ITV

Tag: Zee Studio

  • Cramped space, slow growth dog English movie channels

    There is no shake-up at the top in the English movie channel space but a grim battle is being waged at the lower level as the new entrants plot their growth path with stronger content and distribution.

    The segment leaders, Star Movies and HBO, have marginally lost their channel share in the midst of this competition, but they are way ahead to even feel challenged. Star Movies‘ share has dropped to 38 per cent for the first six months of the period ending June as against 42 per cent a year ago, while HBO has shed three per cent to stand at 31 per cent.

    Three-year-old Pix too has fallen 1 per cent to rest on a channel share of 11 per cent, according to Tam data (Tam data, c&s15+ SEC A,B) for the six-month period. However, Zee Studio, fourth in line, has trekked upwards from 7 per cent to 9 per cent.

    The only ranking change during this period has been the upsurge of WB, Turner and Warner‘s six-month-old channel in India, that has overtaken UTV World Cinema, which is also a new player in the field. While UTV World Cinema has a channel share of 4.8 per cent, WB is a hair‘s length ahead at 4.9 per cent.

    The first half of the year has seen the genre stickiness inch marginally up to 10 minutes, a one pointer climb from the year-ago period.

    According to industry experts, it‘s current films that gives English movie channels the ratings and pulls in advertisers. Tam data shows that for the six months while Star Movies and HBO had most of the top 10 titles, Pix‘s Slumdog Millionaire peaked at a rating of 0.33 TVR.

    So, as maintaining consistent brand loyalty becomes a challenge, top and long existing players are fine tuning their strategies to attract more audiences.

    Star Movies‘ focus this year has rested on enhancing its title choices for specific slots. It has also looked at giving viewers more opportunities to sample content that they can connect with. The aim is to make its flagship property, Friday Night Premiere, stronger.

    Says Star Movies VP programming Jyotsna Vriyalaya, “Having brand loyalty in a genre that is so title driven will be a very big challenge. Viewers often sample the top two to three channels before settling on their favourite movie.”

    HBO has concentrated on blockbusters and expansion of its theme variety such as the Hollywood Premier League, while continuing with original programming like True Blood. In an effort to go beyond just titles to build brand saliency, HBO is looking at new show formats.
    Says HBO South Asia country manager Shruti Bajpai, “The key to developing brand loyalty revolves around selection of titles, how well content is packaged, experimenting in terms of show formats, channel‘s on-air look and communication.”

    Pix business head Sunder Aaron notes that while the category is title driven, brand loyalty also develops among viewers of movie channels. “It‘s all about context. When a viewer identifies strongly with the movies shown on a particular channel, considering channel‘s presentation is comfortable and the promos and breaks unobtrusive, it provides a favourable viewing environment and eventually leads to a viewing habit.”

    Earlier, Pix was seen as a channel showcasing classic films. However, this year the channel has aggressively acquired titles from a number of distributors. The biggest was Slumdog Millionaire. With this acquisition, Aaron expects that there will be drastic change in how viewers perceive the channel over the next couple of years.

    Says Aaron, “Pix‘s marketing helps to feature these newer titles in a bigger and better way than in the past. While we are flattered that channels are emulating or copying some of our on air strategies, we will continue to evolve the look and feel of the channel as well. This should help us continue to make up ground on HBO and Star Movies.”

    Also, in a bid to introduce more variety, the channel airs soccer action from the FA Cup. “We‘ve introduced cinema-oriented series to India that have perfectly fitted into the Pix persona, with shows like Hollywood One on One, and Inside the Actors Studio,” adds Aaron.

    Zee Studio faces the same challenge as Pix in terms of getting premieres. But channel business head Sujay Kutty says that there are a number of independent distributors who have first-run gems in their packages. He also claims that he has 18 premieres lined up for the year.

    The channel has moved its primetime to 9 pm. April also saw the introduction of Sunday Noonatics, a slot for light entertaining flicks keeping the relaxed Sunday mood in mind.

    Blocks or no blocks?

    Well, apart from right title selection, placement and variety, the genre has also brought in the block-building strategy to attract target audiences. But with the introduction of blocks, the long-age debate also stands tall – do blocks work?

    Aaron says that while the channel holds festival bands, it does not pay off to have too many blocks. “When you commit to certain types of programming for a slot, you are essentially creating a programming ‘strait jacket‘ whose proposition is not always easy to meet with the films in your library,” he says.

    Lodestar Universal COO Nandini Dias notes that one can schedule content in a manner to appeal to different age groups without necessarily assigning labels. “Having blocks can get you sponsorship revenue, but you also risk alienating the rest of the audience if you are not careful.”

    Offering a counterpoint, Bajpai says that it entirely depends on how a particular channel identifies its audience and devises its strategy. “HBO seeks its audience across segments and hence, to connect at a base-level, we do TG-specific programming blocks where we offer something for everyone out of our whole gamut of shows. With a relatively larger base of audience, for HBO this sort of programming format has worked well.”

    For UTV World Movies business head Sameer Ganapathy, blocks ascertain that genre and star themes are presented to viewers in an approachable manner. “Having said that, we do not believe in too many programming blocks as that really limits the scheduling and hinders variety.”

    UTV World Movies also aims to be present in all verticals of the business with the channel being the driver. So it has started releasing films into cinemas, like Waltz With Bashir.

    “This brings a huge amount of saliency to the brand. We have the home video association with Shemaroo. We are currently the only channel in the genre that is truly 360° in nature,” Ganapathy avers.

    True, English movie channels are construing and establishing various strategies to come to the fore. But the one element that could still cause disharmony in crafting better reach and contact is lack of strategic ‘distribution‘.

    According to Turner International India VP, deputy GM Monica Tata, apart from content what also helped Warner cut through the heap is distribution.

    She says, “In just over a quarter, the channel is available in 13 million c&s homes, including digital and DTH platforms such as Dish TV, Sun Direct and Big TV.”

    Last year, MGM signed a deal with Star Den to get it distributed across cable and satellite and has also signed up over 500 cable systems.

    According to MGM Networks president Bruce Tuchman, “We also debuted on Bharti Airtel in DTH. We have built a very wide and growing subscription base, as well as increasing our DTH presence.”

    Tuchman feels that apart from creating reach, distribution will also facilitate attracting revenues in India. “What is being seen now in India is an inflection point where targeted, niche product that super-serves specific audiences will have an incredible opportunity to build fans, loyalty and subscription revenue. We‘ve seen this elsewhere around the world, and we believe this is the direction that India is headed in.”

    What will, however, intensify competition amongst players is digitisation.
    Dias opines, “At this moment, in an analogue era, some of the movie channels are at an advantage due to better placement. However, once digitisation spreads, all English movie channels will be one behind the other. A level playing field will therefore intensify competition. It will come down to who has the better titles at key timeslots.”

    Though the genre viewership is still skewed towards the metros, channels are also eyeing smaller towns to gain audiences. For example, Zee Studio has held on-ground initiatives in towns such as Pune and Ahmedabad.

    Lintas Media Group Planning Sciences director Atrayee Chakraborty notes that in the distant future, viewership would come from the smaller towns and cities. However, in the short run, the movie channels need to concentrate on the metros as much still remains untapped here.

    Revenue to slow down

    The size of the English movie channel genre is estimated to grow to Rs 2.2 billion this fiscal.

    Stung by economic slowdown, the industry expects the segment to see single digit growth in ad revenues this year. Says Chakraborty, “This genre would suffer relatively more as premium brands, durables and finance sectors, which largely advertise in these channels, have cut their advertising budgets.”

    Ratings and perception play a role in media-buying decisions for this genre. Offering further insight, Chakraborthy explains that while the TG is upmarket and skewed towards the metros, it also looks at channel affinity within specific segments in the TG for budget allocation. “HBO, for example, is more preferred by brands targeting younger, upmarket males. Star Movies, in contrast, attracts a wider audience base.”

    Bajpai is bullish on the genre‘s growth, “While there has been an air of caution in general across industries, it is also a fact that during a downturn advertisers tend to turn towards a strong product that is consistent, dependable and has a steady consumer base.”

  • ‘Zee Studio has concrete plans to beef up its original programming’ : Sujay Kutty – Zee Studio senior VP, business head

    ‘Zee Studio has concrete plans to beef up its original programming’ : Sujay Kutty – Zee Studio senior VP, business head

    The fight among the English movie channels is getting fiercer as new players have entered the battleground. Zee Studio has decided to go aggressive this year by upping its premiere runs on the channel. The plan is also to launch an original show every month.

     

    The focus this year will be to grow particularly in the smaller towns. Zee Studio is also launching a wap application to take advantage of new media opportunities.

     

    In an interview with Indiantelevision.com’s Ashwin Pinto, Zee Studio senior VP, business head Sujay Kutty talks about the challenges of the English movie broadcasting business and the channel’s growth plans.

     

    Excerpts:

    With more players joining the fray, has the English movie genre seen growth in terms of viewership and advertisers?
    As of now, there are seven players in this market. With the advent of new players, the quality and variety of movies on the small screen has definitely improved.

     

    We will also see unique niches being created where you will have some channels showing big premieres and others sticking to popular titles which get ratings despite being aired many times like Terminator 2, Spiderman, Pirates Of The Caribbean.

    So will you be increasing your premiere runs on the channel?
    The number of premieres has grown considerably. We have 18 premieres lined up for the year with the likes of Vicky Cristina Barcelona, The Wrestler and How to Lose Friends – all close to their theatrical release.

    Is that the key to growing your share?
    Premieres bring an element of freshness to the channel and are definitely more saleable as the films have not been exploited earlier by other channels. Also, most of the satellite premieres we pick are scheduled very close to their theatrical release which helps in ensuring a quick recall in the viewers’ minds and helps create buzz around them.

    But isn’t sourcing big title content difficult as market leaders Star Movies and HBO have the big studios behind them?
    We buy content from all the major studios and have a great relationship with Disney, Warner and Sony. Also, we have done business with studios like Fox and NBCU in the past. Moreover, a lot of independent distributors have access to first runs. There are also cinematic gems from various festivals that we pick up.

    Is a trend emerging to spruce up the English movie channels with original content?
    There is a gap in terms of local content being done in this genre. Zee Studio has concrete plans to beef up its original programming. We will unveil our second product in October-November. A host-based quiz show around movies is on the cards. While talks are on with a number of production houses, it’s a little too early to discuss the show.

     

    The plan is to have one show every six months. If you do it more, then the novelty can get lost. We will get into many formats except reality shows. Original content helps connect with the consumers and opens up marketing opportunities.
    ‘With newer players entering the markets and major studios coming up with their own channels, content availability will be a source of concern‘

    How successful have you been in your earlier endeavour?
    As far as local programming goes, we already have Get Shorty, our short film contest for the audience. We ask aspiring filmmakers to submit their entries between 2-10 minutes in length. It is a four half-hour episode show. The filmmakers talk about their short film and why they made it. The jury includes personalities from the industry like Anurag Kashyap. Last time around 17,0000 viewers voted for what they felt was the best entry out of the 18 films that were aired.

     

    We are planning the third season for this show and it goes on air later this year. Currently, we are planning more shows with the basic aim of involving our audience.

    Your sister channel Zee Cafe tried localisation but the response was mixed. What lessons have been learnt from this?
    On the contrary, local productions always create talking points and an instant connect with the audience. We have got a positive response to Zee Café’s Café Mic Testing. The trick is to make the ‘homegrown’ content as interesting and unique as the shows we acquire abroad. With Café Mic Testing, we tried a unique blend of a talent hunt and a game show.

    But doesn’t your budget go up with local content?
    It does! However there are different ways to do local content. You can create a huge programme like a GEC. For us there is no need to be extravagant and have a big budget. Our aim is to get to a specific audience.

     

    The purpose is two fold. Firstly you create affinity for the channel among viewers by showcasing homegrown talent. Secondly you build local talent as a base that can be used for the future. The ad revenue that we earn more or less take care of programming costs.

    While the share of Zee Studio has gone up marginally, it is still in the fourth spot among the English movie channels. What is the gameplan to bridge the gap?
    Zee Studio has been in the third spot for more than three weeks now. Our strategy focuses on initiatives that help us create direct consumer connect. This can be done through out-of-home marketing activities, SMS, mailers and, of course, our film club.

     

    We intend to partner with film societies to showcase cinemas across metropolitan cities as an extension of our movie club initiative.

     

    In the coming times, we are also launching an application on Wap-enabled phones that will let viewers download our weekly schedules.

    Tam data shows that the time spent on English movie channels has gone up slightly. Zee Studio has also grown slightly but not much. What would you say are the reasons for this?
    With more channels entering the genre, a viewer has many more options to choose from. Moreover, viewers have a wider choice for entertainment that is not restricted to television alone. So the time spent is not likely to show a significant increase across any channel in the genre.

    Going forward, do you see viewership growth coming in from the small towns and cities or would metros be the main focus?
    There is potential in the small towns and cities as well. Our subtitling speaks to this segment of audience. It is about targetting people who understand English, but have difficulty following the dialect. Subtitling helps them associate what is being said to the story. We have, thus, built our second rung base in places like Jaipur and Gujarat.

    What role has subtitling played in growing the channel’s reach?
    We pioneered the initiative of subtitling for English films in India, starting it as early as August 2007. We realised that English is spoken very differently in different parts of the world, especially when you take into account colloquialisms, local slang and even sentence construction.

     

    Subtitles invariably aid the user in tiding over these differences and absorbing the film in its entirety. Post introduction of subtitling, our films have most definitely reached out to a larger audience base.

    What is the focus area of Zee Studio this year?
    This year our focus is on on-ground initiatives, Shut Up and Watch film Club (Saw) and Studio Nites, the movie song karaoke championship.

     

    Saw is aimed at taking quality cinema to the genuine movie enthusiasts across the country in the unique setting of a bookstore. Meanwhile, Studio Nites are evenings of ‘Karaoke,’ conducted at popular restaurants and clubs celebrating “music from the movies”. Here, patrons win prizes from the channel for singing along to movie soundtracks.

    What are the programming initiatives you have taken in the recent past?
    Over the last six months, Zee Studio has made constant efforts to bring its audience some great programming content. January saw three weekends with the telecast of High School Musical 1 and 2 and a back-to-back telecast of the two films with just one commercial break. To generate excitement around High School Musical, Zee Studio announced Music For Charity. This was an online auction of a guitar autographed by Farhan Akhtar, Luke Kenny, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and Vishal-Shekhar on its official website, www.zeedio.tv. High School Musical had an instant connect with the younger audience.

     

    Moreover, we created some properties keeping the audience’s needs in mind. One of these was ‘Two Timing’ where we would telecast two movies of a popular superstar back-to-back. The other is the ‘In Express Highway’ wherein a movie and its sequel are telecast back-to-back with just one break on Saturday afternoons.

     

    From 1 April, Zee Studio moved its primetime to 9 pm following research findings that a majority of the audience tune in at 9. April also saw the introduction of Sunday Noonatics. This is a slot for light/entertaining flicks keeping the relaxed Sunday mood in mind.

    What can we expect going forward?
    We plan on introducing new festivals every month to give the channel a fresh and ever-changing look. This month Zee Studio will air Desi Tadka, a festival of films with an Indian connect.

     

    September will have a lot of family movies. Going forward, viewers can look out for a Woody Allen Fest, Cinematic Jewels (critically acclaimed films) and more.
    In a genre that is title-driven, how big a challenge is it to build brand loyalty?
    At the end of the day, content is king. Marketing initiatives go a long way in driving brand awareness – be it on-ground initiatives, radio activations, print ads, hoardings, mobile marketing. They all ensure that a channel enjoys top-of-the-mind-recall when viewers are surfing the box for English movies.
    Some English film channels do programming blocks for different TGs. Others do not. What are the pros and cons of this?
    Programming blocks work well if one has a large library of films targeted towards each target group, absence of which results in repetition. It does help in clear communication, though, and also appointment viewing.
    To what extent have acquisition costs gone up in recent times with new entrants?
    It all depends on what you buy, keeping in mind the RoI as well as the channel image. So the acquisition cost keeps varying every year.
    What are the challenges that English movie channels face in India?
    With newer players entering the markets and major studios coming up with their own channels, content availability will be a source of concern. However, one has to wait and watch.

  • English movie channels will have to battle for reach

    The fight for audience attention in the English movie genre is getting fierce as fresh competition arrived with the launch in February of World Movies from UTV. Market leaders Star Movies and HBO built their strategy on blockbuster content during the first half of the year. Pix carried out localisation initiatives while Zee Studio added more titles to provide “refreshing” content.

    Industry trackers say the genre, pegged at Rs 1.7 billion last year, is expected to grow by 15 per cent this year. New channels will expand the market even as Star Movies and HBO continue to dominate the genre.

    Tam data (C&S15+ six Metros) shows that while Star Movies has a viewership share of 36 per cent during the period 1 January to 30 June 2008, HBO is nipping at its heels with a 33 per cent share.

    The gap was wider for the same period last year. While Star Movies pocketed a 43 per cent share, HBO’s stood at 29 per cent.

    Pix’s share, on the other hand, has stayed steady at 17 per cent while Zee Studio has a share of seven per cent this year. World Movies which launched in February, has a six per cent share.

    Star Movies has 12 films in the top 20 ranking, while HBO has eight of its films in the list. The titles are a mix of action and martial arts films that are easy to relate with like Commando, Rob B Hood, Superman Returns and Enter The Dragon.

    Says Star India VP marketing and communications Prem Kamath, “The highlights of Star Movies’ performance included The X Men trilogy festival. We continued to bring in big properties like Oscars and blockbusters like Last King of Scotland, Night at the Museum, Little Miss Sunshine. The channel also focussed on consolidating its existing brands Friday Night Premiere and Movie of the Month to consistently build big properties and provide a better viewing experience.”

    Star Movies has also added variety to its content. A case in point: VIP Access, which features forthcoming theatrical releases. There are a few other things planned in this area, adds Kamath.

    And what of arch rival HBO? The channel’s mantra of ‘Big, New, Most’ has helped it gain ground. The programming has been a mix of blockbusters like Superman Returns, critically acclaimed films like Munich and original shows like Entourage, the third season of which has just kicked off.

    HBO South Asia country manager Shruti Bajpai says, “What is also important is our focus on entertaining themes. These are conceptualised for the channel every month. They attack different TGs and advertisers.” Some examples of these are HBO Animation Fest, Mad About Diamonds, Fast Cars and Gorgeous Babes, HBO Earth Day.

    Also playing a role are tentpole events. “We did a ‘Hollywood’s Best’ initiative which featured Oscar nominated/winning movies. We also had ‘HBO is Summer’ during May and June, which featured Summer of 60 Nights. Here, a blockbuster movie was shown every night. There are also mini-stunts under this umbrella like ‘Entrapment’, ‘Martial Arts Specialists ‘Codename: SuperKids’ etc. All these have resounded with our target audience,” says Bajpai.

    As part of its expansion strategy, HBO bought out the stakes of the partners in the joint venture in Asia except Paramount. And to have access to the big studios, it continued to maintain exclusive licensing arrangements with Sony, Universal, Warner Bros. and Paramount/ Dreamworks.

    Pix’s boat rocked steady in the ratings game, holding third spot in the English movie genre space. During the year, Pix carried out its local initiative Gateway in association with Ashok Amritraj. This has helped boost the profile and reach of the channel.

    Says Pix business head Sunder Aaron, “We delivered on our promise of being a Hollywood film channel that would localise in some ways. The winner Bejoy Nambiar heads to Los Angeles. He goes through a two-month boot camp under the tutelage of Ashok Amritraj. After that he goes into a project which is already under production.”

    Pix’s content strategy is to stick to its basic tenet of telling great stories. Pix also has slots for different genres like thrillers and dramas.

    Aaron says the late night slot is gaining viewership. Even the Sunday afternoon slot has grown. “Going forward, Pix will focus on strengthening the afternoon band,” Aaron adds.

    The year also saw the launch of World Movies in February. Armed with 650 movies, UTV Entertainment Television COO Dilshad Master says the initial response has been good. “Our research at the time of launch showed that language would not be a barrier for our audience. This has proven to be the case. We have also chosen films correctly. They need to have global appeal and also be contemporary in nature.”

    Targeting Sec A, one of the key slots for the channel is Platinum Collection. The segment focuses on high profile award winning films from around the world, boasting of titles like The Counterfeiters from Austria (the Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film this year), Twilight Samurai from Japan, Zelary from Czech Republic, and Hidden Blade from Japan. It has also got thematic slots for comedies, thrillers, etc.

    The channel will also create a Friday Premiere slot later this month.

    To add variety, World Movies covered the Cannes film festival in-depth with the initiative ‘Cannes Calling.’ It is now looking at doing something around the upcoming Toronto Film Festival. “We will launch our home video division in the coming months. We will also focus on the strategy of releasing films into cinema halls. Having said that, the core of our business will be the television channel,” adds Master. 

    One of the challenges for this genre is to build reach. While distribution in the metros is in place, there is an audience in the smaller cities that is not being tapped sufficiently enough because of availability issues of the channel. “The reach and relevance of English movie channels has to increase,” notes Aaron.

    As the market evolves one can only expect increased competition and fragmentation. Says Kamath, “Each player will not only try to stay ahead of the game, but also maintain an effective cost structure. However the game will always remain to be driven by the titles shown on the channels.”

    Mindshare’s Amin Lakhani agrees with the fact that a lot depends on titles. “Star Movies has held fort while HBO has picked up the pace this year. Both these channels do good stuff around their films. Zee Studio has tried a lot of things like refreshing their line up with more titles. However they have struggled as far as numbers delivery is concerned. The world cinema genre will grow steadily. It is bringing a new experience to the viewers. However it is mainly the elite who will tune in to this due to the subtitles,” opines Lakhani.

    Channels with compelling and consistently ‘winning’ content will continue to flourish while the others will just about manage to survive at the periphery.

    Says Bajpai, “A larger Indian audience than ever before is viewing Hollywood movies and the appetite for such content seems to be increasing. Breaking through the clutter and being able to hold on to the attention of the audience, which is usually short due to the ample choices available, will be a rising phenomena in this category.”

    Rank Channel Film Rating
    1 Star Movies Commando 0.37
    2 Star Movies Rob B Hood 0.29
    3 HBO Enter The Dragon 0.28
    4 Star Movies The Breed 0.27
    5 HBO Mr. Bean’s Holiday 0.27
    6 Star Movies Predator 0.26
    7 Star Movies Night At The Museum 0.26
    8 Star Movies Tremors 0.25
    9 Star Movies Rang De Basanti 0.25
    10 HBO Superman Returns 0.25
    11 Star Movies Winners and Sinners 0.24
    12 Star Movies Pirates of the Carribean 0.24
    13 Star Movies The Mummy Returns 0.24
    14 HBO The Mummy 0.24
    15 HBO Ghost Rider 0.24
    16 HBO Son Of The Mask 0.24
    17 Star Movies Spy Kids 0.22
    18 Star Movies Tom Yum Goong 0.22
    19 HBO King Kong 0.22
    20 HBO The Mask 0.22
    Source: Tam c&s 15+ Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad

  • English movie channels bank on digitalisation for growth

    English movie channels have seen an almost flat ad revenue growth in 2007. The challenge has also been to innovate programming slots even as viewers have spent less time on these channels. The bright spot, though, is the signs of maturity that the genre is showing. New players like Anil Ambani’s Reliance and NDTV Imagine are also eyeing this space.

    Star Movies is the clear leader in the segment with a share of 47 per cent, according to Tam data (C&S 15+) for 2007. HBO follows with a share of 30 per cent. After that come Pix and Zee Studio with shares of 13 per cent and 10 per cent respectively.

    More interesting, though, is the time spent on English movie channels. Data shows that time spent has fallen with HBO showing the worst dip. Its share has gone down from 4.68 to 3.05 minutes each week. Star Movie’s share has also dropped from 5.9 minutes each week to 4.91 minutes.

    Players attribute the fall partly on the distribution scenario as more channels have jostled for space on clogged cable networks. This has meant higher carriage or placement fees. Then, of course, there is competition from other genres.

    In terms of the top films of the year, HBO’s King Kong with a rating of 0.75 topped the list. Star Movies’ The Mythhad a rating of 0.47. HBO’s Hindi dubbed King Kong took the third spot.

    Facing an intensely competitive environment, it is crucial for players to understand their audiences better. The aim in some cases is to boost the non-primetime area and look at areas like presentation. Differentiation through innovation is also important.

    Keeping all this in mind, Star Movies undertook various initiatives. It revamped the late night movies to cater to the male audience. It also focussed on the Sunday afternoon slot. Films that air are chosen so that the audience enjoys a relaxed weekend. Star VP marketing and communications Prem Kamath adds that the channel also re-looked the evening slots.

    “The aim has been to bring in more family movies. In addition to that we also constantly feature film festivals like our X Men Trilogy during the year end, the Star Wars marathon, 15 nights of Bond to name a few.”

    Kamath attributes the channel’s leadership to the focus on striving for variety without compromising on quality of offerings. So you have a serious film like Crash and blockbusters like Pirates of the Caribbean 2, X Men 3.

    And what of HBO? The channel’s tagline for the year was Big! New! Most! HBO South Asia country head Shruti Bajpai expresses satisfaction in terms of how the plans were achieved. For this channel too it is a combination of raters like Mission Impossible 3, The Da Vinci Code, Batman Beginsand King Kong and critically acclaimed, path breaking movies like Brokeback Mountain and Syriana.

    A lot of focus went into seeing that different viewer segments were tuning in at different slots. So Midday Matinee every weekday at noon was introduced. Wicked Hour which is every weeknight after the 9 pm movie was also launched. “In addition, HBO also caters to the youth with Whazzup every weeknight at 7 pm, a special family treat for the whole family in Family Sunday, an action packed entertainment package for the guys in “It’s a Guy Thing”.

    HBO also revamped its on air look. The aim was to make the channel brighter and racier. Bajpai goes on to explain that there are new features like an On-air EPG of sorts, which offers the viewers a sneak peek of the upcoming titles in the next few days and a Countdown clock indicating the time left to watch the next film. Bajpai attributes the dip for the genre in part to the fact that more channels are entering other genres.

    “According to me there are only two real players in this genre (Star Movies and HBO) and there will always be a toss up of who is number one and who’s not. This is all a part of the game and we welcome it as it helps us stay on our toes. Ultimately the viewer benefits the most as he/she gets to see the best from the best,” she concludes.

    Still with more players coming in, there are signs that the genre is starting to mature. The feeling in the industry is that English movie viewing for non-blockbuster content is now starting to grow. A case in point is Pix. It launched in April 2006. The channel’s business head Sunder Aaron says that the aim last year has been to get films that push its tagline of telling good stories. For the channel it does not matter when a film is made. The aim was also to differentiate itself through local content. Therefore in association with noted Hollywood producer Ashok Amritraj it started an initiative called Gateway. This gives an aspiring filmmaker the chance to make a movie with Amritraj.

    The shows go on air next month. Aaron notes that the response has been better than the channel expected. “We have had one thousand entries to the competition, and you would be impressed by the quality and variety. We had a similar response to the Pix Short Film Festival. We have got a couple of other initiatives and programmes in development, so we are eager to continue with our strategy at this point, particularly because the Pix viewers are responding well.”

    The channel has more local ideas on the table which it will roll out later this year, he adds.

    Zee Studio did two major innovations last year. One has been subtitling which even some rivals concede was a good move. That is because it builds more comfort with viewers. The other has been to show foreign films. This has been an area that has been ignored for a while by the English film channels. Zee Studio did, among other things, a festival with Palador. Films like the Mike Leigh classic Secrets and Lies as well as Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai aired.

    Ad Revenue stagnates in 2007:

    Data available withIndiantelevision.com shows that ad revenue plateaued for this genre last year. Star Movies made around Rs 770 million compared with Rs 740 million in 2006 and Rs 671 million in 2005.

    HBO followed a similar revenue trend. The channel is estimated to have made around Rs 560 million last year. This was a slight increase over the Rs 557 million made in 2006.

    Like Star Movies, 2006 was a better year for HBO on the ad revenue growth front as it only made Rs 436 million in 2005.

    For Zee Studio ad revenue was Rs 238 million in 2007.

    Pix, on the other hand, made around Rs 60 million in 2007.

    Mediaedge:cia’s Manas Mishra notes that besides Star Movies and HBO, the other two players are starting to find their own level. Since Pix caters to an evolved movie viewer aged 25+ it makes sense for certain brands to consider it. He also opines that Zee Studio has managed to get viewers from outside the core English movie viewing demographic on account of the subtitling. As a result, it can become more diverse in its offerings with foreign language fare.

    Digitisation to boost subscription earnings:

    The key for these players is the spread of digitisation this year. With Bharti and Reliance launching direct-to-home (DTH) platforms this year, English movie channels are expected to get a boost in terms of subscription revenue. A channel like HBO, after all, is purely subscription driven abroad. The hope is that the dependence on ad revenue which is anyway small will decline.

    New players eye the space:

    Digitisation means place for new channels One of them will come from Reliance. UTV and NDTV Imagine are also entering. The focus for the last two is world cinema. NDTV will be doing a World cinema initiative called NDTV Lumiere. This will span not just the launch of a channel but also release films into theatres, home video as well as provide space for on-ground activation. The aim is to bring in a culture of world cinema.

    Just how important subscription revenue will be can be gauged from the fact that NDTV Imagine CEO Sameer Nair says that the focus of NDTV Lumiere is entirely digital and it is not a question of counting TRPs to appease media buying agencies.

    Aaron seconds this view. With the economy growing so rapidly, and the number of cable and digital television (DTH, IPTV, digital cable etc.) households increasing as well, the pie will undoubtedly continue to grow, he says.

    By how much is the question. Positioning will also be key for new entrants. It is not just a case of buying titles and putting them on air; understanding, addressing and attracting English viewership is also important.

    There is also the issue of digital cable penetration. If it spreads across the country, then many channels can come in. In case that doesn’t happen, then carriage fees will stay a big obstacle.

    Pricing issues on addressable platforms also have to be sorted out. Bajpai says that even DTH is still in an “everything for everybody” format and “one pricing system for all channels” kind of model. “Once these things change, the benefit will start becoming more apparent. Broadcasting business, after all, needs to be viable,” she adds.

  • Zee Studio to bring red carpet coverage of Oscars

    Zee Studio to bring red carpet coverage of Oscars

    MUMBAI: While Star Movies will telecast The Oscar Awards live from 6 am on Monday, Zee Studio has also something special to offer for viewers interested in the event.

    Zee Studio has tied up with US broadcaster E! to bring their show Live from the Red Carpet: The 2007 Academy Awards to Indian viewers. The coverage starts at 4:30 am. The Oscars themselves will conclude at around 10:30 am. This means that combined coverage on the two channels will last for six hours.

    E! News anchor, Ryan Seacrest, and E! News co-host, Giuliana DePandi, will spearhead the star-studded presence on the red carpet from the site of the annual ceremony at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. The pre show will look to capture the buzz.

    There will be more interest this year than last year in India since Water directed by Deepa Mehta is competing in the foreign film category. The suspense is most in the best picture race. For the first time all five nominees Babel, The Departed, Letters From Iwo Jima, Little Miss Sunshine and The Queen all have a chance to win which is as it should be. Little Miss Sunshine which is the only feel good movie in the bunch seems to be a little ahead at the moment having won the directors guild, writers guild and actors guild awards.

    Martin Scorcese should win best director for The Departed. However one cannot completely rule out two time winner Clint Eastwood. Eastwood has been nominated for Letters From Iwo Jima which tells the story of the second World War from the viewpoint of the Japanese soldiers. Around 21 per cent of Oscar voters are actors and would no doubt appreciate Eastwood making two great war movies in one year.

    Helen Mirren should win best actress in The Queen which deals with the two week period following the death of Princess Diana in 1997. Best actor is a three way race betwen Forrest Whitaker who plays Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in The Last King Of Scotland, old time favourite Peter O Toole who falls for a young woman in Venus and Leonardo DiCaprio who plays a diamond mercenary in Blood Diamond.

  • Ratings: Star Movies tops English film genre despite absence in Mumbai

    Ratings: Star Movies tops English film genre despite absence in Mumbai

    MUMBAI: With Cas having come into the Metros, the niche channels will have a better fix on what the audience prefers. Tam data for the last six months paints an interesting picture of what the viewers are likely to go in for.

    Tam data c&s 15+ all India shows that in the English film genre Star Movies has a clear lead. In fact it has widened the gap between itself and arch rival HBO. This, one must note, is despite the fact that it is not present in Mumbai which each week contributes an average of 15 per cent to the viewing of this genre.

    ENGLISH
    MOVIES
    – TG: CS
    15 years     		15 JULY-15 AUG 15 AUG-15 SEP 15 SEP -15 OCT 15 OCT-15 NOV 15 NOV-15 DEC 15 DEC-30 DEC 01 JAN – 13 JAN 07
    Hallmark
    Channel    		 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
    HBO 38 33 33 32 33 35 33
    PIX 9 10 8 9 8 9 9
    Star Movies 42 40 44 45 47 41 49
    Zee Studio 11 17 16 14 13 15 9

    For the period 15 July – 15 August 2006 Star Movies had a share of 42 per cent followed by HBO with a share of 38 per cent. Zee Studio has a share of 11 per cent and Pix which had recently launched had a share of nine per cent. For the period 1-13 January 2007 Star Movies boosted its share to 49 per cent compared to 41 per cent in the last two weeks of December.

    Star Movies’ gain in January is Zee Studio’s loss which shows that there is some overlap despite the fact that while the former focusses on blockbusters the latter focusses on niche films. In fact Zee Studio has recently been doing initiatives on world cinema. Zee Studio’s share fell from 15 per cent in the last fortnight of December to 9 per cent bringing it on level terms with Pix. HBO’s share fell by four to five percentage points in August but has since stayed steady at 33 per cent.

    Star India GM content Harsh Rohatgi gives the credit for Star Movies’ leadership position to the compelling movie library it has. “Even if you look at the Metro market to which Mumbai contributes 35 per cent viewership we are still ahead. We have done initiatives like a Bond festival, creature festival.

    “Mind you Star Movies in the past six months did not do anything special in terms of marketing besides on-air promotions. So the content sold itself. We are doing an Oscar festival at the moment. Our clients have supported us despite concern about Mumbai. We expect to be back on air within the next one week to 10 days.”

    As had been pointed out earlier, HBO’s main concern now is to ensure that it is in the priority list of channels in homes which are getting the set top box. So it ran a campaign last month educating people on what the channel is offering. Its message for this year is Bigger and Better.

    The challenge, Shruti Bajpai, country manager, HBO, notes, comes not only from more television competition but also from outside in the form of multiplexes, gaming etc. As Tam CEO L.V. Krishnan had pointed out in a recent interview, in the Elite group which comprise the bulk of the English film channels audience, the more technology options there are for entertainment like the DVD, the more their viewing of television drops.

    So there is all the more reason for this genre to be on its toes as its core audience will become even more choosy. Bajpai is counting on the strength of the HBO brand which has been built over the years to see it through this period of change. Going forward for this year it will try to build up the non primetime block through slots like It’s A Guy Thing for men. Last year HBO built on its thematic, festive blocks. So there was a full one month special for Diwali which had different themes depending on the daypart.

    This year HBO, Bajpai notes, has upped the marketing ante. A case in point is what was done with King Kong where there was radio, online and an outdoor presence. “It is not a question of having a huge budget. It is a question of optimising the different avenues which is what we have been able to do. The reason why we have not fallen in share despite not being present in Mumbai for a while is that the mini Metros are growing. They are hip and happening and you are getting viewership from a place where there was none earlier.”

    Media planners feel that each channel has its own USP. As Starcom’s Rahul Panchal points out, “Pix has its USP in that it targets an older set of viewers 25+. HBO on the other hand has a lot of teens tuning in which is why it has blocks for that set. Therefore there will be some difference in the brand profile.

    “Brand saliency is also what one looks at vis-a-vis just numbers. Pix and Zee Studio offer an environment that is less cluttered. They are also more flexible on the rates. Therefore though I put money on the two leaders (Star Movies and HBO) I would not ignore the other two players.”

    Panchal adds that Star Movies’ distribution in the small towns is probably better in terms of the frequency it is on. Clearly it’s gain there has more than offset the loss of Mumbai. One also has to consider the fact that with Cas coming in, putting in money will not be such a gray area.

    There will be better clarity also with Tam having launched its Elite Panel. Media planners also point out that in English films there is better stickiness compared to say, general entertainment. If someone likes a film he/she will stay with it. The question now is whether viewers will choose a channel like Pix when there are three competing channels.

    Pix business head Sunder Aaron says that Pix has carved a niche space which has been due to films being carefully chosen. “We have built up our programming by focussing on slots like 8 pm and 10 pm. Our stance has been that of telling a good story. Viewers who see value in this will, I am confident, choose us in their basket. To add variety we have also done original content like Framed, which saw director Aparna Sen being interviewed. We will be doing audience research this year to find out more in terms of preferences. We are doing a marketing campaign in Bangalore as we felt we needed to boost our visibility there.”

  • Ratings: Star Movies maintains edge over HBO; Discovery gains ground

    Ratings: Star Movies maintains edge over HBO; Discovery gains ground

    MUMBAI: The English entertainment scene has been undergoing a few changes. Until recently HBO was off the air waves in Mumbai for several weeks. Arch rival Star Movies continues to be off air.

    Tam data SEC A,B 15+ has thrown up some interesting findings. The period is 1 September – 1 November 2006.

    At an all India level Tam data shows that Star Movies has seven of the top nine English films. Creature features and martial arts films not surprisingly continue to do well. King Kong and The Way Of The Dragon on Star Movies got TVRs of 0.34 and 0.31. Enter The Dragon on HBO got a TVR of 0.31.

    Data also shows that the blackout in Mumbai benefitted Pix and Zee Studio. When you just look at the six Metros Pix has two films in the top 10. At number three it has Bicentennial Man which got a TVR of 0.38. Men In Black rated 0.3. This shows two things. Firstly Mumbai is a very important market for English films. Secondly it lays some credence to Pix’s philosophy that if one has films with good stories no matter when they were made viewers will watch them. Interestingly none of the films in the top 10 whether one looks at the Metros or all India are premieres. Zee Studio also figures in the top 10 at the metro level. It got a TVR of 0.29 for Shaolin Temple.

    If you look at primetime shares 8-11 pm for all the English channels – movies, general entertainment, infotainment one sees that Star Movies and HBO’s shares have gone down partly due to the Mumbai blackout. Star Movies for the period last year had a share of 23. Now it has a share of 17 for all India and 16 for the six Metros. HBO’s share has gone down from 18 per cent to 13 per cent at an all India level. For six Metros there has been a fall from 17 per cent to 11 per cent.

    Pix though it launched recently is neck and neck with Zee Studio. Zee Studio it must be pointed out has doubled its share from three last year to six per cent. Pix does better than Zee Studio when one looks at the Metros. It has a share of eight. At an all India level it has a share of four per cent.

    The biggest gainer by far is Discovery. At the all India level it has a share of 18 per cent versus 14 per cent for the same period last year. This is the most for any channel. At a Metro level it has a share of 16 per cent versus 10 per cent last year. Discovery’s gain would appear to be arch rival National Geographic Channel’s (NGC) loss. Last year for the period NGC’s share was 14 per cent for the six Metros. This time it is eight per cent. Discovery Travel and Living’s (DTL) share has also gone down from seven per cent to five per cent. At the all India level the shares of NGC and DTL are flat at 13 per cent and four per cent respectively. Animal Planet’s share has also stayed the same at eight per cent for the Metros and 10 per cent for all India.

    The History Channel had undergone a repositioning. It is now an entertainment channel with the tagline Live The Story. It shows films, miniseries etc. However its share has only grown marginally from four per cent at an all India level to five per cent. In the Metros its share is flat at three per cent. Its share is comparable to Star World with whom it is now looking to compete for both ad revenues and viewership. Star World has a share of three per cent all India and five per cent in the metros.

    Zee Cafe has shown some improvement. Its share grew from one per cent last year to three per cent this year for the Metros and two per cent at an all India level. The English general entertainment channels all have some work to do to catch up with AXN. The action oriented broadcaster has held steady with shares of nine and 10 per cent at an all India and the six Metro level respectively. No doubt initiatives like the ongoing Amazing Race Asia help viewers to keep going back.

  • Zee Turner channels switched off in Jaipur city

    Zee Turner channels switched off in Jaipur city

    NEW DELHI: Zee Turner Limited has switched off 19 bouquet channels on a leading multi system operator in Jaipur due to non-signing of agreement with correct numbers of cable homes and non payment of outstanding cable subscription charges.

    Interestingly, a day prior to deactivation the MSO had moved broadcast disputes tribunal TDSAT requesting a stay on deactivation of channels. The request was rejected.

    Industry sources said that the Jaipur MSO switched off is Bhaskar TV, the television wing of regional media powerhouse Bhaskar Group, which has a joint venture with Zee promoter Subhash Chandra for DNA newspaper.

    Zee Turner is a distribution joint venture between the Subhash Chandra-promoted Zee Telefilms Limited and Time Warner company Turner International India.

    Latest NRS data confirms that Jaipur city has more than 2,25,000 C&S homes and the MSO controls almost 90 per cent households (2,02,500) in the city.

    The households declared by the operator to Zee Turner were 38,782, which has been interpreted by the latter as under declaration.

    The operator’s subscription agreement with Zee Turner expired in December
    2005 and a fresh agreement had not been signed, Zee Turner said.

    On expiry of a 21-day notice period on 11 October, the MSO moved TDSAT seeking a stay on deactivation of channels.

    According to Zee Turner Ltd CEO Arun Poddar, “The (Jaipur) operator, taking advantage of its monopoly situation, has been avoiding signing subscription agreement and has also been under declaring subscriber households by 81 per cent. This is not acceptable to us by any means.”

    Poddar added his company had been trying to resolve the issue in a “cordial manner” but “non cooperation on part of the operator” has forced them to take a harsh step and resort to deactivation.

    “We are really concerned about our viewers and regret the inconvenience caused to them. We are in the process of making alternative arrangements and assure our viewers that Zee Turner channels will reach each and every household in Jaipur city very soon,” he said.

    The 19 channels switched off include Zee TV, Zee Cinema, Zee Sports, Zee News, Zee Studio, HBO, Pogo, Awaaz, VH1, Zee Business Zee Bengali, Zee Gujarati, Zee Marathi, Zee Punjabi, Cartoon Network, Reality TV, CNBC, CNN, Zee Trendz and Zee Café

  • ‘There are lot of shows out there about Hollywood and actors. But if it does not contribute to the movie watching experience, then it will not suit Pix’ : Sunder Aaron – Pix business head

    ‘There are lot of shows out there about Hollywood and actors. But if it does not contribute to the movie watching experience, then it will not suit Pix’ : Sunder Aaron – Pix business head

    These are busy times for Sony in the English entertainment space. Earlier this year it launched an English movie channel Pix. It also revamped Animax which is now a youth and lifestyle brand as opposed to being a kids brand earlier.

     

    AXN meanwhile is taking its local initiatives to the next level with Amazing Race Asia which kicks off next month.Indiantelevision.com‘s Ashwin Pinto and Renelle Snelleczk caught up up with Pix business head and AXN, Animax India country manager Sunder Aaron for a lowdown on the plans.

     

    Excerpts:

    How much of a challenge has it been to push Pix into homes both on a distribution level and on a sampling level for the consumer? In a sense it is a niche within a niche.

    Our library is a mix of older and newer films. The point is that we want to show films that have great stories It does not matter if it is old or new. When you say niche within a niche you are thinking of a classic film channel. We are not that. Our marketing and positioning focusses on telling good stories.

     

    What you find is that a lot of English movie channels are focussed on brand new titles, big stars, big budgets, big special effects, big Hollywood stars. That gets you as lot of people who don’t even speak English just checking the channel. They touch it which gives wide reach. What we have though is a high tel appeal. My audience is a little more older, more affluent and they stay with us a little longer.

     

    Strong stories are what guarantees a good movie. There are lots of examples of films with big stars, budgets etc which are not good. Getting into homes wasn’t that big a challenge as we are with the One Alliance. It already has relationships with the cable fraternity Our focus is on the main Metros. Cable operators make it difficult. We are growing though and have surpassed Zee Studio.

     

    We have been careful in our communication and marketing efforts. Our communication makes sure that our viewer gets the message that films are specially chosen after going thousands of titles.

    Then there is the question of adult films not being allowed. How is Pix coping with this situation in terms of getting titles cleared?

    The different parties are meeting with the I&B secretary this week. Hopefully a solution will be found. When you think Adult you normally think of nudity or sex.

     

    However a lot of English films are rated ‘A’ because the themes are mature.

    Do you feel that an exception should be made for DTH as technology allows for parental control?

    While the technology is there how many people will use parental locks? The greatest control at the end of the day is parental. What you are saying is taking the job of the parent and putting it on the programmer and service provider. It also comes down to what one considers to be an adult film.

    A show like Inside the Actor’s Studio gives Pix variety. What plans do you have as far as showing content other than films is concerned?

    We have ideas. But the important thing is that it should not distract from the fact that Pix is a movie channel.

     

    There are lot of shows out there about Hollywood and actors. But if it does not contribute to the movie watching experience, it it does not feel like a cinema oriented show then it will not suit Pix.
    ‘The Man’s World returns for a second season. There
    will be a kickoff on 17 November. It has been on my
    mind to look at a sports based reality show‘

    You had earlier mentioned plans for localisation as as getting titles from independent studios. Has any progress been made here?

    We will be airing Being Cyrus next month and 15 Park Avenue soon after that. Down the road we will create original shows that are reality based.

     

    We are going to Mipcom this week to get titles. We will also go to the American Film Market in Los Angeles. Pix will be also be used as a vehicle to push theatrical films like Casino Royale. This will be part of an integrated 360 degree marketing campaign.

    You are now going after the advertisers with Pix. What is the pitch being made?

    The pitch is that we have content that have great stories which will draw in viewers. Our philosophy which is stated in the film Field of Dreams is that if you build it they will come.

    What is happening with AXN?

    AXN will unveil The Amazing Race Asia next month. It was produced out of Singapore and was a pan regional effort. The Indian team taking part will add local interest.

     

    The teams basically travel across Asia in a race to finish first. As is the case with the US edition there is a gradual process of elimination. We have been secretive about the show in terms of locations the teams will visit and other details since if word gets out about who won or lost interest will dissipate.

    What else can we expect from AXN on the localisation front?

    The Man’s World returns for a second season. There will be a kickof on 17 November. It has been on my mind to look at a sports based reality show. Once these two initiatives that I mentioned conclude then we will be in a position to focus on the other ideas.

    Any other new initiatives?

    We have a marathon for Diwali. This is from 20-22 October 2006. It starts with a seven hour marathon of the World’s Most Amazing Videos. Then Fear Factor will have an eight hour marathon the next day. There will be three phases. The first is about adrenaline junkies facing their fears. The second phase deals with families and friends.

     

    The third is where people are competing to win a million dollars. Then there will be a movie marathon. We have the Elite Weekdays at 11 pm from Monday –Thursday and the Elite Weekends from Saturday to Sunday from noon to 2 pm. We have shows like Nip/Tuck,CSI airing here. This is for the serious, thinking audience.
    ‘Animax was originally positioned as a kids channel.
    What we realised was that the animation we are showing is much more sophisticated in the sense of the storylines. So it wasn’t really appealing for little kids‘

    Could you talk about the revamp of Animax?

    Animax was originally positioned as a kids channel. What we realised was that the animation we are showing is much more sophisticated in the sense of the storylines. It is like dramatic serials. There is more conflict, human emotions, deeper characterisation. So it wasn’t really appealing for little kids.

     

    The target audience that we are focussed on now that we should have focussed on in the beginning is 15-24. It is young adults who are just starting to consume. It is an exciting group to go after.

     

    They are going to cafes, getting a new phone every few months. They wear designer jeans. There is nexus between Animax and gaming and all those teenage aspirations. While Animax’s programming is animated it is not kiddie cartoons. It is what we call animation grown up. For the revamp we changed some of the colours. The appearance and look were changed. We also have animated hosts. We have also taken off shows that could be construed as being for kids. You will see more and more young, mature stuff. We also have new programming blocks.

     

    There is Aniblast in the evenings. A little later on there is AniSutra which is more cutting edge. AniFlix on Saturdays shows films. It will take time though for the viewers perception to change. It will take several months to completely change market expectations whether it is viewers or advertisers. It will feel like a lifestyle and animation channel.

    So you are also competing with the likes of Star World and Zee Cafe?

    I would say that we are also competing with the likes of MTV, Zoom, Discovery Travel And Living. Right now we are still seen as competing with kids channels and the challenge is to get the message out that we are not in the same space as Cartoon Network.

     

    We will talk more to our viewers. We wil go out talk to our TG and put them on the channel. There will be local vignettes. Gaming is an area we are looking at. We already have Gamemax on the channel.

     

    Eventually we will get to a point where we can commission some shows. But that is still some time away. Right now it is an English feed. The problem was that we had Hindi mixed in earlier which confused operators and viewers. Down the line as the channel gets re established we will look at a Hindi feed as well.

    You are also looking at on ground activities?

    Yes. We are planning one that will be campus oriented towards the end of the year. We are also looking at doing a gaming event year on year. We are looking to provide a touch feel experience which is what AXN has done really well. AXN is a badge of pride brand for viewers. That we are hoping will happen for Animax also. Even if you do not get the stories it is cool in terms of the visuals.

     

    Our marketing has also changed. We will not do a school contact programme. It will be a college campus connect initiative. Animax might help people get jobs in the animation industry or do career counselling. The profile of advertisers will also change. Brands like Nike, Pepsi will be seen instead of say a kids health drink brand.

    Is merchandising also an option?

    We feel that there are a few shows that look promising in this area. It will not be as big an area for us as Disney though. We will use merchandising to push the channel. Disney does the opposite.

    Looking at the English entertainment scene DTH and addressability does give players the chance to launch channels dedicated to specific genres like crime which AXN has done in Europe. Are there plans to launch more channels like this in India sometime in the future?

    Let’s see. We have a challenge to see that the channels we have including Pix which we launched earlier this year, Animax which has repositioned itself this year do well. We always have ideas and we are considering launching other channels in India.

     

    The best way for a channel owner to thrive is to launch new channels which I am sure we will do sometime down the line.

     

    If for some reason cable addressability again gets stalled is there a chance that Sony might take the English chanels off cable and put it only on DTH?

    I don’t think so. As distributors of content we want to take it to as many platforms as possible and as many modes of distribution as we can. We are agnostic when it comes to that. The basic game for any programmer is to distribute content on any platform whether it is DTH, IPTV, mobile or cable.

     

    Of course we want a fair price. This is where the challenge lies in India. English entertainment is a growing niche. The affluent English speaking
    population is very desirable. So though we are relatively small businesses compared to the main Hindi channels it is nonetheless expanding. Each English entertainment channel from Sony has a unique offering. The more the number of viewers exposed the better they will do. That will not be the case if we do not have it on one platform.
  • ‘Path to 9/11’ miniseries draws the ire of Democrats

    ‘Path to 9/11’ miniseries draws the ire of Democrats

    MUMBAI: US broadcaster ABC is being put under pressure from democrats including former president Bill Clinton not to air the five hour miniseries The Path to 9/11.

    The series among other things shows how the Clinton administration repeatedly messed up opportunities to catch Osama Bin Laden. It also shows that the 1993 bombing at the World Trade Center would not have happened had authorities including the FBI not been so complacent.

    Media reports indicate that with the mid term elections around the corner the Democrats are concerned that the series will prejudice voters. As had been reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com, the film is a dramatisation of the events documented in the 9/11 Commission report.

    Media reports also indicate that some of Clinton’s officials — including former secretary of state Madeleine Albright and former national security adviser Sandy Berger are unhappy about the manner in which the series depicts them.

    In the film, Berger refuses to authorise a 1998 raid designed to capture Bin Laden. This event reports state was contradicted by the 9/11 Commission. Berger sent a letter to Disney CEO Bob Iger saying that “no such episode ever occurred, nor did anything like it.”

    Clinton aides say that as per the 9/11 Commission Report, it was CIA director George Tenet who refused to authorise the raid on Bin Laden. The film also suggests that Clinton was distracted from fighting terrorism by the Monica Lewinsky affair and impeachment proceedings.

    Bill Clinton Foundation executive director, Bruce Lindsey, in a letter to Disney said, “The content of this drama is factually and incontrovertibly inaccurate. ABC has a duty to fully correct all errors or pull the drama entirely.”

    In a statement ABC says, “No one has seen the final version of the film, because the editing process is not yet complete. So criticisms of film specifics are premature and irresponsible.”

    In India the show will air on Zee Studio on 10 and 11 September 2006. The miniseries cost around $40 million to make.