell a different tale altogether.

    We are like the city news pages of a local newspaper.

    But wouldn’t successful Hindi regional channels cannibalise the revenue potentials of the national news channel of the company?
    Up to an extent that’s a fair assessment. However, for areas like Gujarat, rest of Maharashtra and Punjab where we don’t have state-specific news channels, we target the audience through the national news channel. Mind you, all the places mentioned not only bring revenues for other news channels, but also ratings. We have tried to create a bouquet for advertisers for different needs.

    Would I be correct in saying that the focus seems to be on the region-specific news channels rather than the national channel?
    We had always hovered between 8-9 per cent of the market share with our national news channel. Even latest figures reveal that we have managed to hang on to 8 per cent. But, as it happens with any TV channel, there have been times when the market share of the national channel had fallen well below six per cent. Still, you are right in saying that our present focus is on the regional channels as we feel they can surge ahead faster.

    With a market share of eight per cent, Sahara Samay Rashtriya must be languishing at the bottom of the Hindi news channel heap.
    Well, our national channel has been ahead of the likes of Channel7 (rechristened IBN7 after management takeover by the TV18 Group), India TV and Doordarshan News. That’s small comfort, but I feel over the next few months Sahara Samay Rashtriya should be increasing its market share up to 9.5 per cent and then we would be certainly ahead of three channels mentioned. A slackness had been witnessed, which is being corrected now.

    The flip side, of course, is to aspire for the No. 1 slot. But we understand ground realities and are not reaching for the moon.

    The perception about Sahara Samay news venture is that frequent structural and manpower changes have impeded a smooth growth. Your comments.
    The slackness that I was talking about was partly due to internal changes that have been happening, which, I feel, should not be read out of context. Especially for an operation of this scale by a corporate group that has diversified business interests (Sahara group is active in the fields of small savings, airlines, real estate, entertainment and print and electronic media).

    Ups and downs in any business are natural and Sahara group’s television news venture is not an exception. However, I don’t mind saying that our prime focus is on the city-specific channels as we feel that’s where the audience and money are.

    If that’s the case, then why not wind up the national news channel?
    Why should we? It’s not a white elephant and incremental costs are manageable. Having a national channel, which is a by product of city-specific channels, also helps us in creating inventories that can be sold.

    What are the expansion plans for regional channels?
    We would be adding more cities through time bands on our state-specific channels. Our target is to have 60 bureaus throughout India. We will also get into other Indian languages like Bengali with a news channel for West Bengal and surrounding areas. There are plans to go to South India and Punjab too. We are in the business of (city-specific) appointment news viewing and we will expand further between first and second quarter of 2007.

    Presently, we are consolidating revenue-wise as far as city-specific channels are concerned. We had not been able to adequately monetize our audience base up till now, but a new marketing push is being given as response from advertisers has been very encouraging. Our ad revenue has increased almost three-fold in the last six months compared to the corresponding period a year ago. I can also add that most big brands now are either on board or in the process of being so.

    What’s more, by December all the regional news channels from the Sahara stable should break even. The UP channel is almost poised to break even ahead of others.

    How much would have Sahara invested by now in its TV news project?
    I would not be able to reveal those figure, but operational expenses of our news channels is between RS 20-RS 25 million per channel per month. That is also because we do a lot of cost optimization by sharing resources. However, a large investment has gone into fixed assets like state-of-the-art studios and equipment.