ITV

Tag: Uday Shankar

  • NDTV lawsuit: Govt may investigate TAM

    NEW DELHI: The NDTV lawsuit in New York against TAM Media has spurred the government, which has for some time been closely studying the methodology for TAM ratings, into action to consider launching a probe into the alleged fudging charges after several complaints from broadcasters.

    The government had earlier this year told Parliament that BARC (Broadcast Audience Research Council) would issue its first report by July 2013, but this does not seem possible at present, a senior Prasar Bharati official told Indiantelevision.com.

    Star India CEO and IBF (Indian Broadcasting Foundation) president Uday Shankar has blamed the AAAI (Advertising Agencies Association of India) and ISA (Indian Society of Advertisers) for slowing down the progress of BARC. In March 2012, BARC was officially formed with IBF having 60 per cent stake in the new entity and AAAI and ISA equally holding the balance.

    The official blamed the current television ratings system for not being able to capture Doordarshan‘s audiences in its correct light, despite the pubcaster enjoying the largest reach in the country.

    NDTV sought damages of $810 million as compensation for loss in revenues suffered over the years and $580 million for negligence by Nielsen and Kantar officials, the owners of Tam.

    The report by Amit Mitra Committee on setting up BARC came about 18 months ago. The committee had felt self-regulation was the best way forward for the broadcasting industry. It had cautioned that failure on the part of the industry to meet defined timelines, the government may be left with no option but to step in.

    Also read:

    NDTV lawsuit may trigger Govt action on BARC

    NDTV sues TAM, Nielsen for manipulation of data

  • Uday Shankar’s Kalpana to screen at Cannes

    Uday Shankar’s Kalpana to screen at Cannes

    MUMBAI: Noted dancer Uday Shankar-directed Kalpana has been chosen to screen at the Cannes Film Festival this year as part of Cannes Classics.

    The story of Kalpana revolves around a young dancer‘s dream of setting up an academy. It starred his wife Amala Shankar and him as leads and had the 17-year-old Padmini in her screen debut. The whole film was written at Uday Shankar‘s dance academy in Almorah that later became the hub of future artistes of India.

    In 2009, the film process of digital restoration of Kalpana was taken up by NFAI in collaboration with France-based Thomson Foundation and in the next year was restored by the World Cinema Foundation of which Martin Scorsese happens to be a founding member.

    The Cannes Classics 2012 programme includes 13 feature films, two shorts, a mini-concert and four documentaries. All these films will be world premieres. Some of the other films to be screened in this section are: Once Upon a time in America by Sergio Leone, Tess by Roman Polanski, Jaws by Steven Spielberg, The Ring by Alfred Hitchcock, Lawrence of Arabia by David Lean and Runaway Train by Andrei Konchalovsky.

  • Industry doing nothing to transform biz models for digital world: Uday Shankar

    Industry doing nothing to transform biz models for digital world: Uday Shankar

    MUMBAI: Star India CEO and Ficci Broadcast Forum chairman Uday Shankar set the ball rolling at the inaugural of the 13th edition of the Ficci Frames by saying that the industry is at the cusp of what is set to completely transform broadcasting in India, forever.

    Shankar was talking about the universal digitisation of television distribution. A subject that has dominated all discussions at all forums last year and which he presumed will continue to do so for a long time to come.

    “Most of the discussions that I have participated in are still around whether digitisation will happen and if it indeed were to go through, how chaotic it would be. With all humility may I suggest that it is a meaningless discussion triggered by a bunch of retrograde interests who are living in denial,” he said.

    The Cable Television Networks Amendment Act is not the beginning of digitisation. Digitisation of distribution is a big reality and the 40 – 45 million homes that have bought DTH boxes at some point or the other are a conclusive evidence of that. “In fact as we speak, India may just have overtaken the United States as the world’s largest DTH market,” he said.

    Shankar added, “The critics and the cynics who are still wondering whether digitisation would happen, my answer is: Look around, it is already happening and the rest of it is bound to happen because even in this country it would be difficult to undo such a momentous shift. To those who wonder how chaotic it would be, my response is that there would be some chaos, but chaos is not necessarily bad if the alternative is status quo or regression.”

    However, he also cautioned that his biggest concern now is a chaos of another kind that we are all set to create by our inaction. “Whether we like it or not, in a few years time, the vast majority of this country will receive its content through digital media – digital cable, DTH, 4G, wireless and Internet. But are we preparing for that? The answer is a big no,” he regretted.

    He said that while we debate a digital future day-in-and –day-out, the industry is doing nothing to transform or find business models for a digital world. “Let’s face it. Universal digitisation is going to force us to change the way we do business and we are not ready for it. We often blame the cable operators and MSOs that they are not ready but I am afraid that even the broadcasters and the content creators are not ready for a digital world. Are we then setting ourselves up to become uncompetitive and irrelevant?,” he asked.

    DTH has launched services like HD, Dolby sound and digital video recorder” and yet the broadcasters are doing nothing differently to service this segment. DTH has been around now for about six years and broadcasters or the content community have done nothing as an example of a strategy to exploit the new technology. This, he said, is despite an intuitive and an experiential understanding that the behaviour and the consumption patterns in DTH homes are significantly different from analogue homes. “The data also show that the average time spent on content in digital homes is much more and yet we do not treat them differently,” he said.

    Shankar said that it is scary how “we have force-fitted an analogue broadcasting model into the digital domain.”

    Is that what we are going to do even after cable goes digital, he asked. “I am afraid if the past behaviour is anything to go by, we are not ready to offer anything significantly different and therein lies the biggest crisis and risk of a chaos,” he said.

    He said there is enough global experience to suggest that digitisation leads to decentralisation, regionalisation or localisation of content creation and distribution.

    “Creatively, it is a huge catalyst for innovation and diversity. Essentially what it means is that with universal digitisation the business models of broadcasting, which are built on centralised creation and distribution of content and even a centralized advertising revenue model, may come under a huge pressure,” he cautioned.

    Shankar said that the cable community is still busy lamenting the potential loss of carriage fees and not realising what an amazing opportunity it has to participate in the local economic boom that is sweeping most parts of this country.

    “The first phase of digitisation that covers the 4 metros will be a huge unshackling of broadcasting and content opportunities. These are the cities that have crumbled under the weight of analogue frequency limitations. Just imagine the opportunities that these metros also our economic hotspots present when, from the first of July access to frequency will no longer be a constraint. So to my mind the MSOs and the cable operators may potentially become a powerful content creator that the traditional broadcasters have to contend with. There may be new creative talent ready to ride this technological transition. As the subsequent phases roll on, the decentralisation of broadcasting is bound to gain enormous momentum. However, I don’t see anyone trying to race ahead to take a pole position here,” he said.

    He also pointed out that HD TV sets have been available in this country and while many people were buying them, their off-take was still low primarily because there was no HD content and nobody was willing to invest in HD content because there were not enough HD consumers. “It was the classic chicken and egg problem. However early last year, when we at Star launched 5 HD channels with Dolby 5.1 surround sounds, even we were surprised by the rapidity with which HD gained acceptance. Today, in less than a year there are around 25 HD channels. But, I have to admit with a touch of disappointment that I am yet to see an adequate recognition of the potential of HD and a superior sound possibility by my fraternity. It is a classic case of the old mindsets struggling with a new technology,” he rued.

    Are we going to stay locked into this struggle or are we going to create a new generation of television which would be designed for the digital world?, he asked.

    Shankar said he has been an admirer of the current information and broadcasting dispensation which he thinks has shown more vision than any other dispensation in his two decades of interaction with the broadcasting establishment. “However, let me point out that we still need a lot of official and legislative enablers to remove the bottlenecks on this expressway. For instance, a clear policy to enable multiplicity of beams and splits would be a powerful trigger for proliferation of content and revenue opportunities,” Shankar said.

    He ended his keynote with the example of the latest Oscar success from Hollywood – The Artist – which is a portrayal of how a talented and accomplished artist from the silent era could become completely irrelevant because he refused to see that the times have changed.

    “Let’s not try to thwart a revolution which people are crying for. We will only hurt ourselves. The question is whether we will lead the change or whether we will vacate the space for a new set of entrepreneurs and visionaries who will replace us. It is up to us to use it or lose it,” he said.

  • 2009: Top 10 Executives

    2009: Top 10 Executives

    2009. A year when most of the television industry gasped as the Indian economy slowed down and advertising and distribution revenues dried up even as costs went up. Executives burnt the midnight oil grappling with the downturn. Most of them deserve a salute for coping with the tough times. But there were some who came out triumphant and did wonders for the companies they lead. Indiantelevision.com takes a look at those who made the cut in our 2009‘s Top 10 Executives listing.

    Our list is by no means comprehensive, but these gents and ladies clearly stood above the rest. The executives have not been listed in order of importance or achievement, and sure there are many more who made a difference. We raise a toast to them.

    In the meanwhile take a dekko at our Top 10 Executives of 2009.

    Rajesh Kamat & Ashvini Yardi

    Rajesh Kamat did what was considered nigh impossible in 2009. Under his leadership, Colors, one of the late entrants in the general entertainment television sweepstakes, toppled both the leader Star Plus and the second placed Zee TV from their perches. He did not stop at that. With the help of clever engaging and disruptive programming from his programming head Ashvini Yardi, he maintained that top slot for the rest of the year.

    And Kamat achieved that in just a matter of 13 months – a feat which could well enter the Guinness Book of World Records.

    For long, rivals Sony and Zee had taken a shot at the top spot, but Star Plus appeared to be unshakeable. Kamat and his band of merry programmers however made it look fairly easy with a mix of differentiated, disruptive programming and distribution (Kamat‘s 3 Ds) on the back of savvy marketing. As the year was ending, he had actually got his company close to profitability with revenues of close to Rs 6.5 billion.

    Kamat‘s success has to be juxtaposed against what happened to other players who dared to challenge the leader: new entrants 9X (launched by former Star CEO Peter Mukerjea) and Real took a beating and almost wound up. The other player NDTV Imagine ended up at the No 5 spot, and finally found a new owner in Turner.

    During his days at Star Kamat had seen the channel rise from obscurity to leader. And he had gained amazing consumer insights during his earlier stint at Coke. He brought all of that bear in his uphill battle against the leaders. He gambled with a young enthusiastic team and the gamble paid off.

    Today, he is the most sought after TV executive in the country. And he was rewarded with additionally responsibility just as the year ended: he was given additional charge of strategy, legal distribution and finance of the Viacom 18 group bringing the channels MTV and Nickelodeon under his charge.

    2009 also saw him take an extremely calculated risk. Nine months from launch, he took the channel pay putting it as part of the One Alliance bouquet, distributed by MSM Discovery. The timing would not have been better as IPL gave the channel a good mileage. Later he got Amitabh Bachchan to don the hat of Pop Philosopher for Bigg Boss and now Big B is taking the channel to US and UK as brand ambassador. Additionally, he got his son Abishekh to host Bingo, a popular international format. At the time of writing, Bingo has done it once again for Kamat: the show has generated higher ratings than other game shows.

    A large part of that credit goes to Yardi who has been the creative driving force behind Colors. A woman with a vision to create a channel so unique and distinguished from anything ever viewed by India, she has always given priority to innovation and creativity. Her focus on fresher concepts and disruptive programming is what elevated Colors to its leadership position so quickly.

    From the word go, Yardi stressed that the shows on her channels have to have “meaningful entertainment”. The characters are not in black or white but have different shades. Yardi strongly believes that Colors offers ‘something for everyone‘ and ‘everything for some‘.

    Known for incorporating audience insights in her search for the perfect television shows, be it fiction, reality, game show or any other format, Ashvini has been responsible for making entertainment bigger than ever and effectively changed the way Indians viewed television.

    2009 saw shows with hard hitting messages such as Na Aana Is Des Laado and Uttaran climbing to the top positions on the charts while the Colors flagship show, Balika Vadhu, continued to reign over peoples‘ hearts and minds. And as far as reality shows go, 2009 was the year for the biggest ever changes in the reality television scene. With Fear Factor getting a lot more exciting and the Big B Amitabh Bachchan himself hosting the third season of Bigg Boss, reality in India touched new heights in 2009.

    Genius clearly does not go unnoticed, and in Ashvini‘s case, her talent has been recognized from time to time by peers and various industry institutions. She has been the recipient of many an honour, amongst them being the Media Personality of the Year title at India Today Woman‘s Summit, apart from being hailed as one of the top 50 powerful people of 2009 in India by Business Week.

    Perhaps defining Ashvini in one word may not be easy, but trendsetter comes rather close. And now, she is at it again, conquering newer peaks, bringing in fresher ideas and ready to set some new trends in 2010.

    Uday Shankar

    While most media observers and trade writers in India tend to think that Star India CEO Uday Shankar missed the mark in 2009 because of the toppling of Star Plus from its leadership perch, the word overseas and in corporate circles is that he did an excellent job and continues to do so; that the Murdochs are pleased as punch with him.

    During the year, the former journalist continued the network‘s spread into regional language markets and even managed to get leadership status in one of them. He kept a sharp eye on profitability in difficult economic times, returning pleasing figures for the network.

    Viewed from a different perspective he staved off an aggressive attempt from No 3 Zee TV to usurp his GEC flagship channel Star Plus from its No 2 spot, even though he conceded the leadership position to rival Colors. He gambled with risqué programming during the year, something which got him a rap on the knuckles from the government, but also got reams of media coverage and some praise for pushing the envelope with shows like Aap Ki Kacheri.

    And as the year ended, he was gearing up to do battle and regain Star Plus‘ numero uno status: he had restructured the Hindi GEC, bringing in whiz kid Gaurav Banerjee to look after the channel. Star Plus GM Keertan Adhyanthya was moved out to head Star Movies and Star World. He had also put wunderkinder Sameer Rao in charge of Star Utsav and Star Gold.

    With Rupert Murdoch‘s News Corp restructuring its broadcast business in Asia, Uday Shankar got his pat on the back when he was delegated with many more tasks during 2009. He was handed over the responsibilities of managing the sales and distribution offices of Star in West Asia, Britain and the US, besides growing the Indian market and being under the direct mentoring of James Murdoch, the group‘s head of Asian and European operations.

    Uday also gets to look at the movie business with Fox Star Studios India CEO Vijay Singh. The grandiose plans are to distribute 18 movies a year and be involved in production. Avatar has become the biggest Hollywood hit in India, grossing over Rs 1 billion.The biggest catch in the distribution net is Shah Rukh Khan‘s My Name is Khan, set for release in February.

    His big win for 2009 was the runaway success of Star Jalsha in just its first year of existence as a Bengali general entertainment channel. It created waves in east India with its programming which gelled with audiences. Then he drove his team to come up with new programming at Vijay TV and Star Pravah – initiatives which are bound to start bearing fruit over the next few months.

    If there was one area which looked a little worrisome for Uday Shankar during 2009 it was the loss of the leadership position of Star Plus, its flagship channel in the Hindi entertainment space. Star Plus conceded it near nine-year monopoly to newbie Colors mid way through 2009. But that did not deter him as he continued to focus on re-jigging the programming and on the bottomline. The network also courted controversy thanks to its dare bare all on TV show Sach Ka Samna adapted from The Moment of Truth.

    Meanwhile, keeping pace with rival MTV, Shankar also saw Channel [V] re-furbish its content with a host of new shows under his leadership as the channel shifted gears to 60 per cent music and 40 per cent reality show content.

    He has his work cut out for him in 2010, but knowing Shankar he well might deliver. Yet once again.

    Sameer Manchanda

    He could well be labeled the cable cowboy of India. He has aspirations – like his esteemed US counterpart John Malone who agglomerated cable systems all over the US into one national network – to transform the fragmented Indian cable industry and create a giant Indian cable TV network.

    And to that end he took his company DEN Networks public this year raising Rs 3.64 billion through an initial public offering. The market cap of DEN today is Rs 24.72 billion.

    It looked tough seeing it through, but he finally cobbled together investors who helped in the oversubscription of the issue.

    The man being referred to is Sameer Manchanda, chairman and promoter of DEN Networks Ltd and the joint managing director of IBN18 Broadcast Limited.

    Manchanda is a feisty fighter. He spent many years with NDTV when he broke away to set up IBN18 Broadcast, along with Rajdeep Sardesai and Raghav Bahl in 2005. Channels such as CNN-IBN, IBN7, and IBN Lokmat, followed. All three channels have become a news force to reckon with and Manchanda was appointed as the president of the News Broadcasters‘ Association.

    A fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, he has always been credited with stitching lucrative deals for the company. He founded DEN in 2007 and he was quick to seize the opportunity in cable TV. He prepared the base for expansion by getting distrib veterans Anuj Gandhi and SN Sharma on board and then went about building the network in the North.

    He first expended DEN in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, the two lucrative carriage revenue markets for cable networks from broadcasters. DEN also gobbled up Amogh Broadband Services, a leading MSO promoted by former Karnataka chief minister D Kumaraswamy‘s family. It is also a major force in Haryana and Rajasthan.

    In 2009 DEN paced up in Gujarat and made a breakthrough in Mumbai by entering into a joint venture with Ravi Singh‘s cable network in Ghatkopar, a suburb in central Mumbai.

    Manchanda can be credited with the success of DEN‘s IPO in 2009, but the challenges are lying ahead. The biggest of them all: to spread digitisation across the network, launch broadband services, and make market corrections.

    Punit Goenka
    “I would not like to be in his shoes as expectations of him are very high because he is my son, but he has shaped up well,” these are the words Subhash Chandra spoke about Punit Goenka recently. The son has now come of age and all indications are that he is likely to take over the reins of the entertainment conglomerate his father, the chairman of Zee TV, built.

    According to insiders, Punit‘s management initiatives and style have impressed Chandra greatly and he is looking at hanging up his corporate boots in a couple of years and focus on his social responsibilities.

    Punit was hoicked into the MD‘s role at Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel), giving him total operational responsibility for the Zee Network which includes a Top 3 Hindi GEC, Zee TV, and a clutch of popular channels including Zee Cinema. And he did leave his stamp. First, he yanked the six regional general entertainment channels (R-GECs) from ZNL into the Zeel fold. Then he merged the ETC Networks channels (ETC Music and ETC Punjabi) into the company he heads. He hived off the education business, and started playing an active role in the news business by becoming a non-executive director of Zee News Ltd.

    The year also saw him buying out Ten Sports from Taj Television after some hard nosed negotiation, even as his father‘s loss making T-20 format – the Indian Cricket League – ran out of steam following a backlash from the Indian cricket board and IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi.

    His major successful play was on the Hindi GEC front. Zee TV was under attack from a hungry for leadership Colors and an extremely defensive leader Star Plus. Goenka took a decision not to splurge to buy GRPs. While the other two forked out top dollar on big movies and big ticket celebrity driven reality and formatted shows, he along with his team of Nitin Vaidya (COO -national channels and Zee TV business head) and programming head (Ajay Balwankar, now in Sony Entertainment television), focused on traditional soaps and low cost formats. Pavitra Rishta, Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi Kijo, Chhotti Bahu, Dance India Dance (an adaptation of Bangla dance reality show Dance bangle Dance) were his ripostes which helped the channel generate GRPs. So much so that it took up the No 1 spot in week 34 with 281 GRPs. Zee TV began the year with 190 GRPs.

    Though No 2 or No 3 today in terms of GRPs, the channel today is No 1 in terms of monetizable GRPs, a statement with which even the top bosses at Star Plus and Colors will concur.

    His staff acknowledges the fact that Punit is very easily accessible and always encourages new ideas. With that kind of zeal, it is no wonder that his father thinks Zeel is in good hands.

    Kalanithi Maran
    Kalanithi Maran proved yet again how he could cruise along in a year of global economic storm while the other media barons were scaling back their expansion plans. Far from groaning under financial woes, he searched for new growth.

    And the architect of the Sun TV empire found them in the areas of DTH, TV broadcasting and FM radio.

    Sun Direct is the fastest growing DTH company with a subscriber base of 5 million. Built on mass pricing, the business model is to grab market share while waiting for opportunities to lift ARPUs (average revenue per user) that stayed below Rs 100 in 2009.

    Critics say Sun Direct is leaning heavily on subscribers from the four southern states and predatory pricing can‘t be sustainable. But certain facts stay formidable in Maran‘s favour. His DTH company has the lowest losses on a per subscriber ratio, possibly because of hard bargaining to stay away from minimum guarantee deals with broadcasters.

    Also, Sun Direct has 80 per cent of its customers from the south, a rock-solid base that would provide him economies of scale as he starts scratching into the other markets where he doesn‘t have a distinct advantage.

    In the TV broadcasting arena, as the industry reeled under an advertising slump, Maran posted a robust revenue growth of 35 per cent. He fortified his position and launched two kids and a comedy channel during the course of the year, blocking out possible gaps in the marketplace.

    A master strategist, Maran believes that viewer tastes change every 3-4 years. He introduced a big-ticket weekend non-fiction programming based on the international format show Deal or No Deal that not only gave him viewership but also revenue spikes. The show ran across Maran‘s flagship general entertainment channels: Sun TV (Tamil), Gemini (Telugu), Surya (Malayalam) and Udaya (Kannada).

    Sun has emerged as one of the leading FM radio broadcasters, setting up a pan India presence. In 2009, Sun brought its FM radio stations outside Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry under the Red FM umbrella, offering advertisers a wider listener base and an opportunity to capitalise on a unifying programme format across key cities.

    Since the summer of 2009, Maran also corrected a single deficiency in his rapidly-growing media empire: He widened the talent pool, making a series of senior appointments including Ajay Vidyasagar as CEO and Ravi Menon as programming head.

    So what does the roadmap look like for Sun in 2010? Maran is tapping subscription revenues more aggressively, has floated a UK subsidiary to accelerate international revenues, hiked advertising rates after a gap of two years, and is readying the release of the mega-budget movie Enthiran. Looks like another blockbuster year for the man who rules the southern media landscape.

    Man Jit Singh

    His is a radical turnaround story. When he took charge of Multi Screen Media Ltd (the company that runs Sony Entertainment Television), Man Jit Singh had several tasks to handle. CEO Kunal Dasgupta had left suddenly in the first quarter of 2009, his flagship channel Sony was doddering around in the doldrums with sinking ratings, morale was low and the organisation had few clues as to how they could deal with the rapidly changing dynamics of the GEC business. Newcomer NDTV Imagine had beaten it to the No 4 slot, a far cry from its heydays when Sony was scrapping for the No. 1 slot in the early part of this decade.

    As interim CEO, Singh took the bit in his teeth, lopped off 50 staff, letting go off channel head Albert Almeida. He initially focused on seeing through a successful IPL as the network had invested for its channel Max while acquiring the rights for the cricket extravaganza. In the reworked deal, BCCI sold the nine-year rights for Rs 82 billion, parceling out the India

    That out of the way, he began the hunt for someone who would take up the corner office as CEO, apart from launching a new prime time programming band along with COO NP Singh and programming head Gurdeep Bhangoo The search for a CEO proved futile as did the new lot of programmes. He aborted both – hoisting himself into the CEO‘s seat and started scouting for a channel head. He found one in Ajit Thakur

    The programming was rejigged and a low cost idea plumped for: telecast reruns of its long running award-winning and successful thriller and horror fictional shows, CID and Aahat. In the meantime, a new programming head was appointed: Ajay Bhalwankar was brought in from Zee TV.

    In no time at all, the ratings shot up and Sony had got back into the reckoning, toppling NDTV Imagine from the No 4 slot. From 70 gross rating points Sony was clocking 170-190 GRPs, ahead of Imagine and close enough to possibly play catch up with Zee TV and Star Plus which were generating between 240-270 GRPs. The channel garnered almost two and half times more ratings within six months of the revamp.

    Along with his team, Singh sewed an exclusive content agreement with leading film production house YRF for a programming block which would help differentiate it from the regular fare. While the initiative generated a lot of hype, it did not generate the mass TRPs that were expected.

    For Singh, 2010 will be a crucial year with IPL 3 on it way in the next two months. Also, a rejuvenated and cash loaded NDTV Imagine (following the Turner deal) is definitely going to make a serious and concerted effort to reclaim its fourth place in the Hind general entertainment space.

    Steve Marcopoto
    2009 was Turner‘s fifteenth anniversary of operating in India. And 2009 was the year when the network clearly signaled that it was no longer satisfied in having a minor league play in India. In the first part of the year, it announced that it was launching WB Channel expanding its presence in the English entertainment channel space. In the second half of the year, Turner announced that it was pitching its tent in the rough Hindi general entertainment channel space. And leading Turner‘s charge into the big stake game was Turner Broadcasting System APAC head Steve Marcopoto.

    Marcopoto winged his way into the country on several occasions before he signed on the dotted line of a deal which resulted in Turner acquiring a 92 per cent stake in NDTV Imagine for $117 million. It took months of negotiation between the NDTV management and him and his team before a deal was hammered into shape. And it surely was a moment of triumph for him, making him one of the key media executives in India.

    For years, Turner has operated in India through channels such as CNN, Cartoon Network, Pogo and through a distribution joint venture with Zee TV, labeled Zee Turner.

    It has maintained its leadership position in the kids‘ segment with Cartoon Network and Pogo, currently ranked No. 1 and 2 respectively on an all-India basis. Growth has been steady and India revenues account for 25 per cent of its regional operations, making it Turner‘s largest and fastest growing market.

    During the year, Marcopoto persisted with the Turner mission to further develop the Indian animation industry. Along with Pogo and Cartoon Network India head Monica Tata and creative director Vishnu Athreya, he made various acquisitions, co-creations and initiatives such as Snaptoons (Short New Asia Pacific Cartoons), bringing the pre-school series Sesame Street to India in a local avatar – Galli Galli Sim Sim and nurturing one of the most successful homegrown, animated heroes – Chhota Bheem, amongst others.

    2010 will come with its set of challenges: he has to ensure a smooth transition of Imagine into the Turner fold, and work closely with CEO Sameer Nair to draw up strategies to make the investment pay off in the medium-to-long term. Marcopoto will also have to create compelling content and build the Turner brands across every possible platform, including TV, online, merchandising and mobile.

    Lalit Modi
    To say that Lalit Modi had an eventful year is an understatement. This year he showed his ability to turn a challenge into an opportunity while taking steps to make the IPL a global brand. He shrewdly renegotiated the IPL TV deal with Multi Screen Media in a fresh deal valued at Rs 82 billion ($1.6 billion).

    The earlier ten-year contract, which Sony couldn‘t protect, was worth $918 million for telecast and $108 million for promotion of the tournament. Then the IPL was forced to relocate to South Africa due to the elections. Undaunted by the challenge, Modi and his team worked around the clock at short notice and pulled off a success, thus silencing naysayers. With this move, the IPL took its first steps towards becoming a global brand.

    Modi‘s clout lies in bringing in the money while expanding the reach of the IPL. A deal was done for theatrical rights with Dar Capital and is worth Rs 3.3 billion. It is a known fact that cinema receipts suffer when the IPL is on. The message from Modi is clear – If you cannot beat us, join us.
    In 2009 Modi also announced a base price of $225 million for the two new IPL franchises who will come in later this year. This is more than double what the highest franchise paid in 2008. This gives an idea of just how much the IPL has grown in value in a short space of time.

    It is this ability of Modi to run a steady ship while raking in the moolah no matter what obstacles there are which made BCCI president Sharad Pawar throw his weight behind him when the IMG contract was cancelled by N Srinivasan. The contract was eventually re-negotiated.

    While there is a faction within the BCCI that would like to see Modi out, the fact is that he will head the IPL till 2012. Even BCCI members who have issues with Modi admit that they need him. Modi is effecting changes that are rapidly changing the perception of the game by stakeholders.

    Apart from the IPL, Modi also managed to get the Champions Twenty20 League off the ground. He formed a partnership with Cricket Australia and Cricket South Africa for this. The TV deals done by ESPN Star Sports saw cricket reach more countries than ever before in Europe and other territories. While the ratings in India were not great, one can expect Modi to come up with more innovations.

    In 2009 Modi also took up the issue of piracy on a war footing. Under his guidance an association in conjunction with the cricket boards of England, South Africa and Australia was formed. This move has the backing of the ICC and is the first time that sports broadcasters and stakeholders are making a concerted effort to fight this problem.

    In 2010 Modi is showing no signs of slowing down. The deal with YouTube this year could change the face of sports broadcasting in the years to come. And with the commercial success of the IPL, Modi is thinking in terms of spreading the global reach of the game. He has already hinted that the US may be the next frontier and is in that country at the moment. The aim is to possibly do an event within the next 18 months.

    Dr Prannoy Roy

    At the beginning of 2009, Prannoy Roy looked an extremely worried man. The psephologist turned hardcore newsman had got himself into a corner. Two of his diversifications were burning up cash and how, scorching the main mother news network.

    The first was a general entertainment joint venture channel NDTV Imagine with US major studio NBC Universal. The second was his lifestyle programming forays into NDTV Lifestyle. Roy had launched these services earlier when the times were good, and revenues were in full flow, but with the economic downturn he was being battered. It was imperative that something be done.

    The economics doctorate from the Delhi School of Economics decided to take the battle to the frontlines along with his senior management team spearheaded by KVL Narayan Rao. Get rid of the diversifications and focus on your core competence – news – became the mantra. Along with the senior team and investment bankers, he spent a large part of the first part of the year scouting for buyers for his non-news verticals.

    The other focus of the team was: reduce the group‘s high interest burden which had come its way courtesy its need for cash for its diversifications. He bought back NBC Universal‘s 26 per cent indirect stake in NDTV Networks Plc. The company‘s $100 million step up coupon bonds due 2012 were bought for $72.4 million. This drastically lowered its borrowings and concomitant high interest bill. NDTV was also freed from the undertaking to provide a $40 million guarantee to the bond-holders.

    He also shut down a local news channel he had started in Metro Nation Delhi, cutting down costs.

    NDTV Lifestyle was put on the auction block and around Diwali, he managed to find a buyer for it. The US-based Scripps Networks Interactive bought up 69 per cent of the company on a fully diluted basis for $55 million, in what was seen as an extremely profitable sale.

    Then just as the year was ending he unveiled his final coup de grace: he found a buyer for the hungry for cash NDTV Imagine. Turner Asia Pacific Ventures bought out 92 per cent of NDTV‘s stake in Imagine for $67 million, while investing in fresh equity in the company to the tune of $50 million, bringing up the value of the transaction to $117 million.

    The moves were lauded by all media watchers and the company‘s bottomline started showing improvement.

    And Prannoy ended the year with a beaming smile on his face. Yes, the network still has its work cut out for it. But the comeback has begun.

    Harish Thawani
    This year this street smart maverick renewed the deal with the BCCI with his company Nimbus for another four years till 2014 in a deal worth Rs 20 billion, thus ensuring stability. Thawani has asserted in interviews that the payout per match is similar. Of course, the deal does not include new media.

    Thawani also maintains that rationalisation was bound to happen with the economic environment. He insists that everybody in a deal has to benefit and that the days of bids reaching stratospheric levels are gone. The fact that the BCCI did not bother to go through a tender for the rights, as Nimbus had the first right of negotiation, shows that Thawani got his calculations right in terms of what these rights are worth. After all, the BCCI would have conducted some talks with other sports broadcasters to find out if they were willing to pay more.

    Thawani is known for being proactive in terms of deals being done. He asserts that the company got a 10 per cent discount on the earlier deal on account of the mandatory feed sharing act being passed. Even not going for the new media rights this time around was a deliberate strategy. Highlights and clips got more traffic than live streaming under the old deal. Therefore for him it was not a cost effective proposition.

    Last year Nimbus had complained to the BCCI in a letter about the quality of facilities for broadcasting which forced cricket‘s richest body to take action. Thawani is also said to have been a strong force behind the BCCI instituting the Corporate Trophy.

    On the distribution front, it is expected that Neo would have doubled its revenue for 2009. This is creditable given that Neo had to do the distribution on its own after the deal with Star went sour a couple of years back.

    Moreover the channel‘s audience deliveries have been better than the competition‘s at times as was seen with the India versus Sri Lanka series. Neo Cricket now claims to have finished as the top sports channel for two years in a row. Overseas, Neo Cricket bolstered its presence with several deals last year and is now present in 25 countries including Japan, Korea, Singapore.

    Thawani, though, is looking beyond just cricket. He has plans for two new channels in the lifestyle and film genres. And, yes, the IPO could be round the corner.

     

  • ‘We are identifying short term tasks and medium term tasks to get to a new, bigger Star’

    ‘We are identifying short term tasks and medium term tasks to get to a new, bigger Star’

    It’s the festival of lights. And for many the festival of noise courtesy exploding fireworks. In the hope of reducing the number of those belonging to the latter tribe, we, at indiantelevision.com, decided to put a display of firecracker articles for visitors this Diwali. We have had many top journalists reporting, analysing, over the many years of indiantelevision.com’s existence. The articles we are presenting are representative of some of the best writing on the business of cable and satellite television and media for which we have gained renown. Read on to get a flavour and taste of indiantelevision.com over the years from some of its finest writers. And have a happy and safe Diwali!

     (Written by: Thomas Abraham in 2007)

    Two men under whose collective leadership rest the fortunes of Asia’s most powerful media conglomerate. In a way, there is a commonality in how both have risen to the top at Rupert Murdoch’s Asian media arm – from the blue as it were. It was just under ten months ago that Paul Aiello, a one time investment banker, was pitchforked into the hot seat of a company riven by internal power politics and stalled growth stories in the key markets it was operating in.

    Three months later, Aiello opted for another dark horse in then Star News CEO Uday Shankar, giving the newshound turned corporate honcho operational charge of India’s lead broadcast network and the difficult task of setting things right there.

    In conversation with Indiantelevision.com’s Thomas Abraham a day after Shankar was elevated to Star India CEO (on 25 October), the two offer their most detailed overview yet, of the media conglomerate’s plans for this market and the region as a whole. Excerpts:

    These are exciting times for the industry with the economy booming and the sector seeing 20-25 % growth. How does Star view all this? What are the key factors that will drive its growth? What could work as impediments?
    Aiello: I continue to be extremely excited about the market and its growth, even though there are numerous uncertainties. You can argue that there are regulatory uncertainties, uncertainties created by increased fragmentation in viewership and increased competition. But these things are to be expected in a highly dynamic market place.

    The challenge for us is not about focusing on what Star is. It is really about what should the next Star be? What should Star be in the next five to ten years from now? That requires a lot of internal focus and development of strategies. 

    So whether it’s about our core broadcast business where we must deal with increased fragmentation, regionalization… all the phenomena that everyone looks at, we need to be there. As well as looking at the overall growth in the media market and knowing that there are other areas that we’re not in as Star; but areas where we have tremendous capabilities within News Corp and in Star, that we should move in to and make sense of.

    So we’ve been through a strategic review process and now we are coming out of that and are identifying the short term tasks and the medium term tasks to get to a new and bigger Star.

    If you get detracted by a noise event like a new show that someone else has come up with in the last one week or some uncertain ruling or regulatory decision, you can get paralysed and miss what is the more important strategic initiative on where you want to be.

    It is really important to keep that strategic vision because then you become really disciplined to stand by what the vision is and do the execution of the steps necessary, whether it is people moves or moving into new areas of business.

    So which are the new areas?
    Aiello: Certainly we need to expand the footprint of our core business of our channels. In the next six to nine months, we are going to be launching more channels.

    Five channels?
    Aiello:     Five, six channels, yes. That is one manifestation of the extension of our core business. But we are looking at many other ways to build our business.

    Like for example?
    Aiello: News Corp has tremendous capabilities when it comes to films.

    Everybody was waiting for that. Are you going to go the Sony Pictures route? Will you be getting into movies big time and will that be under your mandate?
    Aiello:     It is something for not just me to decide, but Fox to decide. We work very closely with our sister companies at New Corp. Let us see what we can do together if such opportunities make sense.

    News Corp is pretty strong in new media, internet as well.

    MySpace?
    Aiello: Yes, MySpace, Fox Interactive Media.

    Ajay Vidyasagar will be on that I am told.
    Aiello: Ajay is very involved in our new media strategy.

    If Ajay will be overseeing that side of the business, there are also the content challenges that lie ahead. How will all this be managed?
    Shankar: Ajay did an amazing job in the last eight-nine months when there was a creative management vacuum when people had left and gone away. Now we have ramped up our content team. So there is Anupama (Mandloi), there is Vivek (Behl), there is Monica and two or three others who have come in. We’ve also created a structure which is more channel focused. So there is a general manager of Star Plus, who’s Keertan (Adyanthaya). There is a GM of Star One, that’s Ravi (Menon). So the day to day channel management activities have become pretty much independent and self contained.

    So, for any of the other senior management, including myself, we don’t have that kind of daily interface. Our task has moved on to doing strategic and long term planning for the channels. Our internal understanding is that Ajay is going to primarily spend his time in building the internet business. And that’s in collaboration with MySpace wherever it’s possible. And internally, we will do a whole lot of other things.

    Where MySpace might not be a partner?
    Aiello: That’s right. Star will have its own new media strategy. At the same time Star will work with MySpace, Fox Interactive Media, in as many places as it makes sense. 


    The times of 50-on-50 top shows is history and we could soon well have a situation of three to four networks fighting it out for top honours. How do you see that panning out? 
    Shankar: I really feel that in this market, in the entertainment space, for a long time will continue to primarily be a two player market. Maybe there might be a third player who will have a little bit of traction. Who that first, second or third player is may change, in two or even in five years time. But I still think that for many years, that is what is going to be the situation.

    The big difference will be this. Typically in broadcasting globally, two key players will be the ones making money. In this market, in GEC, simply because of the size of the universe, it is possible that if people have a disciplined content approach, even the No. 3 and the No. 4 can make money.

    And our advertising space is becoming so segmented. Not everybody has to take big corporate advertisers. Not everybody has to target the same clients.

    What it requires is for people to clearly identify their TG, their target geography and smartly design unique or signature content for these TGs. My big problem is that in category after category you see, people are just cloning the leader.

    The fact is that it has worked because of the very size of the market. News is a classic example of that.

    Shankar: It has worked. But the returns are diminishing. If you see sustainable leadership in whichever category, somebody has been able to challenge the leader’s content model. Star News did whatever turnaround it could manage because it did not follow the Aaj Tak route of live breaking news. It went into appointment viewing and other kinds of signature programming.

    Now what you see is that everybody is chasing one or other player. The same thing is happening in music. You are seeing more and more commoditization of content and less and less differentiation. That is a big challenge.

    I think distribution is a huge challenge for this market; copy content is a big challenge. And the third, I am not saying necessarily in that order, huge challenge is the shortage of original quality talent; which nobody is really talking about. It is the same talent that is going around.

    If you are smart, you change three jobs in two years, your salary will go up four times, and you will get three more promotions. That does not mean that the person’s maturity has gone up or that person’s quality of skills have increased.

    Aiello: This is an issue that applies not only of India, but practically to all of Asia. You have to get fresh new talent. It is critical nurturing them and taking risks in developing them. 

     

    So the three biggest challenges over the next three years are distribution, commoditisation of content and talent management?

    Shankar: In distribution, if you were to further focus, the two challenges would be, 1) to strengthen the cable infrastructure to allow more and more channels to be delivered to the end customer, 2) is to create a regulatory environment where premium content is encouraged by monetizing.it.

    Not everybody has to pay Rs 500. There should be a good, decent family package available for Rs 75; but, somebody who wants to pay Rs 500 or Rs 1,000 and get great content, should have access to that. It is not to make an argument that people should pay through their noses; but people should have a choice.

    What is your view on Trai’s mandating pricing in non-Cas areas? I am told that broadcasters, as in the IBF, are debating challenging it legally. 

    Shankar: If there is a regulatory order, then everybody will have to comply with that. Obviously we have no choice.

    But this kind of price cap in non Cas areas, in an Indian environment where there is so much of opacity in declarations of subscriber base, is going to be extremely counterproductive for this industry. Because you’re operating in a situation where the cost of distribution has become a very important line item for all broadcasters. Except for one or two channels like Star Plus, everybody else has to shell out a large sum of money on distribution.

    The problem is that this kind of artificial cap on value, when the input costs are not being controlled, is very, very counterproductive. A whole bunch of broadcasters and many of the niches are going to become uncompetitive because of distortions in the distribution space. I think this is going to be highly detrimental.

    Yet you have all these new launches, new networks coming up.
    Shankar: Three reasons. People have faith in the Government, in God and the Regulator. 

    ‘You have to get fresh new talent. It is critical nurturing them and taking risks in developing them’

    It’s ‘karma’ then?
    Shankar: Seriously, if you look at it, there are niche channels where 30-40 per cent of their opex is the distribution fee. It is clearly unsustainable.

    This is a market where the talent costs are going through the roof because of the supply side shortage. It is a market where new competitors are coming, so your content costs are going up. Because clutter is going up, your marketing costs are going up. And your distribution costs are going completely out of whack.

    There is not even a logical relationship. Last year what you spent has no bearing on what you will have to spend this year. And in this market what you spend has no correlation to what you spend for similar deliveries in an adjoining market. This is clearly an insane situation.

    Aiello: That is not to say that some of these people will not succeed.

  • MCCS appoints Astro’s Barun Das as vice president

    MCCS appoints Astro’s Barun Das as vice president

    MUMBAI: Media Content and Communication Services Pvt. Ltd. (MCCS), which manages Star News and Star Ananda has roped in Astro All Asia Network international business development head Barun DAs as the vice-president in the corporate function.

    In his present profile as VP at MCCS, Das will have responsibilities both for the MCCS topline as well as bottomline. He will be responsible for creating new revenue models for MCCS in order to increase reach and revenue in non-traditional areas.

    Das had earlier moved to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to take up his assignment with Astro All Asia Network. His role involved business development with a focus on the Indian subcontinent. Prior to his stint with Astro All Asia Network, DAs was associate publisher – business division, at the India Today Group. He brings to MCCS his legacy of a vast experience that spreads across various media groups including the Ananda Bazaar Patrika Group and Zee Publishing, informs an official statement.

    Says MCCS CEO Uday Shankar, “His appointment is in tandem with the exciting new options that the network is exploring in the days to come. In Barun we have a person equipped to exploit this potential and explore new ideas.”

    Das adds, “My previous international exposure has added a new dimension to my professional experience. During my stint with Astro, Kuala Lumpur, I experienced how much the world is excited about India. With so much happening in the world of media, I just could not resist my temptation to be back in India. MCCS with its offerings has been at the forefront of consistent innovation. For me this is a welcome fit and a challenging assignment.”

  • Star News launches news bulletin ‘Satyameva Jayate’ at 9 pm

    Star News launches news bulletin ‘Satyameva Jayate’ at 9 pm

    MUMBAI: Evening news is at the forefront of every news network’s image. Keeping this in mind, the Hindi news channel Star News is, for the first time, launching a news bulletin Satyameva Jayate — Let truth prevail!.

    So far, the channel has largely concentrated on launching news based shows. But starting from 29 May, the channel brings in Satyameva Jayate, which will take a definitive stance on the major news events of the day, positioning itself as the Page 1 story of Star News.

    This half hour bulletin, to air on weekdays from 9 pm, will be anchored by Gaurav Banerjee who will interact with a host of reporters.

    The channel says that this bulletin will be presented with interactive format aided by appropriate background history, graphics, stills, strong anchor bytes, powerful visuals and opinion points.

    The channel is set out to create ‘appointment viewing’ with this news bulletin, following an aggressive and direct approach in presenting the various layers of meaning of a particular news story through the show Satyameva Jayate.

    Post this news bulletin, the channel will air its cricket property Operation Vijay at 9:30 pm.

    Says Media Content & Communications Services CEO & editor Uday Shankar, “Satyameva Jayate will focus on the big stories of the day in politics, civic issues, investigations and sports amongst others and break through the code of obfuscation with a style that is direct and uncompromising.”

    In the recent past, Star News has innovated with Pehli Khabar – a 5 am to 8 am first look at news events – and Yeh Bharat Desh Hai Mera – a show on human-interest issues.

  • Star News to enter Japan via SKY PerfecTV

    Star News to enter Japan via SKY PerfecTV

    NEW DELHI: Star News is all set to storm the Japan market by launching its services there later this month.

    Confirming the development, Star News CEO Uday Shankar told Indiantelevision.com, “The news channel will be available in Japan from this month and would be on a pay platform.”

    According to Shankar, international distribution of the channel is being handled by News Corp, one of the shareholders in MCCS that is the managing company for Star News and its present Bengali sibling Star Ananda.

    News Corp feels that the Hindi news channel would have viewership in Japan, though limited. Star News, one of the most widely distributed Indian news channel, has international footprints in South East Asia, Central Asia,
    Middle East, the UK, the USA and Australia.

    In Japan, Star News is likely to be on SKY PerfecTV, a leading multi-channel digital satellite television platform.

    Meanwhile MCCS, a 74:26 joint venture between Kolkata-based ABP TV and Hong Kong-headquartered Star Group, continues to explore the possibilities of expanding its portfolio base in India.

    Pointing out that talks on launching new products is an “ongoing process” between the two shareholders of the company, Shankar said, “Both ABP and Star are committed to make the requisite investment as and when the needs arise.”

    Asked whether MCCS would make more Indian language forays in 2006, Shankar did not rule out the possibility. “Some projects are being actively discussed and such ventures take time to materialise. But I am also not saying we would not launch any channel (in 2006).”

    A few days ago, Star News completed three years of operation under a new regime after the divorce from its long-standing content partner, NDTV, which has gone ahead since then to launch its own news channels.

    In February this year, Shankar completed two years at MCCS. Prior to this assignment, he was news director of Aaj Tak, the country’s most successful Hindi news channel in terms of market share.

  • Star News’ 3rd anniversary launches interactive service Khabar Hamari, Faisla Aapka

    Star News’ 3rd anniversary launches interactive service Khabar Hamari, Faisla Aapka

    MUMBAI: Star News turns three years old this 31 Mrach. Post the divorce with the then content provider New Delhi based NDTV, now turned news broadcaster, the MCCS managed Star News celebrates its third anniversary by launching an interactive service — Khabar Hamari, Faisla Aapka.

    The service has been designed as a 24-hour viewer feedback number that elicits active viewer participation. With this feedback mechanism, the viewers can call in and express their views, opinions, suggestions or questions on a news story.

    In an official statement issued today, this method of eliciting viewer interactivity reinstates Star News’ position as the ‘people’s channel’. The journey of three years for Star News has been studded with commendable achievements and appreciable milestones.

    The major breaking stories includes the Mumbai deluge, the Shankaracharya controversy, the exclusive interview of Abu Salem’s first wife, Samira Jumani, and the MP (LAD) sting operation, ‘Chakravyuvh’.

    The channel has moved from strength to strength and has grown to command a significant viewership in the industry. Today, Star News has international footprints in South East Asia, Central Asia, UK, USA and Australia. The channel has set precedents in investigative journalism, lateral programming and unique on-ground properties that have been accepted by the viewers and emulated by competitors.

    MCCS CEO and editor Uday Shankar says, “Our journey over the last 3 years has been filled with challenges which we have successfully overcome. And the affection & unstinting support we have received from our viewers & strategic partners makes it a fruitful and memorable one too. Going forward it will be our constant endeavour to live upto their expectations just as we have in the past.”

    He further added “And on the occasion of our 3rd Anniversary milestone, we are taking our promise to our viewers to the next level by introducing Khabar Hamari, Faisla Aapka, a first-time viewer interface with the channel where Star News will get to solicit their views, opinions and response on a news story. The objective is to provide the viewer a direct voice on Star News and change the existing scenario by making them an active part of the news. It is one more step in the direction of our commitment of being the people’s channel.”

    The statement informs that the viewer feedback is a vital ingredient of a channel’s success and is probably the only means for a channel to gauge acceptability and interest levels among its audiences. With Khabar Hamari, Faisla Aapka, Star News will provide the viewers a phone number wherein a viewer can call in to voice their ideas, opinion or questions on a news story.

    The central idea for the launch of this first of it’s kind initiative is to change the current scenario wherein the viewer plays a passive part by just listening/ watching the news, to the viewer being an active participant by giving them a chance to be a part of the news and voice their feelings on the channel.

    The viewers can dial 022-5663 0099 to voice their opinions, suggestions, views or questions through Khabar Hamari, Faisla Aapka.