ITV

Tag: Seema Pherwani

  • “Just wait and watch there are many more in the pipeline” : Rajat Sharma- TV editor-in-chief

    “Just wait and watch there are many more in the pipeline” : Rajat Sharma- TV editor-in-chief

    Indiantelevision.com’s Seema Pherwani spoke to India TV editor-in-chief Rajat Sharma, in the eye of a controversy following the series of ‘sting operations’ his channel has conducted that has already accounted for two scalps in Bollywood baddie Shakti Kapoor and television superstar Aman Verma.

    Though difficult to pin down, the man who is known to have put many in the hot seat maintains that the exercise was not a ploy to garner eyeballs and reveals that there is lots more of the same in the pipeline.

    Why and how was this whole operation planned?
    We had planned it months ago. The idea was to expose the ‘casting couch syndrome’ which is a big menace in the film industry. No one has had the guts to get up and say it. Even the film industry is not ready to own up to the exploitation in it. So, we decided to conduct the operation. Parents of girls coming in from small towns to Mumbai can now tell their girls to be more careful.

    The way the sting operation has been conducted has been criticised across the media. Many say it was a real trap and its all about invading someone’s privacy.
    Shakti Kapoor represents the film fraternity. And how else do you expose a thing like this. If you’re talking of invading someone’s privacy then all such deals often happen in closed and private places.

    But surely there are other ways of exposing issues?
    There is no other way of exposing an issue like this. As journalists we have to take certain risks. And a sting operation is all about laying a trap to expose the muck. And this is not the first one. There have been other operations in the past like. There have been other sting operations till date – like the sadhus doing misdeeds and scandal of Bihar politicians. This was the only say to expose the whole thing.
    But why blow up an issue like the casting couch? Aren’t there are other important issues around us?
    Because it affects millions of aspiring youngsters who came to Mumbai with stars in their eyes. They fall prey to people in the industry who promise them roles at the cost of being exploited. So, they need to know the reality. The response has been overwhelming. I’ve received more 74,000 sms from parents, 22,000 emails and more than 1 lakh (100,000) people responded through the DTH service.

    But what message are we conveying to the parents of women journalists? How far can a woman go out to get a story? Things could have gone out of hand.
    No, it could not have gone out of hand, because the journalist conducted herself in a rather dignified way. She has done a phenomenal job. She is daring and we are proud of her. It’s because of her that we’ve been able to expose the muck in the entertainment world.

    That doesn’t answer my question, how far can we go to get a scoop? The reporter did not reveal her identity.
    A sting operation is a trap so obviously she cannot reveal her identity.
    “The journalist has done a phenomenal job. She is daring and we are proud of her. It’s because of her that we’ve been able to expose the muck in the entertainment world“

    Isn’t it just a marketing gimmick to garner eyeballs and get viewer recall?
    We are already reaching out to more than 30 million households. So, we don’t need to try any gimmicks to get ahead of the game. People who are jealous of our success in the media and other television channels can continue to say this.

    People say you’ve used wine and women to make Shakti Kapoor blabber.
    It was Shakti Kapoor who kept calling her late at night. It was he who came to the hotel room. And although he was supposed to come in to the hotel room at about 7:30 pm he kept delaying it. Our undercover journalists were there in the lobby and keeping a watch on him. So, he was waiting for it to be late night. If you see the tape carefully it was he who came in and asked for a drink and started saying things like I want to kiss you etc, etc.

    But why trap someone like Shakti Kapoor, who’s not even a producer?
    How do you know that we don’t have more names? Just wait and watch there are many more in the pipeline. For me India TV is a mission and not just a news channel.
    But now people will be scared of talking to India TV?
    We are not here to scare anyone.
    Critics say the Tehelka sting operation was justified as it was all about exposing corruption at the higher levels.
    Tehelka was a website and later used another channel to air the operation. So, there is no comparison between the two cases.
    India TV is in for a long haul as Shakti Kapoor plans to sue you.
    He can go ahead and sue us. In any case he doesn’t have too much of a strong case. If we show the entire tape it will only embarrass him further.
  • ‘Fragmentation is going to come in the TV industry in a far larger way than has happened so far’ : Apurva Purohit – Times Television Network COO

    ‘Fragmentation is going to come in the TV industry in a far larger way than has happened so far’ : Apurva Purohit – Times Television Network COO

    Zoom, the first Indian, premium, non-fiction lifestyle and entertainment channel which targets the young and upwardly mobile. The aspirational channel knits together the many fine skeins that make up lifestyle; so there is celebrity, high living, relationship advice, Bollywood, gossip, fashion, music, astrology and Bollywood shows.

    Indiantelevision.com’s Seema Pherwani spoke to Times Television Network COO Apurva Purohit for a lowdown on the channel and an overview of the lifestyle genre.

    What’s the viewer response to Zoom?
    I think the response has been very positive and people are commenting on the fact that it’s a different product. We believe that the timing of a lifestyle channel is just right. With middle class Indians travelling across the globe and evolving as a culture, people are a lot more concerned about dressing well and looking good. So, there’s a need-gap which we are trying to fill.

    Many believe the time is still not right for such a channel, since the niche audience constitutes a very small percentage?
    Well, the audience we are looking at is urban India, and it is slowly growing. A lot of positive response has come in even from smaller towns like Nasik or Panipat; which are in a sense mini-metros. Since the channel is very aspirational, it appeals to the sensibilities of the audience, fulfilling their aspirations with shows like the Manish Malhotra show.

    What’s the gestation period you’d have for the channel?
    It would take some time for a channel to settle on its own, and for us at the channel level to understand the viewer taste and the kind of programming that people like or don’t like. Also, for a programme to fit into and become a habit for people to become a habit, it would take two to three months.
    Discovery Travel and Living would soon be launching, StarOne will be doing some lifestyle programming. So, do you see a splash in the market in terms of lifestyle programming?
    From what I hear, StarOne is 99 per cent fiction.

    But it’s the same target audience?
    I don’t know whether we are talking of the same target audience for fiction and non-fiction. We have to remember that any television product or a print product today will try to appeal to the SEC A B segment and to a certain extent the C’s. It’s because these are the high-consuming audiences that advertisers want. So we are essentially trying to appeal to the same target audience. But I strongly believe that fiction is ultimately a mass product, whether it’s a Sony or a StarOne or any other fiction channel it will be mass based.

    With competition beefing up in the market, how do you plan to change your programming?
    I don’t think our programming is only based on what competition is doing or will be doing. We would define our competition as the niche channels like Channel [V] and MTV and now Discovery as you’re saying. So, these channels are definitely our competition, because we are in the non-fiction game and not the fiction game.

    Our programming is a product of what market research we’ve done, which has defined what the consumer wants. There are a few ‘need-gaps’ in the market and we are addressing those need gaps. So, programming will not change drastically as more lifestyle channels come into the market. The basic genre will remain the same
    ‘There are a few ‘need-gaps’ in the market and we are addressing those need gaps ‘

    But Discovery will have shows like Globe Trekker, World Poker Tour, Great Vacation Homes targeting the la-de de cr?me audience. Whereas you have Bole to, Zoom Chakachak and Mirchi Top 20.
    Since, we have a fair amount of Bollywood and music on the channel our audience spans across both of Channel [V] an MTV both. And with lifestyle programming we would span across the Discovery audience. I would say our audience would be slightly broader than Discovery, primarily because of the language of content. Our channel is Hinglish and they would be English. But from the psychographic profile perspective, our audiences will be the same.

    What happens to your E! band, considering that there has been a talk of E! Networks entering India?
    Well, it’s a pretty clear understanding we have with them and the E! band will continue. The kind of people we profile on the band, celebrity homes have not been seen earlier in India.

    Do you see a further fragmentation in the genre?
    Fragmentation is going to come in the TV industry in a far larger way than has happened so far. In the years to come, there will be far more niche channels focused at specific target audiences, fulfilling the need-gaps in the market. So, this is only the start of niche channels. And having entered the market at this stage of its evolution, we see a great potential in all the genres that we are looking at, be it lifestyle or the spiritual channel. These niche channels will have a unique positioning in the consumer’s mind.