Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Tuesday, Feb 25, 2003
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Tuesday, Feb 25, 2003 |
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Marketing
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Strategy Get set for some more Action Nithya Subramanian
NEW DELHI, Feb. 24 THESE days, it's rather easy to start a new channel. Buy software from the international market, hire some satellite space and you're on air. That seems to be the route the yet-to-be launched Action TV is taking. Slated to be another English action channel, it is being promoted by a group of non-resident Indians, who is also part of the popular Punjabi channel Lashkara. Confirming the move, Mr Achal Mehra, Chairman of Fifth Avenue Media Services (a new television distribution and marketing company) said, "We have decided to launch an action channel but we have not finalised the launch date. We are ironing out the finer details such as how to position the channel." The channel will air not only movies but also shows with heavy doses of action. Currently, besides movie channels such as Star Movies, HBO, Zee MGM and AXN, the UK-based Reality TV has recently forayed into the Indian market. So, is there really space for so many channels? According to a TAM- India study, in 2002 some specialist channels in news, Hindi film channels and music channels have done well compared with previous years. For instance, English entertainment channels had a 1.6 per cent share of viewership and 4 per cent share of revenues. And that is what Action seems to be trying to capitalise on. Mr Mehra said that in a post-CAS (conditional access system) scenario there would be space for such niche channels, which could generate revenues mainly through subscription. Industry analysts, however, said that there was already an overkill of English entertainment and movie channels. "These channels will be competing for more-or-less the same audiences and the same ad pie," said a Delhi-based media planner. While AXN has majority of male viewers, Star Movies and HBO have a good mix of male and female viewers. Also, these channels appeal to both the young and mature audiences. But channels such as Reality TV or the to-be-launched Action TV are likely to attract the young male viewer, according to industry sources.
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