MUMBAI: The growing number of skyscrapers and commercial parks in the country and the announcement of initiatives like ‘Smart Cities’ and ‘Affordable Housing’ by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set the ball rolling in the real estate sector. But, for dreams to be accomplished, transparent dialogues between various stakeholders is needed and to give the desired impetus, Times Network is set to launch a 24 X 7 real estate channel Property Now, starting October, 2015.
The real estate industry sees over Rs 3000 crore of advertisement, which is mostly dominated by print. Times Network CEO and MD MK Anand, at the ongoing Big5 Construct India, 2015 said, “Real estate is the industry which produces 20 per cent of India’s employment and contributes 6 per cent to India’s economy, but is never spoken about. All the stories that we see about the real estate sector are negative and no one speaks about the positive side of the fraternity which builds India. Now, through Property Now, the top of the pyramid will know the positive stories of the sector.”
Reports and survey indicate that around 11 crore homes need to be constructed to fulfill the dreams, and hence infrastructure is indeed a key sector. Also, the sector has no regulatory body and consumers have often suffered because of the loop holes in the self regulatory system. In such a scenario, Property Now can emerge as a perfect medium to ensure reduction of incumbency. Mumbai, for example, has several unoccupied affordable houses and illegal chawls. The existence of both at the same time indicates there are some flaws in the system which need to be converted to a dialogue and Property Now, being a venture from the largest media conglomerate in India, can easily indulge into that.
“Dialogues, debates and awareness about the real estate sector will ensure smoother growth and that’s what is in the agenda of the channel. Property Now will educate, inform and make people aware about the sector,” asserted Anand.
The network has tied up with Amagi for separate beams in separate regions. There are a very few builders who are present all over the country and so having a pan India channel with same feed and inventory might pose limitations when it comes to revenue generation. The to-be launched channel will have multiple feeds and will thus be able to rope in different advertisers for different regions. “We already have the infrastructure ready in Pune and now we can have different feeds for not only Property Now, but also Times Now and ET Now,” informed Anand.
Property Now is currently eyeing the target audience of ET Now and thus will be working on similar distribution strategies. “The distribution process will be gradual and we will eventually expand our base. We have already signed deals with a few multi system operators (MSOs) and we will be gradually present on all the platforms,” said Anand.
Times Network plans to back the channel digitally and will thus launch an app too.
According to Anand, over 60 per cent of the ad inventory for the upcoming real estate channel has already been sold. “It is a record of sorts. The response has been amazing and we have a few launch partners already with us. We are yet to start selling FPCs and I already see a lot of positives,” he said.
Times Network Real Estate and Personal Finance editor Faye DSouza will be heading the channel. “Faye has been a great resource and her experience and insights played a vital role in our decision to launch Property Now. In-depth debates and analysis will be immensely prominent on the channel. Faye will report to Times Now and ET Now news president and editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami,” said Anand.
Talking about the editorial strategy, DSouza said, “It’s still early days. We will have bulletins, but the focus will be on advices regarding tax, home loans etc. There will be debates and a lot of dialogues involving Urban Development Ministry. We will also have weekend features on interior designing, Fenshui, Vastu and other after possession developments. Fundamentally we will help consumers invest smartly.”
