Ajay Chacko, head of marketing at CNBC-TV 18, said: "Awaaz is clearly positioned as a consumer channel catering to small businessmen, individual investors, students and people who believe in spending smart."
The channel is targeting 30 million viewers and expects to gain a larger audience share than its parent channel, CNBC-TV 18, which was launched last year.
Atul Phadnis, VP of TAM Media Research, noted that while news channels attract only five per cent of viewership, they rake in 10 per cent of total TV adspend. Business news channels, he added, attract only one-tenth of the total news audience, but in 2004 pulled in about 15 per cent of the US$110 million TV media dollars. In comparison, regional language channels command 38 per cent viewership and get 20 per cent of TV media spend. "The strategy of these business news channels is to broaden the base of their viewership rather than just cater to people who want stock market related information," said Phadnis.
NDTV and CNBC are fighting to win over advertising with viewership claims.
NDTV argues it is the market leader based on TAM's peoplemeter for four-plus all India, while CNBC-TV18, claims top spot based on the 25-plus males segment. Said Phadnis: "It's still early days and media planners will base their judgment on what their own target audience is, rather than leadership figures claimed by the channels."