FOCUS: INDIA - Murdoch revisits India with new plans

<p>Mr Rupert Murdoch, who ushered in the medium that helped changed </p><p>the face of India - satellite TV - recently returned after a four-year </p><p>break. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>This time, he visited India's booming IT hub, Bangalore, to prepare for </p><p>his ecommerce venture, eVentures, a JV with Mr Pramod Mittal's Ispat </p><p>Group, as well as to launch Star's new India-specific channels. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>According to News Corp, eVentures will invest in and develop Internet </p><p>and ecommere start-ups in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and India. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"We are going to travel with the IT wave which is ruling the world," Mr </p><p>Murdoch said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"There is tremendous excitement over the possibilities made available by </p><p>technology." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Mr Murdoch plans to "pull together" various TV units into one company </p><p>and extend them into one arm. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Some months ago, Star TV and JV partner Zee TV parted company, leaving </p><p>Zee a free hand to do what it wants. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>And what it wants is supremacy in the regional language satellite </p><p>market, as well as a dominant position in convergence media and in </p><p>ecommerce; in the region and beyond, in Africa, Europe and North </p><p>America, wherever a flourishing Indian audience is to be found. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In December 1999, trusted Murdoch lieutenant Rathikant Basu took the </p><p>helm at Broadcast Worldwide India (BWI). </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>BWI is News Corp's latest joint promotion in India, and will invest </p><p>about US$23 million to launch specialised channels in six Indian </p><p>languages in competition with Zee, as well as other channels operating </p><p>successfully in the Indian language market. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>BWI will work closely with Star, and join the DTH platform when it </p><p>finally materialises here. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"There's more business for regional channels (local Indian language </p><p>channels) as compared to the national market," Mr Basu said. "Hindi </p><p>channels do reasonably well in the North, but there is a huge market </p><p>waiting to be tapped in West Bengal, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and </p><p>Punjab." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>From there, it is a short step to providing interactive TV and ecommerce </p><p>in local languages - in fact, electronics majors are already marketing </p><p>Internet-ready TV sets at competitive prices. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Currently, C&S homes, of which there are 30 million, receive nearly 100 </p><p>channels, according to the National Readership Survey, 1999. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>TV adspend made a quantum jump from US$46.5 million in 1990 to </p><p>US$558 million in 1999 and is all set to grow if local language </p><p>channels grow, too. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The C&S market, kicked off by Star TV in 1990, saw considerable churn in </p><p>the '90s. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The highs in the first part of the decade were followed by a major slump </p><p>in the mid-years, as numerous promoters jumped in to copy the leader and </p><p>failed to provide quality, content, and relevance to either audiences or </p><p>marketers. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Star established the platform concept, launched channels, and added </p><p>cable operators to its stakeholders. However, it realised that it could </p><p>not attract a mass audience and ad revenue with its niche, free-to-air </p><p>programming. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Stymied by interminable official waffling over the DTH issue, and </p><p>blocked from broadcasting in local languages by a clause in its JV with </p><p>Zee TV, Star finally called it a day with both DTH and Zee, last year, </p><p>freeing itself to consolidate and re-shape its strategy given the rise </p><p>of promising new tehnologies. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The new thrust is toward local languages, of which there are about 16 </p><p>major ones, convergence and ecommerce. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Huge things are to be done in the regional language (local language) </p><p>scene," said production house UTV chairman Ronnie Screwalla. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Each of India's states is a mini-Germany and mini-France. The </p><p>broadcasters do not have the money yet, but give it five years, and the </p><p>money power will go up." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Currently, Mr Murdoch is close-mouthed about acquiring Indian software </p><p>outfits. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"I will be making investments, but I don't think I will be acquiring </p><p>companies," he said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"We have already begun investing through venture capital with the </p><p>Mittals, and will be announcing similiar ventures directly through Star </p><p>TV." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>During his trip to India, Mr Murdoch met with software wizards Infosys </p><p>chairman and CEO N.R. Narayana Murthy, as well as Wipro head Aziz </p><p>Premji. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>