UTV in predatory play for broadband scene

Media entertainment company UTV Entertainment has taken its

pan-regional presence once step further, launching mega-streaming portal

Sharkstream.com.

Sparked by a four-month Lion City test run via the SingaporeONE

broadband network and aided by the Economic Development Board (EDB) and

the National Computer Board of Singapore (NCB), Sharkstream is targeting

users in broadband-equipped Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Fortunately for UTV, content has been its mantra for the past 10 years,

with broadcasting operations in the ASEAN region that include a hub base

of up to 1,000 animators producing programming for clients which include

Disney, Discovery Channel and Nikelodeon.

Offering users 15 channels worth of "VCD quality" portal content, feeds

range from Channel V, Star TV Asian programming, US and international

news by Voice of America, Live-E for live music, Tamil programming with

Vijay TV and 50 audio channels of streaming music all set for initial

showcasing.

"We'll be ramping up to 20 (channels) when the broadcasters consolidate

their offerings and we can get in front of the consumer in an on-demand

fashion," said UTV group chairman Ronnie Screwala.

Brandishing an advertising budget of US$2 million spanning

Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong during '99, Mr Screwvala said the first

six months of viewing was being offered as free-to-air in a bid to

entice users.

"Our basic revenue model will be pay-per-month or pay-per-view, but we

need to get people to log on and have recall before we get that loyalty

going."

Targeting Sharkstream.com at the 70 per cent of Asian 'Net users below

the age of 30, Sharkstream director Sudhanshu Sarronwala said the site

was hedging its bets on a 250,000 subscriber base within the coming

year.

Mr Sarronwala said the portal would be leveraging off its ties with News

Corporation for the purpose of an advertising platform - since News

Corporation holds a 15 per cent stake in the UTV Group.

"They've got a strategy that could help us a lot and we'll be leaning on

them for promotions targeting viewers on the Star network," he said.

Despite the overriding slant on broadcast content, Mr Sarronwala noted

that advertisers would only have to invest a tenth of the equivalent

advertising costs on a cable channel.

"We have the localised content on offer and we understand the relevance

of budgets here better than anyone - we're not following a US or

European revenue model".

Keeping China "in the pipeline", Mr Sarronwala also predicted a

broadcast U-turn in the 'Net space. "Right now what exists is TV

programming on the Internet - but soon we'll be seeing a paradigm shift,

where a whole new form of shorter, interactive Internet-style

programming is the norm," said Mr Sarronwala.