Tag: Sony

Big fight is in Hindi GEC middle rung

‘Around 20-25 per cent of our revenues in the Asian region come from India’ : Ricky Ow – SPE Networks Asia GM

’50 per cent of the challenge of filmmaking lies in marketing’ : Ashok Amritraj – Entertainment chairman and CEO

Zee leads pack of musical sagas; Sony overtakes Star

We are confident of achieving a turnover of Rs 4.5 billion in the digital audio video segment by year end : Moon B Shin- LG managing director

Channels line up battle for afternoon viewers

The Hindi General Entertainment Channel (GEC) space is getting replete with strategies, counter strategies, experiments and innovations.

While newbie NDTV Imagine has grabbed the number three position withRamayan as its content driver, Zee TV has topped the prime-time slot with shows like Banoo Main Teri Dulhann and Mayka.

The battle for supremacy in prime time is being fought hard by Star Plus and Zee. The other GECs are also investing heavily to grab viewership in this time band as it attracts a major chunk of the revenues.

However, the story does not just end at the prime time. Since a major chunk of the total GRPs comes from prime time, every channel wants to leverage it. But the fact remains that a Hindi GEC with the core target of active female viewers has to focus not only on the prime time but also on the afternoon slot, which is the second most sought-after in terms of revenues.

While at the moment only Star Plus, Zee TV and 9X are the players that have an afternoon slot with fresh programmes, others in the field have either repeats of their prime-time shows or movies. But they are also eyeing this space.

To understand the dynamics, let’s take a look at the afternoon slots of these channels.

1:00 pm – 1:30 pm 1:30 pm – 2:00 pm 2:00 pm – 2:30 pm 2:30 pm – 3:00 pm

Star Kumkum Bhabhi Karam Apna Apna Grahasti

Zee Saath Saath Rakhi Meri Doli Tere Angana
–

Star Plus has its top performing shows which have been traditionally doing well for it. The slot begins with Kumkum at 1 pm followed by Bhabhi andKaram Apna Apna at 1:30 pm and 2:00 pm, respectively. All the three shows have delivered well for the channel. The third show is Grihasthi, which was launched last month, replacing Sarrthi at 2:30.

Zee presently has Sath Sath at 1 pm, Rakhi at 1:30 pm andMeri Doli Tere Angana at 2 pm.

STRATEGY

It was Star who first dominated the afternoon turf with fresh programmes. Zee had, more or less, fixed its eyes on the lucrative prime-time band.

Until May 2007, afternoons on Zee TV meant a repeat of prime-time shows. But having stabilised the prime-time band, Zee launched the attack to grab the afternoon viewers.

The first to fill this space was Meri Doli Tere Anganaon at 2 pm. This was then followed by the launch ofRakhi at 1:30 pm in August.

Zee’s strategy was to first hit the slot where Star Plus was relatively weak and from 2 pm to move to the 1 pm band.

“We have already consolidated the prime time and now our focus is on the afternoon slot,” says Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) president of revenue Joy Chakraborthy.

This obviously came as a strategy to increase the GRPs for the channel.

On Star Plus’ front, the “K” shows from Balaji Telefilms have been the ruling ragas on the channel. Interestingly, of the present lot of the K shows, one is on the afternoon band ( Karam Apna Apna) while Kumkumfrom Bag Films has played a long innings and still going strong. All these shows are running for long and have consistently delivered well for the channel.

The consistency and loyalty of viewers reflect well in the TRPs these shows deliver. How will Zee break the cult?

“We are gradually building over the slot with shows. Moreover, one should not forget that Star Plus has been running these shows for two to three years and the loyalty has been built already. Gradually, we will also secure the afternoon slot with shows targeted towards women,” says Chakraborthy.

It seems the hide-and-seek game will persist for some more time.

FEASIBILITY

Launching a slot is not an easy job because revenues play an important role. Every slot should be workable.

With huge monies involved, channels need to be more cautious while launching shows. The afternoon band also is relatively low paying but there is potential to up the rates.

“The CPRP is also lower and because of which the afternoon inventory is choc-a-block and that makes an investment worth returns,” says Chakraborthy.

“The female viewership is higher in the afternoon slot because of which there are 65 per cent to 70 per cent of FMCG brands advertising in the afternoon slot,” he adds.

However, the trend remains that the prime time, which constitutes the major chunk of the GRPs, has to be consolidated first and then comes the daily afternoon slot.

If that is the case, Zee launching an afternoon slot makes sense. But the middle rung channels which are still toddling behind have to still give it a thought.

“The investments that go into producing the shows are huge but the RoIs have to be equally huge. At this time, we want to establish our prime time. However, afternoon is something that needs to be addressed on our channel and we will focus on it very soon,” says Sahara One programming head Kalyan Sundaram.

“With this kind of investment, a lot of research needs to be done and everything has to be worked out,” adds Sundaram.

12:00 pm- 12:30 pm 12:30 pm – 1:00pm 1:00 pm – 1:30 pm 1:30 pm – 2:00 pm

9x Rasme Rasoi Dahhej Neelajanaa Veeranwali

Industry observers say that only after the prime time is strengthened, the channel should intrude the afternoon slot. Traditionally that has been the case.

Kumkum was a low-budget show, and later on went on to become the major driver of the channel.

“I was involved in the mounting process of Kumkum which was the show that gave insight of using afternoon slot for building GRPs,” says Sony Entertainment Television (SET) creative head Sanjay Upadhyay.

The other channels repeat the shows that are aired in the prime time.

“Repeats drive the prime-time slot. It is our extended offering to viewers who could not catch the shows at prime time. We don’t want to get scattered everywhere. As the industry says, first strengthen the prime time and then focus on afternoon. By showing repeats, we are trying to build up our prime time and as far as movies are concerned, they have their own strengths,” adds Upadhyay.

9X, which is a new entrant in the genre, launched its afternoon slot in January 2008 with Rasm-E-Rasoi at 12:00 noon. 12:30 pm has a repeat of a prime-time show Daheej. Then comes Neelanjana at 1 pm and Veeranwaliat 1:30 pm – both of which are fresh shows.

9X’s afternoon slot begins at 12 noon which is one hour ahead of Star Plus and Zee’s slot.

“A strong daily afternoon band will only add variety to the offerings of a GEC, which have to be rich and varied because it’s a general entertainment channel. We have two original daily dramas and a cookery show. We wanted to offer our key audiences the best of programming not just in prime time but in the afternoons too,” says INX Media founder-CEO Indrani Mukerjea.

Star and Zee have fresh programming in the afternon slot, but they have an established prime time. Considering that, isn’t it too early for 9X to launch the afternoon slot with fresh programmes?

“These programming decisions are in keeping with our business plan, and we have a long-term perspective. We believe that the homemaker female audiences need good, original programming that informs and entertains in the afternoons. Hence, we are offering cookery shows and two original daily dramas for them,” adds Mukerjea.

March 14, 2008
Kunal Dasgupta quits Sony

MUMBAI: Multi Screen Media (formerly known as Sony Entertainment) CEO Kunal Dasgupta has quit the organisation.
Man Jit Singh, the chairman of MSM has taken over as the interim CEO.

MSM is looking for a new CEO, sources say.

Await detailed report…

February 19, 2008

Think television and what commonly springs to mind are Hindi general entertainment channels (GEC) like Star Plus, Zee TV, Sony, etc… That list keeps getting longer with ever new entrants in the space.

This has forced existing channels to pull up their socks and gird for the fight that is only going to get more fractious. At present though, the sorting is like this: Channels number 1 and 2 are head and shoulders above the pack. Much lower down in the second tier are another two contenders slugging it out. Then come the also rans (at least for the present), each trying to make an impression.

These are some observations that can be highlighted after analyzing the performances in the Hindi GEC arena over the last six months (July to December 2007) based on data provided by Tam (C&S 4+, HSM), both relative market share and GRPs.

Star drops but still leads; Zee closes gap, slips back

There is still no argument. Star Plus, as has been the case for the last seven+ years, holds firmly onto pole position, despite Zee TV‘s best efforts at tipping the ratings scales in its favour.

Looking at the channel shares, Star Plus garnered 36 per cent in July and was consistent till September. But it picked up strongly to reach 39 per cent in October. Nach Baliye 3 had a big role to play in strengthening Star Plus‘ position.

Star India VP marketing and communication Prem Kamath says, “Zee TV saw an increase in the ratings post Sa Re Ga Ma Pa launch, which had narrowed the gap between Star Plus and Zee. Though there are a number of other things that have happened in Star Plus which have pushed the channel back to its place.”

Relative channel share
Channel	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Star	36	36	36	39	39	38
Zee	29	29	32	32	30	29
Sony	14	15	14	11	11	11
Star One	7	7	7	6	6	7
Sahara	9	9	9	8	8	8
Sab	5	4	3	3	4	3
9X	0	0	0	0	2	4
Source: Tam (c&s 4+, HSM)

“Last four to five weeks‘ data clearly say that Star Plus is considerably ahead of Zee. Several initiatives that we launched further strengthened our position. A weekly fiction based show called Sangam was launched in August. With Sangam, we extended our prime time to 7 PM, followed by Santan at 7:30 PM Santan is doing extremely well in its time band with 2+ rating. Bidaai, which launched in the 9 PM slot is fetching good numbers. All the newly launched shows cumulatively have consolidated our position in the genre,” says Kamath.

On the other hand Zee TV started with a market share of 29 per cent, peaked and at 32 per cent in September. After staying consistent in October , it again fell to 30 per cent and 29 per cent in November and December.

Says Joy Chakraborthy, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) president and revenue, “This year Zee TV has done phenomenally well. Every inventory was utilised. We got more campaigns than any other channel. We have traded well and that speaks well of us.”

The year brought good fortune for Zee TV as programmmes like Banoo Main Teri Dulhann and Sa Re GA Ma Pa could put down the Super Ks of Star Plus in terms of TVR, on several occasions. Its other shows like Saat Phere have also enjoyed steady eyeballs.

Queried about Zee‘s drop in channel share, Chakraborthy says, “Dips in GRPs do occur when a show ends. But that is marginal. Our FPC is designed strategically and it offers variety of programs across categories. That has helped us in getting and retaining advertisers.”

“We would love to overtake Star. Our sales have hyped and we are anyways ahead of them in weekday prime time GRP (Monday to Friday) 7-10 PM,” avers Chakraborthy.

GRP January 2008, week days – all day
Channel	Week 1	Week 2
Star	368.16	344.83
Zee	273.7	271.84
Sony	90.46	77.17
Star One	72.71	75.51
Sahara	64.49	66.45
Sab	25.11	29.08
9X	40.17	37.75
Source: Tam (c&s 4+, HSM)

GRP January 2008, weekdays – Prime Time
Channel	Week 1	Week 2
Star	226.65	192.42
Zee	169.04	170.84
Sony	52.51	46.77
Star One	37.05	41.93
Sahara	27.13	27.74
Sab	12.08	12.59
9X	15.47	17.02
Source: Tam (c&s 4+, HSM)

Third position at stake

While Star Plus and Zee TV are currently out of reach for the ‘best of the rest‘, it leaves a lot of room for other channels to slug it out for third position.

The three channels in this turf would be Sony Entertainment Television (SET), Star One and Sahara One.

The momentum is clearly with Star One and today it is laying claim to being the number three GEC. It almost stayed cosistent at seven per cent till September before falling down to six per cent in October and November and increased its pie by one per cent in December.

However what has been spectacular is that the channel saw a phenomenal increase in the GRPs of the first two weeks of this year.

Kamath says, “We launched Dil Mil Gaye, which has touched a TRP of 2, Annu Ki Ho Gayi Wah Bhai Wah, Choona Hain Aasman, we are launching Pari Hoon Main in the next week, which kind of completes our week day prime time. In the week end we have launched Bol Baby Bol which again has a TRP of 2. We have tasted fair success with Chak De Funjabi. There are lots of vacant time bands in Star One which has not been programmed. There are couple of other shows which will make Star One as the big player in the space.”

Relative channel share
Channel	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Star	36	36	36	39	39	38
Zee	29	29	32	32	30	29
Sony	14	15	14	11	11	11
Star One	7	7	7	6	6	7
Sahara	9	9	9	8	8	8
Sab	5	4	3	3	4	3
9X	0	0	0	0	2	4
Source: Tam (c&s 4+, HSM)

From a year-long look, the biggest downslide has been witnessed by SET of course. The times when it held the second position in the channel stakes are but a distant memory today.

Not for lack of trying though. It has launched a variety of new shows like Amber Dhara, Jhalak Dikhla Jaa 2, Khwahish and Kuchh Is Tara but none have really clicked. Even Ekta‘s famous K factor failed to spark any TRP magic. The network went heavy with movie acquisitions, changed the network packaging, but to little avail.

So much so that its GRPs in the first week of January 2008 came down from 90.46 to 77.17 in the second week of 2008, which is just 1.66 points ahead from Star One. If Sony doesn‘t arrest the slide, and soon, Star One could soon be the clear number three in the Hindi GEC space.

That brings us to the third player in the tier two category – Sahara One.

The channel has held steady even though it has seen its fair share of rise and fall in GRPs.

When reality ruled Star Plus, Zee TV, SET and Star One, this channel was not behind either. Sahara One opened its cards with Biggest Loser Jeetega. It then unveiled its second big reality property, Jhoom India, which ended its run last week.

Looking at the Week 1 and Week 2 data of 2008, we find that Sahara One‘s GRPs have remained consistent during weekdays.

9X gives an impressive start; cannibalises Sab

November also saw the launch of 9X. It started well with two per cent relative market share and jumped to four per cent in December.

If observed carefully. The channel which got directly effected by 9X was Set‘s sibling Sab. Sab‘s market share is down from five per cent in July to three per cent in December.

The GRPs for the first two weeks of January show that 9X has crossed the first hurdle and is now ahead of Sab.

Sab has been experimenting to establish its prime time slot since long. Presently it has Left Right Left and Jersey No 10 as its stable shows.

It is struggling to fill up its prime time with a variety of shows. In the process it also discontinued Sab Ka Bheja Fry, a comedy show which was launched targeting the male viewers.

A lot of activity can be predicted with the landscape getting crowded with new entrants.

“This will only increase the cost of production, carriage fees and placement. However the competition will help us grow. The GRPs will increase and advertising revenues will increase as more viewers will sample the shows,” says Chakraborthy.

Whether up on the channel share scale or not, all channel programming teams agree on the need to present clutter breaking concepts to court viewers. That no channel is really walking the talk is another matter of course.

According to some media planners, the viewership from GECs has shifted to news channels and movie channels which means that an advertiser will get a better viewer profile on news and movie channels.

Still, there is experimentation going on. Let‘s us see which property clicks for which channel.

January 25, 2008

‘Why would BCCI want its biggest new property on a new channel?’ – Kunal Dasgupta

For Sony Entertainment Television (Set) India CEO Kunal Dasgupta, the big wish for 2008 is to throw up that one hit narrative show that would get some momentum going for his network’s flagship channel Set. Other than the vexed issue of Set and its equally struggling Hindi GEC sibling Sab, the network is doing fine thank you, argues the long serving head honcho of the Indian broadcast operations of Sony Pictures In conversation with Indiantelevision.com recently, Dasgupta looks back on the difficult year that was 2007 and offers some pointers to the strategic direction Set India (now renamed Multi Screen Media Private Limited) is looking to take in 2008 and beyond.Excerpts:

Let’s start with the new name. Is this because your parent Sony Pictures Entertainment is distancing the Sony brand name from the Indian broadcast entity?
Certainly not. The name is reflective of the company’s evolution from a pure television broadcaster to a multimedia one. We want to be on all screens that are video enabled. Going forward, we will be actively investing in mobile, movies, Internet, and out of home screens. Mobile in particular is going to be a focus area for us.

When you say you want to be on all screens, could you elaborate on that?
I am going to be recycling the over 30,000 hours of television content and 750+ movie titles that I have with me. We plan to repurpose a lot of it not just across the different screens, but across networks too. The realm of exclusivity is no longer the norm. To stay ahead of the game you have to be focused on how best to leverage the content that you have.

Like the Rs 40 crore (RS 400 million) deal you did with Peter Mukerjea’s INX for 60 movie titles?
Yes. That deal entitles INX to three airings of each film I have syndicated to them.

Looking back to 2007, how would you rate the performance of the channels in the Sony network?
Well, Max was fantastic; Pix became viable. On Sony and Sab we have suffered reverses on account of our fiction programming not working.

And looking ahead into 2008?
The business paradigm is changing and we are at the forefront of that. You could say we are the catalysts for change. Syndication, mobile; these are going to be areas that will explode. The one who reads the writing on the wall and adapts will survive.

How has the year been in terms of revenues? The perception in the market is that Sony had a terrible year?
If you add up ad sales, distribution and our international business, it would be Rs 1,200 crores (Rs 12 billion) overall, so you can’t say it was a terrible year.

One reason for the perception that Sony had a lousy year, aside from its programming not working, was the ICC World Cup debacle in March. We understand you lost some RS 800 million odd due to India’s early exit. Comment?

The ICC rights should not be looked at from the results from one tournament, but on how it delivered over four years. And it delivered on every count for us.

Looking at the larger perspective, what have been the big challenges the broadcast sector faced and will face, going forward?
The pathetically slow pace of digital rollout (Cas) has been the biggest challenge for existing players. Though I do believe digital distribution will come into play from 2008 onwards.Combating all these new players will be the big upcoming challenge. The (leadership) pecking order will have to be reestablished. Star is not complacent in its position of number 1. Even Zee as a challenger is not complacent. Everybody will face challenge. The whole media business will face challenge.

The industry is seeing huge churn now. The channel explosion is going to further fragment audiences. We will soon have 9/10 channels in each of the genres – news, sports and movies.

You say pathetically slow digital rollout on the cable front is the biggest challenge for the new players as well as the existing players. But if we look at 9X, the numbers they are drawing are not due to cannibalization, but due to new viewers?
It’s not cannibalization of GEC but other genres like music.

So you don’t believe that people have an inherent desire to consume entertainment content but may have been tuned off by the lack of variety presently on offer so they are trying out channels like 9X?
It’s not just 9X. Even Bindass is getting new viewers. 9X is making a lot of noise but give me a name of one show that stands out. On NDTV Imagine also, nothing will stand out.

What do we have in 2008? BCCI’s Indian Premier League will take off and what else?
I don’t know on which channel it will take off. I hope it is on ours.

But as you yourself said, there will be new sports channels launching and we should expect bids from new players?
They can of course bid but why would BCCI want its biggest new property on a new channel? Its not just money, they (the cricket board) have to make it successful.

We do have an example of Ten Sports, which launched with World Cup Soccer in 2002?

There were only two channels – ESPN and Star Sports – then. Today there are seven channels (DD Sports, Ten Sports, Zee Sports, ESPN, Star Sports, Star Cricket, Neo Sports). Additionally, Max is half a sports channel.

Each time you launch a new channel, the space will get further fragmented. There is too much out there. There is going be a blood bath.

What about a platform proposition, like in the case of Sky in the UK? For a rights holder, could IPL potentially become as critical as EPL was to Sky?

Firstly, in India no exclusivity is being allowed. Secondly, the new guys bidding for the rights are channels which are not yet launched. If platforms like Dish TV or Reliance were to buy the rights, then I would understand but the guys buying are unknown people. They are all startups. They are doing it for their business valuations. They are not bothered whether IPL succeeds or not. Whereas BCCI wants IPL to succeed. IPL will collapse with new players.

Coming back to the year ahead, how do you see 2008 for your network and the industry?

As far as the industry is concerned, we would want to see the Reliance launches happening. It’s a very big thing. Then IPL should succeed. New players should enter digital distribution in the cable front. More people are required, more funding is required.

As for ourselves, we will take some other new initiatives and continue to build our business. We need one hit show. Saat Phere was the starting point for Zee. I need one hit show from Monday to Thursday. That is my perspective. I have no problem in any other area of my business except that. We need to build up, which is not happening.

Each channel is doing its own thing and so are we. In the meantime, I am doing syndication and international distribution. I am doing everything right except getting that one hit show.

January 8, 2008

This has been a busy year for Sony’s international channels AXN and Animax. The task has been to pace up to the market competitiveness while staying sensitive to content that the government views as being “indecent.”

Realising a vacuum in the youth market segment, Animax has repositioned itself by adding live action into its programming mix.

AXN, on the other hand, had to be taken off the airwaves by the government at the start of the year for its potrayal of indecent content. Since then, it has focussed on differentiating itself through original content and raising the bar on acquired shows.

Indiantelevision.com’s Ashwin Pinto caught up with SPE Networks Asia GM Ricky for a lowdown on the content, revenue and digital plans for the two channels in India.

Excerpts:

India is transitioning to digitisation. What opportunities does this present for Sony Pictures Television?
In the long run, the cost of technology will go down. It will help the overall penetration of pay television. For content providers this means that more viewers will have access to their offerings which will allow them to invest more.

Digitisation gives us opportunities to launch more channels across the region. We recently launched three channels including one for women in Singapore on Singtel’s IPTV platform. English entertainment makes sense due to the great economies of scale.

In terms of revenues, how important is India vis-?-vis the rest of Asia?
India is a key market driver for us in the region. Around 20-25 per cent of our revenues come from here. India offers room for a lot of growth as it is not yet a mature market.

Are you seeing growth on the advertising front?
I would say that this year is better compared to last year. For our key partners, we will look at more branded content which will come through our original productions. On the mobile front, we are talking with a couple of firms for getting on board. We are looking to conceptualise content so that clients can be active participants and not just passive ones.

The government has been acting against adult content. Was AXN’s late night content modified in any manner in India after the government took action earlier this year?
We had a block called Hot N Wild which we had taken out long before the ban. We, however, still had shows on that which reflected the edginess of that time block. We air shows that offer the brand promise of action and adventure, but we are not pushing ourselves as being a sexy channel.

Do you feel that the India should have a watershed hour like what the UK has?
We follow the law of the land. We only ask for clearer guidelines and for more leeway. A watershed hour means that the regulator believes in the maturity of the people. The regulator believes that people can decide for themselves what is appropriate. Whether or not this happens in India is for the people to decide.

The English entertainment space in India is getting more competitive. How is AXN improving its programming mix to maintain share?
Our current template has been working fine for us. From abroad you have driver shows like the CSI franchise. Then we do two to three local productions. We will be doing The Amazing Race 2.

This is a point of differentiation for us. We don’t just produce content for a single market. We produce it so that it can travel across the region. As Indians become more sophisticated in taste, our formula will grow in appeal over the years.

Have you noticed any changes in viewership patterns in India and Asia over the past year?
Earlier we used to rely more on movies to drive the channel. Then when movie channels launched, this kind of content started to play a lesser role for us. It was a blessing in disguise for us as it let us concentrate on high quality TV shows.

We are seeing a trend in India where TV serials are getting more viewership than in the past where it was mostly English movies. There will an upward curve for them in the coming two to three years. While most of our viewership is male, the number of women tuning in has also gone up.

How did the idea of doing a pan Asian version of The Amazing Race come about?
We have been airing the US version for a number of years. Fans kept writing in, asking how they could participate. Obviously to participate in the American version you need a Green card. So we decided to do an Asian version of the show. We were the first broadcaster to do the show after CBS.

The show is inspirational and we wanted to do a show that would reflect what our viewers aspire to be. This show celebrates the human spirit which is why it connects so well with our viewers. It is not just about a race per se. Luck plays a part as well. The budget for the show will keep growing as we do more editions of it.

What is most interesting is that the most number of entries have come from India. Entry is not just about sending in an SMS or filling up a form. It is about shooting a video of yourself and the partner.

‘There is a vacuum that exists in the youth market which Animax is looking to fill. Our aim is to make it grow in popularity by having more diversity in our line up‘

What were the key challenges and learnings from the first season?
Getting visas for the contestants is the biggest problem. This is exacerbated by the fact that they do not know which countries they will be visiting. The Indian team needs a visa for every place they visit and this is an uphill task. For the US version, you don’t need a visa for most of the places you visit.

The other learning was that some viewers preferred the Asian version over the US one. The Asian version is competitive but not ruthless. It offers good drama and touching moments. In my view the Asian contestants are more sincere. One team will not try to destroy the other. If one team is down and struggling, then you could find them being given a helping hand by other participants.

How did you cope with logistics?
Everyday you have to move from one city to the next. The core production team comprises 70-80 people. They travel with the contestants. When they reach the next destination, there will be another 70-80 people waiting. Sometimes you plan for the race to end at say 3 pm in the afternoon, but some teams take so long they arrive at 3 am. This means that we have to organise lighting. Some of the production members have worked on the US version as well. So they have the experience.

We also work with the local players in each place we visit. The partnership really helps. We also build relationships with the airline. This way we can move equipment a lot quicker.

What are the key attributes that AXN is looking for in participants?
Personality is important. They must be outgoing. I remember an Indonesian couple last time around. There was talk about when they would get eliminated but they lasted till almost the last round. For each edition we look for a different relationship between the contestants. For our second edition there will be surprises.

When does the second season kick off?
We are looking to do it towards the end of the year. Last time around, it was more Asia focussed. The time contestants will travel outside the region as well. In fact, more than half the show will be outside Asia.

What are the other pan Asian reality concepts that AXN has in mind this year?
Our aim is to look at a winning formula and produce a show for a multiple number of markets. Local channels find it difficult to do this due to the comfort level and costs involved. We are doing a local version of the boxing-based reality show The Contender.

The Contender is being done out of Singapore. India, though, does not have a representative in this show. This show is not as big in India as it is in some of the other Asian countries. But we are hopeful that it will grow. In Asia boxing is seen as a form of exercise like Yoga.

Another show we are looking at is called Ultimate Xtreme that we are casting for. This where friends recommend that a person take part in a show without his/her knowledge. It could be that the person has been working hard without a rest and so the boss feels that this might be a good way for the employee to take a break. It will be positioned as the ultimate experience for that person.

In terms of foreign shows, what is coming up?
We have a major show called Damages coming up. It was done by SPTI for the US and stars Glenn Close. It is a legal thriller set in the world of New York City high-stakes litigation. The series which provides a view into the true nature of power and success, follows the turbulent lives of Patty Hewes, the US’ most revered and reviled high-stakes litigator, and her bright, ambitious, protégé Ellen Parsons as they become embroiled in a class action lawsuit targeting the allegedly corrupt Arthur Frobisher, one of the country’s wealthiest CEOs. As Patty battles with Frobisher and his attorney Ray Fiske, Ellen Parsons will be front and center witnessing just what it takes to win at all costs, as it quickly becomes clear that lives, as well as fortunes, may be at stake.

Last year Sony did a magic show abroad. We are looking to bring it to Asia and India. Acquisition costs have gone up and so we have to be more clever in terms of what we buy.

Animax recently introduced live action. Is it fair to say that Animax was forced to go this route as Indian viewers feel that animation is for kids?
That seems to be the perception in the market. That is not true actually. This move was done for Asia as well. Last year we changed our positioning from an anime channel to a youth oriented one.

We needed to add components to make it more rounded. So we have gaming, movies. In some markets there are music shows. At the same time, we are not compromising on the anime content. 70-80 per cent of the content is anime. The response to the repositioning has so far been good.

A lot of Indian broadcasters are launching youth targetted channels. How confident are you that Animax will be able to stand out from the crowd?
Some youth targetted genres are struggling like the music ones. We are seeing that MTV has scaled down their operations in Asia. A channel must have content that viewers really want to watch. If you are a music channel it might not be a good idea to have reality shows as that can be had anywhere else.

There is a vacuum that exists in the youth market which Animax is looking to fill. Our aim is to make it grow in popularity by having more diversity in our line up. The net savvy youth are more exposed to anime content than any other TG.

How has Animax used interactivity and on-ground events to get closer to viewers in India and Asia?
The Animax Awards have been successful for us. This is a scriptwriting competition. Each country has a winner. The competition then reaches the next stage and competes also with Japan. An Asian panel chooses the wining entry.

I am impressed with the Indian entries as one always feels that Indians are relatively less exposed to animation compared with other Asian countries. We also connect on-air and on the ground through gaming. We were one of the first channels to use gaming as a platform in India. I think that gaming will become big especially in the metros.

As far as new media is concerned, both Animax and AXN launched mobile offerings recently. How has the response been and how many telecom partners do you have?
It is a question of finding the right partners to work with who understand and share our vision. It is not just a question of money. Right now the money in this sector is small but with our strategy the future is bright.

AXN offers customised short form versions of shows like The Amazing Race. This you will not find on the channel. Animax will have long form programming. This means that you can catch up on episodes that you have missed on the mobile. It is still a learning phase for us.

What we have learnt so far is that users will use our mobile content more if it is reasonably priced. This means that the content cost and airtime cost package have to be affordable. There is no point in having low priced content if the airtime cost to download the content is high. We have to be smarter in terms of how these two costs are packaged.

September 2, 2007

Former tennis player turned Hollywood film producer Ashok Amritraj has reason to celebrate. Having spent 25 years in filmmaking, he was recently in India to collaborate with English movie channel Pix from the Sony stable to kick off a reality show titled ‘Gateway.’

Amritraj’s new hunt: to discover the “hidden filmmaking talent in India.” His firm Hyde Park Entertainment will act as a platform for this talent to go international.

In an interview with Indiantelevision.com’s Ashwin Pinto, Amritraj shares his insight into the business of filmmaking in the West, his relationship with studios and the experience of working with top talent in the industry like Bruce Willis and Steve Martin.

Excerpts:

What opportunities does the burgeoning Indian media and entertainment scene offer for Hyde Park?
The good news for India is that the entertainment industry is growing. The television industry has seen enormous growth. The motion picture industry will hit a steep curve over the next five to seven years. The younger generation of filmmakers are much more globalised. They understand filmmaking in a different way compared with their predecessors.

There are interesting opportunities in a growing industry. My business is in Hollywood first and foremost. But I have always felt a great affection and affinity for the country where I grew up. This year is the 25th anniversary of my being in Hollywood and I have made over 95 movies. It felt like the time was right to come back and do something here.

How did the idea for ‘Gateway’ come about?
Young Indian filmmakers have a lot of talent. Around a year ago over dinner with Sunder Aaron (Pix’s business head) I expressed an idea that involved a search for a talented aspiring filmmaker who would be given an opportunity to work with my company and make a Hollywood film.

Pix was interested and so we started to evolve the whole idea. The concept got bigger and better. We are excited about seeing ‘Gateway’ come to fruition.

In the US Mark Burnett and Steven Spielberg did a film-based reality show On The Lot which didn’t fare as well as had been expected. What went wrong and how confident are you that ‘Gateway’ will take off?
I don’t think that anything went wrong. It comes down to a person’s take on a certain kind of a show. At the end of the day our show will pick a director and give him an incredible opportunity. Spielberg’s show was the same way.

However, the way of getting there and the tasks that they go through the elimination process is completely different. In one way it is close to The Apprentice as I will act as a mentor. In another way it is also close to Project Greenlight, which was done by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.

There are different things being done. Our show is very India centric. It is for Indians. The aim is to make the path of a talented Indian filmmaker to Hollywood easier. We are looking to provide a platform for a young fresh Indian director to showcase his/her talent on the world stage. He/she is guaranteed a distribution of his movies between Sony and Hyde Park Entertainment.

What brought you and Pix together?
Our relationship with Pix is based on their tagline – We Tell Stories. This is the basis on which Pix was launched. A lot of what they do is story based. Top Hollywood producers also feel the same way.

Money is available from a myriad of sources like hedge funds. However stories, talented and original storywriters are hard to find. When you do an initiative like Gateway you could find an extraordinary talent like an Ang Lee or an Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu.

What are you looking for in candidates?
I often speak at schools and colleges and also at UCLA, AFI and so on in the US. I say that PQ plus CQ will always beat IQ which means that in films the passion quotient combined with the curiosity quotient will always trump the intelligence quotient.

You also need abilities like how to handle actors, how to work with creativity, how to formulate a story, how to keep a producer happy. As you put all these pieces together and add to that a personality that can work, you try to frame the whole picture.

Are you looking at other television projects?
No! I am a film guy. I have not done television. Internationally Gateway represents my first foray into television. This project is personal. It is less about doing a TV show and more about finding hidden filmmaking talent in India.

Last year you had mentioned that Hyde Park was looking at a JV with an Indian animation firm. Has anything happened on this front?
Practically everyone has come to us to do something. We are going to make a film here in October called The Other End Of the Line. We will use an Indian actress who could be a newcomer or who has done a couple of movies. It is a question of finding talent. Hyde Park is looking to act as a platform for Indian talent to go international. Bollywood films may not crossover into Hollywood but I certainly think that Indian directors and actors can achieve this.

In general what does Hyde Park look for in a project before giving the go ahead?
Everything starts creatively. Our creative team in Los Angeles is presented with around 100 pitches each month. These include novels, books, videogames, comics, screenplays. We look at over 1000 projects a year. We develop a dozen and make three to four films. Those three or four films are chosen on the basis of creativity, gut feel and the kind of film we are looking to make.

Secondly you look at the distribution paradigm and you look at who will want to watch this kind of a film. The distribution team gets involved and lets us know what will work and where. Then we get a casting director to tell us things like a certain project will only work if Brad Pitt is involved or it will only work with Kevin Bacon. All these pieces are put together which is why it comes down to only three to four films.

When you work with a big star like Steve Martin on Shopgirl how much of a collaborative process is it?
I am closely involved with every film we make which is why we only make three to four films a year. I could make ten movies a year but we do not as I would not be able to give enough attention to each one of them.

The areas where I am very personally involved is developing the screenplay to a point where I as a producer am happy with it. I am closely involved with getting the principal cast and the director. Then I get hands on post-production. During the production period the director runs the project.

We start with storyboards. So you have the movie laid out before you pretty much. We know where the camera angles are, where the locations are. We then do a read through with the whole cast. Sometimes we take a complicated scene from a camera point of view and computerise it. For me the post-production process in terms of the cutting, sound and music becomes very critical.

Could you talk about some of your favourite experiences of working with creative talent?
I have worked with a number of very talented actors over the years. Steve Martin is brilliant as he is a writer as well. We worked very closely together on Shopgirl as it was his novel which he entrusted to me. He wrote the screenplay and produced it with me. I also worked with him on Bringing Down The House which was a completely different experience. Queen Latifah was a complete pleasure to work with. She is a great character.

I did Bandits with Bruce Willis, Billy Bon Thornton and Cate Blanchett. That was a dynamic experience as was working with Anjelina Jolie and Antonio Banderas on Original Sin. All these actors are extraordinarily professional. They arrive on time and treat their craft as a business. They are very disciplined which results in success.

As a producer when you have a film like Bandits with more than one big star, how much of a challenge is it to deal with egos?
Actors always have to check their egos. That is a task I have to deal with. It is also part of the director’s job. When we pick a talented filmmaker through our Gateway initiative, he is going to have to understand that managing actors is a large part of the job.

‘ Filmmaking is getting democratised with the use of mobile phones & Youtube‘

How did a tennis player from India like you get accepted in Hollywood?
The first six to seven years were an incredible struggle. Nobody wanted to make a movie with me as our family was not involved in the movie business at all.

I got lucky in 1984. I met a young chap who was a limousine driver. I met him again in 1990 at the Cannes Film Festival. He said that out of 800 photographs he had sent, only I had responded. The person was Jean Claude Van Damme and we made Double Impact. Then people in the industry found messages that I had called two years earlier. They got back to me and things started to roll.

You have been making films for two decades now. What is the biggest change you have noticed in the industry?
There have been many. In 1984-85 when I started to make movies for half a million dollars, there was at that time a fight between two formats – VHS and Beta Max. VHS won in the end. Then the international market for Hollywood grew. Satellite movie channels became more prominent.

The digital revolution is amazing. You just have to look at what George Lucas did with Star Wars. A more recent film 300 was shot against a green screen. It is an exciting time to launch Gateway as directors today have more tools at their fingertips.

Would you say that filmmaking has become more democratised?
Absolutely! Democratised is a great word to use. One can use a mobile phone to make a movie. There is Youtube through which you can get millions of film fans to view your film and comment on it. Anybody can make a film.

You do not have to be the son or daughter of someone famous to enter filmmaking. You don’t need to have a huge film background to get into it. You need talent, vision and creativity. Gateway is a democratisation of filmmaking.

Are new forms of distribution like VoD making it easier for a film producer to recover costs?
It is another revenue stream. But I agree with guys like Scorcese and Tarantino that a film has to make money theatrically if it is to be anything on video or video on demand.

When you started out you focussed on action and comedy. Are you looking to branch out further in terms of genres?
I hate to sound egotistical but I have worked in all genres. I have done action films like Double Impact, action comedies like Bandits, serious films like Shopgirl, Moonlight Mile and family films like Dreamer. The thing that I like about Hollywood is that I can do different things.

We just released Premonition with Sandra Bullock. We will release Death Sentence which is a gritty action film. It is not a ‘shoot them up’ film and I believe it will make audiences think a lot. It is about an ordinary man being put in an extraordinary position and to what extent he would go. It stars Kevin Bacon and Kelly Preston.

You co-produce films with different studios. How would you describe your relationship with them?
I have worked with pretty much every studio. My main deals today are with Fox and Disney. I have a first look deal with Fox and a second look deal with Disney. Death Sentence is being released by Fox on 31 August. I am also close with the guys at Sony and Paramount. I made Dreamer with Dreamworks. I have made ten movies with MGM.

How does the Bollywood system compare with Hollywood in terms of creativity and professionalism?
The Bollywood system has worked for many decades now. I think that they are now gravitating towards fully completed scripts before shooting commences. There are more storyboards in Bollywood now as you cannot shoot visual effects without them.

Are films like the Oscar winner Crash a sign that Hollywood is becoming more multi-cultural now compared to the early 1980s?
Definitely! When I started out 25 years back, I could not find another Indian guy. Today there are Indian agents, studio executives. There are Asians all over the place. Also, Hollywood is getting inspired by stories from Asia and so you have films like The Ring, Dark Water and The Grudge. Also you have Asian stars like Chow Yun Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Gong Li, Jackie Chan and Jet Li.

Do you feel that there is a lack of respect for IPR in bollywood?
I think what is lacking is good quality writers. Writers need to be encouraged more here. They are the lifeblood of the Hollywood business.

Why can’t India have a global film like what China is doing with films like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon?
I think that songs and dances in Bollywood films are a cultural barrier for someone in Idaho. However the way for Indian cinema to succeed overseas is to make films that emotionally resonate across the globe. That is what The Last King Of Scotland did. That film could have been made by anyone. Little Miss Sunshine and Letters From Iwo Jima did the same thing. The casting was also great. Emotionally resonant films come out of great stories and not necessarily from simply having a big star like Tom Cruise.

Finally how much of a threat do you feel new forms of entertainment like gaming will be to films five years down the road?
I know that I am not only competing against other films but also with other forms of entertainment. Marketing will have to become more savvy. At Comic Con which was recently held in Las Vegas, we gave away products to push our new film. That is one way in which you can differentiate yourself in a cluttered media environment. Fifty per cent of the challenge of filmmaking lies in marketing.

August 6, 2007

Zee TV edges closer to Star Plus

The Indian Hindi general entertainment space is heating up and could possibly be on the brink of a huge change as Subhash Chandra‘s flagship channel Zee TV inches closer to Star Plus, Rupert Murdoch‘s key revenue driver in Asia.

The difference in GRPs between the two channels now stands at a mere 48, according to Tam‘s latest data (C&S 4+, HSM, Week 29 – 15 to 21 July).

With Zee TV at 303.4 GRPs as against Star Plus‘ 351.6 GRPs, this is the closest the channel has come to the leader since it was dethroned more than six years ago. While it may be premature to say that Zee will regain its top status, it is surely threatening to do so.

Top 3 General Entertainment Channels

GRPs

Star Plus
351.6

Zee TV
303.4

Sony Entertainment TV
137.5

( Tam Peoplemeter System, C&S 4+, HSM, Week 29, 15-21 July)

There has been nothing sudden in Zee TV‘s rise in the reckonings. Rather, it has been a gradual maneuvering of its way up the ladder. In the first week of July, the gap between Star Plus and Zee TV was 60, as Star stood 323.5 and Zee at 263 (Tam C&S 4+, HSM, Week 26, 24 – 30 June).

Star took over the reigns from Zee in 2000 with its landmark show Kaun Banega Crorepati with Amitabh Bachchan as host, a monumental year for Murdoch‘s fortunes in the country. Since then, Star has dominated the Hindi GEC terrain.

Star‘s decline has been due to a confluence of several factors – from a saturation of its top saas-bahu sagas Kyunki… and Kahaani, to niche channels eating into the share of the genre. “Star‘s dipping numbers are due to the gradual decline of its top programmes along with Zee‘s steady growth,” states an industry observer.

Queried about the threat posed by Zee TV, a senior Star official says, “We would not like to comment on a week‘s ratings. We will only have cause to worry if this trend continues for two to three weeks. At the moment our weekly primetime shows continue to be strong and are at the top of the ratings charts.”

Zee, of course does not want to jump the gun in uncorking the bubbly just yet. Zee TV business head and Zeel director Punit Goenka tells Indiantelevision.com that the channel‘s gradual climb is what they have been working hard on for some time. Goenka also credits the rise and rise of his channel with the success that its long running musical show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2007 has been enjoying. Says Goenka, “Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge has indeed given us a big boost over the last two and a half months.”

Adds Zeel CEO Pradeep Guha, “This has been built up over a period of time and has been contributed to by each and every show.”

A point of note is that even as the competition intensifies between the two top players, a whole bunch of newcomers are warming up in the wings. These include Viacom 18, the Sameer Nair-helmed NDTV Imagine, Indrani Mukherjee‘s 9X and Anuradha Prasad‘s Bag Films, among others. What are the implications that this could have on the television entertainment space?

According to Starcom MD India – West and South Manish Porwal, “The general entertainment genre itself is ‘de-growing‘. In fact, over the last three to four years the space has lost ten per cent every year. This, coupled with the novelty value of new players will give a double blow to the space.”

“This phenomena will favour the challenger. It will be a two- horse race for a while,” Porwal opines. The second runner up in the GEC space is Sony which is lagging far behind at a GRP of 135.6.

However, Mindshare MD R. Gowthaman points to the diminishing dominance of the GEC cluster. “The capability of the GEC space as a whole to deliver reach is on the decline. The price that the space commands is primarily based on its reach. However, we are witnessing a scenario in which the GEC is losing its reach potential, and this is a major concern from a marketer‘s perspective.”

“While the reality is that Zee is catching up with Star, we will soon see a level playing field. These numbers, are only the initial trends of audience movement towards different genres. Within about four to five months this will gain critical mass and the configuration of television clusters will start changing,” Gowthaman avers.

Currently, Hindi GEC occupies the lion‘s share of the television pie advertising at 28-30 per cent in HSM markets, says Porwal. But with news channels in particular gaining in importance, followed by movies, the share is only going to tilt further away. It is also important to note that sports, kids and youth channels are gaining significance in the Indian TV space.

TME president Anupriya Acharya shares her perspective on the “dynamic” quality of the television segment. “We have been closely following the turnaround that Zee TV is witnessing by closing its gap with Star Plus. But at an overall level, it is important to note that other niche channels are also eating away from its pie especially news channels and the growth of the second GECs.”

That, of course, is a larger issue that the GEC genre as a whole will have to grapple with sooner rather than later. At the moment, all eyes are on whether the challenger will really be able to dislodge the queen bee channel from her thrown.

July 28, 2007

Weekend primetime viewing is bracing up for some nail biting competition across the top general entertainment channels, each sprucing up its reality offerings to capture audiences. This wave of reality formats emerged across the horizon in the month of May, each following the reality curve and heading towards climax as they collectively approach their final weeks.

The broadcasters – Star Plus, Zee TV and Sony – are gearing up to back each of their weekend ‘eye pullers’ with full gusto! An analysis of Tam’s revelations bring to light how each of these shows have shaped up since launch, followed by how they stack up against each other in their fight to reach the top.

The Evolution:

In this race for TRP’s, Zee TV has consistently been ahead of the game with its music talent hunt Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2007. In its opening weeks the broadcaster was wrestling with Sony’sIndian Idol that launched at the same time. But not for long, as Zee suddenly snatched a huge chunk of eyeballs with a whooping TVR of 5.5 on 18 May (Tam C&S 4+, HSM) and has practically hogged the limelight since then. Coincidently, this was the same day that Star Plus kicked off its version of the musical talent hunt Star Voice of India, which received a cold shoulder from viewers with a TVR 2.9 inspite of having grabbed the former producer, host and judges from Zee’s earlier edition of the musical format.

Grappling with this situation, Zee seems to have aggressively upped its efforts stating that this edition of the landmark property would prove to be a “Sangeet Ka Pratham Vishwayudh,” as though the broadcaster were making a point! So far, Star has only beatenSa Re Ga Ma Pa on one occasion with a rating of 4.3 (Tam 8 – 9 June, C&S 4+, HSM) while Zee lagged at 4.1.

Date	Day	Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge	Indian Idol 3	Star Voice Of India
4 May	Fri	3.5	3.66	NA
5 May	Sat	3.47	3.67	NA
11 May	Fri	3.84	3.16	NA
12 May	Sat	3.46	4.01	NA
18 May	Fri	5.5	3.58	2.88
19 May	Sat	5.05	3.7	2.45
25 May	Fri	4.74	2.75	3.56
26 May	Sat	4.07	2.61	2.57
1 June	Fri	4.09	3.14	3.16
2 June	Sat	3.79	3.42	2.89
4 June	Mon	NA	2.68	NA
5 June	Tue	NA	2.81	NA
6 June	Wed	NA	2.91	NA
7 June	Thu	NA	3.27	NA
8 June	Fri	4.38	3.46	4.46
9 June	Sat	3.86	4.03	4.13
15 June	Fri	4.89	3.26	4.62
16 June	Sat	4.33	2.96	3.01
22 June	Fri	4.34	3.6	3.68
23 June	Sat	3.65	2.95	3.61
29 June	Fri	3.46	2.67	2.06
30 June	Sat	4.63	3.42	2.92
(Tam Peoplemeter System: TVR, C&S 4+, HSM)

More recently, the tables seem to have turned on Star as Indian Idol, which was earlier trailing behind Voice of India, has suddenly propelled into the second spot after Zee, for two weeks running. Sony’s Idol clocked a rating of 2.67 and 3.42, shoving Star to 2.06 and 2.92 on 29 and 30 June respectively (C&S 4+ HSM).

This is particularly significant as Zee’sSa Re Ga Ma Pa andIndian Idol have already entered the final stages rounding off the shortlisted contestants, a phase that garners large audiences. Star Voice of India will arrive at this juncture next week. Therefore, one can expect heavy duty action between the three players.

The Experts:

Skirmishing for the spotlight, programming tweaks and surprises will be the order of the day. The experts that tug the reigns of success for these shows have their own gyan to share……

Zee TV senior vice president programming Ashvini Yardi confesses, “My biggest fear was that this being the second edition of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, it would not fare as well as the first. But it turns out that this year the response in terms of ratings has been far better. It is an established brand with the best singers and mentors on board and this year were have consciously made it bigger and more glamorous.”

Talking of talent – other players also vouch for the superiority of their talent, so who decides? A confident Yardi replies, “Let the ratings speak for themselves.”

With Zee holding centre stage andIndian Idol putting up a challenge to Star Voice of India, the space is getting more intense. Star India VP marketing Prem Kamath attributes the slip in ratings to its delay in the peaking cycle because it was launched after its two competitors. “This is a natural swing of ratings that are witnessed on a weekly basis. Besides, Voice of India will only step into its final stages of voting in the coming week. It is then that we will see the show peak to reach its crescendo.”

He adds that with crucial Indian cricket matches coinciding “the share will go from the leaders.” But will this rating dip indicate a trend? “Well, we will just have to wait and watch,” opines Kamath.

Betting big on Idol is Sony EVP and business head Albert Almeda who says a “snowball effect” has emerged out of the evolution of the show across the four stages including the auditions, the theatre round, the piano round and now culminating with a gala final phase. “Over time, the viewers have grown in their emotional involvement with the show and its characters. We are bound to see a huge spike in the ratings as the contestants are backed by audiences in their transformation from uncut individuals to professional artists.

“As the pressure mounts in the fourth and final stage of the show spanning over 12 weeks, we expect to see our ratings to be in excess of four,” adds Almeida.

With no less fervor, both Zee and Star will up the volume of their activities around the show. Zee has seen benefits of roping in celebrities for cross promotional activities and will continue to invest heavily on that strategy. They recently brought Sunny Deol onto the show to promote his latest film Apne.

Kamath counters, “A marketing outburst of both on and off air activities will be unleashed during the voting rounds, while twists and turns embedded in the programming will be seen. This will result in a natural fillip in the ratings.”

But Zee has bigger aspirations, Yardi has raised the bar for the challenge expecting it to touch the No 1 slot across all GECs. “Just as the finale of Lil’ Champs pushed the property into the No 1 position across all general entertainment channels, so also do we expect the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge to achieve the same,” she affirms.

The Bigger Picture:

With a bird’s eye view of the Indian television landscape, the scenario of the top three players from January to June 2007 depicts the gradual decline of a leader and the emergence of a strong challenger. Star Plus has been showing a consistent downward trend with the relative channel share touching 36 per cent in June from its position at the beginning of the year at 44 per cent.

Meanwhile, Zee TV has creeped up the ladder to occupy a share of 26 per cent from its position at 22 per cent in January. Although taking baby steps, Sony has also upped its standards from 12 to 14 per cent during the six month duration.

What’s more, Zee TV is claiming to be far closer to Star than ever before. The recent weekly GRP figures from Tam show Star at 323.5 and Zee at 263 narrowing the gap between the two to 60 (Week 26, 24 – 30 June).

Yardi points out the significance, “This is the first time in seven years that the gap between us and Star has been narrowed to 60. On two occasions earlier the difference has been 90 but this is the closest it has ever been.”

The last week of June has actually seen the leader (Star Plus) forfeit 35.7 GRP’s and Zee TV gain 19.6 GRP’s.

July 7, 2007

Relative channel share across Hindi GEC for Jan – June 2007

( Tam: Relative shares, C&S 4+, HSM)

Electronics major LG Electronics India Ltd (LGIL) recently announced their foray and focus on digital audio video products in Bangalore. LG showcased their latest offerings in the USA – the Super Multi Blue– a product they claim as the world’s first dual high definition player.

LGIL managing director and LG Group president South West Asia Moon B Shin took on the reins of Indian operations in January 2007. A core member of the LG team, Shin is traveling over 100 countries including the Middle East, Africa and India.

In an exclusive interview with Indiantelevision.com’s Tarachand Wanvari Shin highlights LG’s plans for India, with a special emphasis on the digital audio video segment.

Excerpts:

LGIL has a turnover of Rs 82.5 billion. Considering that the audio-video segment is expected to account for just Rs 4.5 billion, how are you planning to push your presence in this category?
I know that comparatively this is a small amount, but these are the products that we expect good growth from. In the video category, we are placed number one with 26 per cent market share, Phillips is next with 22 per cent share. In audio we are far behind, we are around 13 per cent I think there number one is Sony and number two is Phillips because our presence at the moment is very small and we set the targets and these are the areas that we have to pickup. We have to beat Sony and Phillips. We have really worked very hard, product planning and selling, marketing for the last couple of years. We have come with really very new range of products.

Phillips and Sony are strong in the cassette and audio tapes analog space. You don’t seem to have launched any products in that category?
Today we launched MP3, MP4, the portable DVD player, the car audio system – from the lower end segment to the high-end, we have a really full range. That analog tape market is the rural market and is coming down. Our focus is on digital.

How do your other products stack up against competition?
Overall in India the presence is quite sound. In consumer electronics and home appliances we are around 28-29 per cent. For GSM this year we are going to sell around five million sets and we are going to reach minimum revenues of US$ 200million from this stream. AV is around US$ 100million. We expect a total revenue of Rs 95 billion or around US$ 2.2 billion, so the 300 million translates to a little less than 15 per cent of our overall revenues.

How important is India as a market for LG?
India accounts for around 6 per cent share of the global revenues. India is tremendously important for LG. By 2010, our target is to increase the India share to 10 per cent of LG’s global revenues. Our top management, they really pay attention to this market. The market conditions are very good and the government is very smart, they maintain an open policy, India is a market driven economy. All these things are very positive for us. The corporate attention on this market is really huge. Maybe even more than China.

LG has a large amount of visibility as far as mass communications are concerned. What are marketing and advertisement spends?
Every year for above the line and below the line, we spend around US$ 50 million in India. Last year we invested around US$ 46-48 million, this year we plan US$ 50 million. This figure may change because every month we are growing by 20 – 25 per cent. We are on right track.

So which segment is driving the growth?
The flat panel display, GSM, computer monitors, and now AV these are driving our growth. And they are also our future growth engines. Maybe PC’s too.

What is your market share in PC’s?
Laptops and desktops is around 6 million, and this will grow fast, so at the moment it is very minimal, around 3 per cent. But, we are coming up with good designs and technology so the PC potential is very good. The market size of laptops is area that we have to focus on.

‘Flat panel display, GSM, computer monitors, and now AV are driving our growth‘

Do you have lower end laptops also?
Yes we do, but we are not going to play in the low-end segment. We are going to really play in the top of the line products.

What are your forecasts for the next year – your growth targets?
Every year we have to grow by a minimum of 20 per cent. By all means we have to grow by this percentage. By mobilizing the attention from headquarters, from market surveys and through consultants like McKenzie, maybe work together with them if we feel that we cannot meet the targets.

What is the proportion of the products that you sell here that are made in India?
Almost 90 per cent. About 10 per cent we import as finished products or complete business units (CBU). The balance 90 per cent we manufacture and export too. Some are CKD, some completely manufactured in India. The local content varies product wise. But it’s between 50-70 per cent.

Any plans to expand further here in India?
Not for the next several years no. In Pune we have a large space at Ranjangaon. I would not say that we have idle capacity, we have other buildings-two as a matter of fact, one is full of operations and the second building is 20 per cent operational. So there is space. We have to invest only in the manufacturing facility. The building and everything else is ready. We have to invest only in the machinery, that we will go on within Pune.

How long have you been in India and what is your experience here?
I have been here two years. Over this time, I have travelled a lot, to almost every corner of the country, I have pretty much covered the A and B class towns. I was a real frequent flyer, I wanted to see what is taking place in every corner of India and I could observe and find that the potential in India is really good. I think India is the only country that can fight against China. India will definitely be in the forefront as far as economic growth, or the GDP growth is concerned, it will be neck to neck with China in the next 30 years or so. China is growing very fast, but India is also growing as fast. The potential is there and I am going to communicate with the headquarters about this marketplace and how it is important. My outlook for India is very positive.

Could you speak about the infrastructure in India?
I was born in a very tiny town in Korea and I have grown up there. Maybe at times the infrastructure was even worse than it is today in India. So I am really accustomed to the poor infrastructure in the rural areas. For me there’s no problem at all.

What is your opinion about the skill levels, the knowledge quotient of Indians?
They are good, they are very fast learners. We used to send people to Korea and train them over there and then bring them here. We sent them to our other subsidiaries to benchmark. Their adaptation is excellent. Skill levels are good. I really appreciate them.

Any R&D work being done in India for the LG group globally?
Not much. In India we have only around seven people working on design. They have not yet contribute to the designing for LG globally. We have our own design centers all over the world, in Europe, China, in the United States. We have design centers located in every corner of the world to come up with local design and also to supply global designs.

May 17, 2007

Sony to allow movie, TV downloads on Playstation 3

MUMBAI: Japanese media conglomerate Sony has announced that users of the PlayStation 3 will shortly be able to download Sony movies and television shows on their gaming console.

Sony made this announcement to hype the launch of the PlayStation 3 in Europe as well as push more sales of the system in the US.

In creating a movie and music download service for the PlayStation 3, Sony will be putting itself in competition most directly with Microsoft and the Xbox 360 platform. The inclusion of a hard drive in the PlayStation 3 is part of a larger strategy to boost the PlayStation’s presence as an entertainment hardware device, rather than just a game machine.

April 21, 2007

	1:00 pm – 1:30 pm	1:30 pm – 2:00 pm	2:00 pm – 2:30 pm	2:30 pm – 3:00 pm
Star	Kumkum	Bhabhi	Karam Apna Apna	Grahasti
Zee	Saath Saath	Rakhi	Meri Doli Tere Angana	–

	12:00 pm- 12:30 pm	12:30 pm – 1:00pm	1:00 pm – 1:30 pm	1:30 pm – 2:00 pm
9x	Rasme Rasoi	Dahhej	Neelajanaa	Veeranwali

Top 3 General Entertainment Channels	GRPs
Star Plus	351.6
Zee TV	303.4
Sony Entertainment TV	137.5
( Tam Peoplemeter System, C&S 4+, HSM, Week 29, 15-21 July)