ETV Urdu hopes to score on the programming front
(Posted on 17 August 2001, 11:25 am)
| Going
strong on its expansion plan despite the depressed media scenario,
the Ramoji Rao owned Eenadu Television Network on Wednesday
added "ETV Urdu" to their kitty of regional channels. The
24-hour free-to-air digital channel was finally launched on
15 August (Independence Day) after a long wait by the chief
editor Eenadu group of publications and chairman of the Ramoji
Film City (RFC), CH Ramoji Rao, at the RFC complex in Hyderabad.
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ETV
has been building its programming content for the Urdu channel
for more than one-and-a-half years now. The target audience will
not only be the Urdu-speaking audiences in India but also the
Gulf countries. The Urdu spoken on the channel will not be pure
Urdu (which not many people understand) but that spoken by common
people so as to give it a broader viewership, company officials
say.
Khaas
Baat (Urdu
News) |
The
Channel will have a fair mix of entertainment and information
with hourly news updates, telefilms, family dramas, daily
soaps, devotional and musical programmes. The USP of the
channel will be fresh and original programming rather than
dubbed or outsourced programmes, say officials.
Special
efforts have been taken to strengthen the news section.
Khaas Baat, a news capsule specially designed
to cover Urdu speaking areas. ETV has tied up with Reuters
Television, CNN International and Transworld International
so as to ensure comprehensive coverage of international
news and current affairs, according to a company release.
|
Adakaar
is a weekly acting competition hosted by well known actor Nirmal
Pandey. And for those die-hard fans of Urdu poetry, Mushaira,
a monthly mega event of lyrical excitement, will quench their
thirst.
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To
develop the channel's indentity, films will not be shown
in the initial period. Instead telefilms are being produced
that will be telecast exclusively on the channel. Game shows,
talk shows and song-based programmes like Mehfil,
Gazal Sara, Qawwali are also going to be an
intrinsic part of the programming.
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The
majority of the programming is being done in-house though there
are some programmes which are on commissioned basis. The network's
headquarters is in Hyderabad.
On
the ad rate front, the figures being quoted would appear a tad
optimistic and it remains to be seen whether the channel will
be able to get buyers for its time slots. Spot rate for prime
time (7pm to 10pm) has been kept at Rs 20,000 as per the rate
card. Industry sources say as of now no advertiser has been confirmed
though talks are going on.
A
still from the serial Tumhara Intezar Hai |
Even
on the distribution front, the channel is likely to face a
long haul. According to industry sources, cable connectivity
is going to be a major issue the channel will face. In this
direction, channel executives have been contacting cable operators
in Mumbai and also distributing set top boxes. |
That
apart, looking at the past record of the group and the amount
of homework done by ETV Urdu as far as its programming goes, the
channel is certainly expected to make a difference in today's
cluttered scenario.
ETV
already has Telugu, Bengali, Marathi and Kannada channels. Next
in the pipeline from the ETV stable are Gujarati and Oriya channels.
Technical
Specification :
ETV
Urdu:
Satellite - APR-I (INSAT-2E) at 83.5 degree East
Downlink frequency - 4005 MHz
Downlink
Polarisartion - Vertical
Symbol
rate - 27000 Kg Symbol/sec
FEC
- 3/4
Downlink
EIRP - 38 dbW
Signal
type Digital,MPEG 2/clear
Free-To-Air.
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