ITV

Tag: Utsav

  • Star serves notice to switch off service to Hathway

    Star serves notice to switch off service to Hathway

    MUMBAI: Star India on Tuesday served a one-month notice to Hathway Cable & Datacom threatening to disconnect its channels if outstanding dues are not cleared.

    The channels within the network that Star has threatened to de-link from Hathway include Star Plus, Star Movies, Star World, Star Gold, Star News, Utsav, Star One, Vijay TV, National Geographic Channel, The History Channel, Channel [V], Hungama TV and the two Walt Disney channels – Toon Disney and The Disney Channel.

    A point of note: five years after the Star Group acquired a 26 per cent stake in Rajan Raheja-promoted Hathway Cable & Datacom, the first public face off between the two partners is out in the open.

    “There is an outstanding which Hathway owes us as per the contract. We have issued them a notice as per the regulation prescribed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India,” says a Star India spokesperson.

    Hathway, however, states the dues to Star India are in the normal course of business credit period. “The essential problem is only with respect to the new pay channel bouquet like Hungama TV and the Disney channels. The problem with the new pay channels is that the customers are not willing to pay additional money. The dispute is due to the customer resistance to the new pay channels,” the company says in a release.

    Star’s second bouquet, priced at Rs 22 a month per subscriber, includes Star One, Hungama TV and the two Disney channels.

    Hathway has “no dispute” or “outstanding” except in relation to “normal trade credit,” the release adds. “We do not want the customers to be burdened with additional amounts for new pay channels which most of them do not want to watch.”

    It may be recalled that Star India on 7 May discontinued, due to non payment of dues, service of its bouquet of channels to Asianet Satellite Communications, a company entirely held by Raheja which is the dominant multi system operator in Kerala.

  • Smart Buy: Making of the Sony-Sab deal

    Smart Buy: Making of the Sony-Sab deal

    Being out of action for a long time is not SET India chief executive officer Kunal Dasgupta‘s style. In 2004, he had quietly watched Star India launch Utsav as a flanking channel while preparations were on to introduce Star One for upscale audiences.

    Then he decided to strike. Towards the middle of last year, he called Sri Adhikari Brothers Television Network Ltd (SABTNL) vice chairman and managing director Markand Adhikari to Sony India‘s office in Mumbai‘s western suburb of Andheri for a long discussion. His interest: to buy out Sab TV, a niche comedy channel.

    Just the kind of talk that Adhikari wanted to hear as at that time it had been nigh on four years that he had been scouting for a strategic investor. Exploratory talks he had initiated with Sony, Zee Telefilms and Star India during this period had thus far proved futile.

    “The meeting was progressive. Both agreed to pursue the talks,” says a source familiar with the deal.

    To be honest, Dasgupta was not totally convinced that buying Sab TV would be the right step. He believed flanking channels wouldn‘t work in India‘s current environment. Zee‘s El TV hadn‘t; neither had Star‘s Utsav. Doubts in mind, he took the debate to SET India chief operating officer NP Singh.

    NOT A FLANKING CHANNEL, A GROWTH OPPORTUNITY
    Assurances came from Singh and both agreed that Sab TV should not be seen as a flanking channel but as an independent growth opportunity. A humour-centric channel with a male skew audience base that would widen Sony‘s bouquet, which already had AXN to tap English-speaking (or more pertinently thinking) male audiences.

    At the early stages of discussions itself, both companies realised that the deal would fit in with their future strategies. Says Singh, “Sony TV is seen as a female and family-focussed channel. With Sab TV, we will get a male-skewed audience in the Hindi heartland. This would broadbase our offerings as Sab TV would bring in new audiences to the network. We decided to push the deal forward.”

    This suited Adhikari as well. He wanted to start a Marathi and a current affairs and news channel. Freeing himself from Sab TV was essential as it was pulling down the profitability of SABTNL, a listed company. Net profit slumped from Rs 85.40 million for the fiscal ended 31 March 2002 to Rs 16.30 million in the year ended 30 September 2004 (financial year for SABTNL is now ended 30 September).

    And in any case Adhikari had been preparing the ground for an investor to step in. On 31 May 2004, he officially declared that the broadcasting division of SABTNL would be transferred to a subsidiary company. The market reacted favourably and the scrip which was lying low at Rs 50, jumped to Rs 70 levels in June, before starting to slide back.

    “The market was expecting something to happen, but we felt it was still all in the air,” says a senior executive in a brokering firm.

    TALKS INITIALLY STALL ON VALUATION
    Sony and SABTNL were locked in negotiations, but Adhikari was contesting on valuation. He was also more interested in Sony picking up equity in Sab TV as it would add value to the company and the stock would get a big boost. But Sony was clear: it wasn‘t prepared to take a part stake participation. “We were convinced right from the start that if we are to do a deal, it had to be a total buy out,” says Singh.
    Adhikari quickly understood that: to get a suitable suitor, he had very little choice left. Star had already started Utsav, a free-to-air channel run with old content, while Zee Telefilms had a wide spectrum of channels to address different audience segments. Smile TV from Zee stable, in fact, was positioned directly against Sab TV. “He was now willing to sell out Sab TV, something which he didn‘t want to do a couple of years back,” says a source close to the company.

    The news first leaked on 2 September that Sony was in an advanced stage of negotiations with SABTNL to acquire a majority stake in SAB TV. And on 28 September, SET and SABTNL entered into an understanding: Sony will have the exclusive option to distribute Sab TV as part of the One Alliance bouquet and to acquire an equity stake in the broadcasting subsidiary.

    Hearing this, the market responded with the scrip jumping from Rs 70 to a high of Rs 115 during the September-January period. The expectation was that Sony would pick up stake in Sab TV or even do what Star had done with Balaji Telefilms: a vertical integration deal with the content production company. Only in this case, the content company had a broadcasting subsidiary arm as well.

    “The anticipation was that Sony would pick up a 51 per cent stake in Sab TV,” says a market analyst.

    That was nowhere near the truth. But Sony was not worried about the value of the scrip going up as it was negotiating to buy out only the hived off arm of SABTNL. And with the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MoU), it had blocked off other suitors.

    Clearly, the deal was on. Sony had appointed consulting firm KPMG to carry out a due diligence. “KPMG did the initial due diligence. But we drove the deal ourselves,” says Singh.

    Adhikari initially wanted Sab TV to form part of the distribution of One Alliance while pursuing the talks for stake acquisition. But Sony made it clear that could happen only after the deal was struck. “He wanted to convert it into a pay channel and bring it under the One Alliance bouquet. But we were convinced that we would bring it under the One Alliance fold only after acquiring it,” says a source in SET India.

    Valuation was still to be agreed upon. Adhikari, according to market speculation, was asking for a Rs 1.75 billion valuation on the strength of the brand and the unique positioning of the channel. Sony ruled that out, making it clear that it would get into the deal at a much lower cost. Neither companies, however, were willing to talk about it.

    So what made Adhikari arrive at a settled price? Sony sweetened the offer by including a content supply contract. Adhikari started negotiating for a long term deal which would assure business for his content company.

    In January, the clouds had almost all disappeared. That is when Adhikari announced the launch of a slew of nine shows on Sab TV. “We were very close to the deal at that stage. We had got the internal clearance from the board. Only the document processing work had to be closed,” says Singh.

    And then on 14 March came the big news: that the Sab TV brand and 1305 hours of library programmes (representing 20 per cent of over 6500 hours of library strength) and related assets were being transferred to SET against a total consideration of $13 million (Rs 570 million). SABTNL would also execute a programming agreement with SET India for content supply worth Rs 750 million over a span of five years.

    “The content supply contract was part of the complete package that we offered. It made sense for us as we wanted to ensure that the continuity of the channel was maintained,” says Singh.

    What made a conservative company like Sony Group act so fast? In one word, distribution. The second bouquet of SET-Discovery‘s One Alliance comprising channels like MTV, Nick, Animax, Discovery Travel & Living, and NDTV needed a push up. “Distribution was a big reason for acquiring Sab TV. But we also see potential in growing the channel‘s advertising revenues,” says Singh.

    Though Sony executives would not admit it, a prime driver for clearing the deal was also the price at which Sab TV was acquired. Launching a new channel would invite not only content issues but also the cost and difficulty of getting it distributed.

    SONY‘S SWEETENER FOR ADHIKARI – CONTENT SUPPLY CONTRACT
    For Adhikari, the bait was a supply content contract of Rs 750 million. This would mean an assured business for five years. Besides, he could focus on getting content across Doordarshan and other private satellite broadcasters, as a build up from the platform provided by SET India.

    Sony‘s immediate challenge is to grow in more audiences for Sab TV. Already showing movies on weekends, Sony plans to position Sab TV as a “humour and light entertainment” channel without deviating from its male skew audience base. Reality and game shows are also being lined up, though a complete fix on the channel‘s programming will be finalised in the next few months.

    “We will have a variety of entertainment shows. Our initial programming focus will be on the 8-10 pm band. Gradually, we will expand it to 11 pm,” says Singh.

    Sab TV will soon have a business head to pump up the channel. The channel has already shifted to PanAmSat 10 and is being offered as part of One Alliance‘s second pay bouquet. Says SET India executive vice president of ad sales and revenue management Rohit Gupta: “We have set ourselves aggressive targets. We will leverage the network strength to make sure that we realise the full revenue potential of the channel.”

    Having taken full control of Sab TV, it will now be the task of SET India to make a success of it. “When we did the valuation and acquired Sab TV, we looked at it from a 3-5 year perspective. We will make the right investments to make it work,” says Singh.
  • SabTV stands unaffected; continues to garner a steady viewership

    SabTV stands unaffected; continues to garner a steady viewership

    MUMBAI: Some make call it stagnant and others may call it stable. But, the point in note here, is that Sab TV over the last four years has managed to sustain its channel share. A channel that began as a mass entertainment channel quickly transformed itself into a humour and current affairs outfit. Interestingly, four years down the line, this niche channel still seems to have its hold and its due share of steady and loyal viewership.

    It is important here, to bear in mind that despite the entry of Sahara Manoranjan at the same time, recently rechristened as Sahara One and Star Utsav, Star’s heartland channel earlier this year, whose launch was supposedly aimed at flanking the other two (Sab & Sahara), Sab TV seems to be standing unaffected.

    Commanding a current channel share of three per cent, when juxtaposed with all the other Hindi entertainment channels in the CS 4+ Hindi speaking markets according to TAM data, this small scale low budget channel has managed to carve a niche as well as sustain itself as a profitable unit.

    Looking at the recent past, Utsav which started off with a channel share of 2 per cent among the three ( Sab, Sahara, Utsav) has managed to spruce itself to a 20 – 30 per cent channel share in the last five to six months. So, where has Utsav got its viewership from?

    One thing is definite. It certainly hasn’t managed to eat into Sab’s pie, Sahara well maybe. Looking at channel share figures over the last couple of months, Sahara’s share has shown a consistent dip. This player although accounts for the largest channel share among the three, has not managed to sustain its figures. From a whopping 71 per cent, Sahara has oscillated to a 45-55 per cent share.

    Sab on the other hand, may not have grown but has managed to sustain its share ranging from 23 – 29 per cent.

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Sab TV president – sales and marketing Kanta Advani says, ” The fact that we have maintained our share is commendable in today’s age. One thing is established, that it is only content which drives a channel. So, the key has been differentiation.”

    Advani also pointed out that with the burst of channels and viewership getting further fragmented maintaining the innings itself is an uphill task.

    Speaking to media planners on Sab TV and their take on how it is perceived by advertisers, most said that Sab was a good cost efficient medium. Also, the channel has managed to weave in innovations for every brand ensuring value for money.

    Says Madison communications Sudipto Roy, ” If you look at inventory sales, the highest clutter outside of the movies channels is on Sab TV. If you look at general entertainment channels, Sab TV has been quite high in terms of inventory sales. This can be attributed to Sab’s loyal set of audience.”

    Another factor pointed out by Mindshare’s investment director Laxshmi Narasimhan, ” Sab TV also tries very hard to add value in terms of innovative packaging and Sab does it consistently and cost-effectively.”

    Narasimhan also points out that if there is any channel that is slightly male skewed, it is SabTV. Going on to further state that the biggest gap in the Indian television industry today is that there is no option for the Indian male. Hence a lot of male viewers get on to Sab by default rather than a Sony or a Star Plus.

    One other aspect that works in favour of Sab TV is its differentiated content as well as its very clearly positioning of it being comedy and current affairs and all programmes are in tandem with their positioning statement. Sab also manages to draw younger audiences who fall in the CS 4 – 14 SEC A, as younger audiences show a skew towards comedy.

    Interestingly, Utsav does not seem to have entered into any media planners bouquet.

    All in all, as is evident, Sab TV has not gained but has managed to maintain its channel shares, where as Sahara seems to be losing ground. Although, with the coming of Sahara One, one has to wait and watch as to whether the channel manages to make the jump among mainline general entertainment channels.

  • Jagran’s festival plan: month long special ‘Utsav’

    Jagran’s festival plan: month long special ‘Utsav’

    NEW DELHI: Celebrating this festive season, Zee Network’s religious channel, Jagran has lined up a month-long Jagran Utsav 04, starting 28 October.

    During this period the channel would showcase its exclusive programming properties and has thrown in a contest too to involve the viewers.

    According to a press statement, there are some 245 programs across the month long Utsav where the viewers can participate and win attractive prizes.

    Some of the key programs during this period on Jagran include OSHO, Shri Shri Ravi Shankar, Shri Sathya Sai Baba, Life Styles from Bhagavad Gita, Jagran Iss Hafte, Prajapita BramhaKumari’s live programme from Mount Abu, 10 minutes with Vikas Malkani and Sai Dil Se.

    Each program will carry a unique question asked at the end with three answer options. The viewers can send in the correct answers to the channel via SMS, email or via a phone call to a call centre. The results will be indicated via the medium used.

    Specially created booklets carrying program schedule and details about the said programmes are being circulated through various spiritual foundations and cable distribution networks across the country. The playing norms and details will be flashed on the channel throughout the Utsav duration for those viewers who fail to get their copy of the booklet.

    The gifts on the shelf include a weekend each at the Osho Intl Meditation Resort (Pune) and the BramhaKumari’s Ashram at Mount Abu, complimentary Art of Living courses from Shri Shri Ravi Shankar and gift hampers from Shri Sathya Sai Baba Trust.

    Multiple media options have been chosen to promote the Utsav, including print, outdoors, cross channel promotions on the Zee Network, SMS and the Internet. Contest details could also be had www.jagranchannel.com.

  • Star India’s FTA Hindi channel Utsav launching 7 June

    Star India’s FTA Hindi channel Utsav launching 7 June

    MUMBAI: Star Plus’ “flanker” channel sibling is finally ready to make its bow and it’s not named Classic. Come 7 June and the Hindi entertainment space will see the entry of Star Utsav (meaning celebration), a free-to-air channel made up of reruns of the popular shows that Star Plus has generated over the last four years.

    The entire Hindi speaking cable & satellite universe is what Star India COO Sameer Nair expects to reach through Star Utsav, especially the smaller cities and towns where Star Plus is not widely available. We are going in to the market and seeding 5,000 receivers, says Nair, while adding that there are some major distribution/trade related activities being organised around the channel’s launch. There will be a lot of advertising on cable channels as well as trade related magazines as an adjunct to this effort, Nair says.

    From an advertising point of view, Utsav offers Star the opportunity to tap into the local advertising space that opened up after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in February allowed foreign broadcasters to garner ads from the local non-exporting advertiser. Nair says the rates on Utsav will be extremely competitive, and will offer the smaller players a “quality channel” to advertise on.
     
    According to Star India marketing and channel communications head Ajay Vidyasagar, Utsav, when packaged with the network’s Hindi movie channel Star Gold, “can combat the rest of the Hindi entertainment channels as far as advertising is concerned.”

    Clearly the plan is that while Star Plus retains its numero uno position in the ad stakes, Utsav will work from the flanks eating into the ad pies that the likes of No 2 channel Sony Entertainment and the No 3 Zee TV have carved out for themselves.

    PROGRAMME SCHEDULING ENSURES NO CLASH WITH STAR PLUS

    Elaborating on the programming strategy behind Star Utsav, Nair says the scheduling had been done in such a manner that Utsav will function as an alternative channel that complements Star Plus.

    One issue that Nair’s team had to keep in mind while working out programming scheduling was that the top three shows on Star Plus — Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki and Kasauti Zindagi Kay — be protected from any possibility of erosion in their viewership. And Utsav’s FPC has been organised keeping that thought in mind. Which is why KSBKBT, which will be Utsav’s driver programme in the launch phase, has been slotted at 7 pm Mondays through to Thursdays.

    Another point that needs noting is that Star is spacing out its “big gun” programmes and will not be launching them all in a bunch. That is why in the FPC made available to indiantelevision.com there is no KGGK or KZK among the shows in the list. Instead, lining up alongside KSBKBT is Saans, one of Star’s critically acclaimed shows that had its run during the period that Star Plus was an also ran channel.

    One aspect about Utsav that gives Nair a big kick is the fact that with a ready bank of programming available, it offers him and his team much leeway on the scheduling front.

    And what of the show that started Star on the road to pre-eminence — Kaun Banega Crorepati? That will most likely be Utsav’s Diwali offering, says Nair.

    Now that Star’s FTA channel is ready to roll, the industry will be awaiting the next channel that is expected to come from India’s lead broadcaster’s brains trust in the coming months — Plus II. Of course, there might well be a name change when it does finally launch.