SATELLITE & CABLE: Battle for Indian TV viewers heats up

<p>There must have been distress at Sony Entertainment TV (SET) in </p><p>Mumbai, as Mr James Packer, chairman, publishing and broadcasting, did a </p><p>quick carve-'n'-carry job, gouging away 30 carefully nurtured SET </p><p>personnel for his newly-launched HFCL-Nine Broadcasting India. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Said Mr Packer about the long anticipated entry of the group into South </p><p>Asia, "The timing was right. All these years, both Himachal Futuristics </p><p>Communications (51 per cent partner) and Consolidated Press Holdings </p><p>(CPH) were busy, but we were consciously looking and waiting to tap the </p><p>Indian market. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"We are a proudly Australian company and our decided number one priority </p><p>was for expansion in India. We are not interested in global footprints," </p><p>he continued, saying, "we have a country-specific need to grow a </p><p>business." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Carrying the pennant for Mr Packer's channel is Ravina Raj Kohli, </p><p>ex-creative director, SET, and now, the new CEO at Channel Nine. </p><p>Although wounded, SET's top two gladiators, Mr Kunal Dasgupta, CEO, and </p><p>Mr Rajesh Pant, COO, have fought too many sulphurous battles to be </p><p>fazed. Their critical push to heave Zee TV - and anybody else - aside to </p><p>get within snarling distance of the Star TV behemoth is nigh. They have </p><p>quickly assessed the chink in their armour and replaced 29 people in </p><p>short order; and after a considered pause, they have hired the </p><p>formidable - and equally glamorous - Ms Rekha Nigam as a replacement for </p><p>Ms Kohli. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>An award-winning conceptualiser and copywriter, Ms Kohli made her mark </p><p>early in advertising, moving rapidly through a variety of agencies </p><p>including Grey in Singapore where she was creative director. After a </p><p>week-long stint at a Mumbai production house, she stepped swiftly into </p><p>the broadcast world when SET asked her to take charge of programming and </p><p>marketing. For three years she was the third member of the triumvirate </p><p>at SET, which successfully exploited every flaw in the competition's </p><p>programming. Now Channel Nine will expect her to use her talent, </p><p>marketing skills and insider knowledge to stake out turf in the prime </p><p>time zone where Star, Zee, and erstwhile comrades-in-arms Sony have </p><p>heavily-guarded positions. The task is a heroic and pioneering one, made </p><p>difficult by the fact that Channel Nine will be carried on the </p><p>government-owned Doordarshan's free-to-air Metro channel. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Doordarshan (DD), the unchallenged slumlord of satellite and terrestrial </p><p>broadcasting, largely carries programmes allegedly made on the </p><p>cheap. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Worse, the transmission quality and equipment at DD is so bad that </p><p>HFCL-Nine Broadcasting India is using its own engineers to sort out </p><p>glitches. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Unsurprisingly, DD has few winners in the ratings game and in this </p><p>scenario, before Channel Nine can make a dent in prime time, it has to </p><p>run the gamut of bad image problems associated with the national </p><p>broadcaster. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In addition, since January 2000, 22 new C&S channels have joined the </p><p>fray, a launch rate of about two channels per month. The market is </p><p>fragmenting, and TV adspend, currently pegged at about US$800 </p><p>million by Rensearch Securities, Bombay, is spread thin. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Branding itself Nine Gold on DD Metro, the broadcaster presents an </p><p>Indianised variety of shows that have succeeded in Australia, such as </p><p>Superstars, Greed and The Price is Right. Considering that some of its </p><p>programming will be going head-to-head against Star's Indian version of </p><p>Who Wants to be a Millionaire which is re-writing television history, </p><p>the going is bound to be rough, and will demand all nimbleness that Ms </p><p>Kohli has at her command. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Unflinchingly, Mr Packer said, "The entry barriers don't deter us at </p><p>all. We are using the plank of viewership and reach which far outnumbers </p><p>the C&S universe. Let me be very clear that five years down the road, we </p><p>will be among the top five entertainment companies in the land." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>But in the longer run, more than television, Mr Packer is gambling </p><p>heavily on developments in technology and convergence in India. He said, </p><p>"We have taken a view on India and we are convinced that we have to be </p><p>here as India will be a dynamo of the 21st century." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>His final word on the subject is: "We (CPH) have a long history in </p><p>Australia as an integrated media and convergence company and what we </p><p>have immodestly achieved in Australia can be a showcase of what we </p><p>intend bringing to the Indian market." </p><p><BR><BR> </p>