| It has set itself the ambitious target of reaching
25 million subscribers by June 2004. Addressing a briefing this morning
NGC India MD Zubin Gandevia said that AETN international had chosen
the Star platform because of the success that NGC has enjoyed. "National
Geographic is the fourth most distributed channel in the country.
We have successful engagement programmes with cable operators and
we will seek to leverage our relationship with them to achieve the
distribution target. When we launch we will straight away be in 15
million homes. Our aim is to be a brand that every family considers
a must have. We have also set ourselves the target of a 20 per cent
weekly reach by June."
Initially the channel will also have a two-hour Hindi feed everyday.
This will increase to 24 hours by June. The cornerstone of the History
Channel's programme line up will be its series Biography. Elaborating
on the strategy Gandevia added, "Research has indicated that
Indians have a strong preference for personality led programming.
They tend to identify strongly with famous faces. Therefore Biography
will air every night in the prime time slot of 10pm. Viewers will
get to see historical figures like Mother Theresa and Mahatma Gandhi
get profiled."
The History Channel's other shows will involve Spy and Espionage,
War, Crime and Technology. "The challenge for
us is to make history which has been considered traditionally as
boring to be innovative and interesting and most importantly relevant
to the viewers lives. The entertainment quotient is also vital.
The History Channel launched in 1995 and today is available in 150
million households in 70 countries.
"The broadcaster has succeeded because it has always aimed
at making a global product around a subject that has global appeal.
Over time it has evolved into a creative, distinct brand for the
family. Everybody can sit in front of it and learn and be entertained.
Our USP is that we offer content that parents would strongly approve
of. Having said that research indicates that our core audience would
be males 25+ and kids from 7-16," Gandevia said.
Gandevia also mentioned that The History Channel has got over 2000
hours of original programming. The aim is to keep adding 500 hours
each year. A long-term goal of the channel is to have 10 per cent
of The History Channel's programmes outsourced from India by 2007.
As time progresses the broadcaster will progress into locally themed
shows with a global appeal.
Star will be using its network to create awareness about the channel.
In addition the print and outdoor mediums will also be used. Another
promotion could revolve around the Greatest Indian. People could
send in their votes online as to whom they think is the greatest
Indian of all time. BBC had earlier done this for The Greatest Briton.
However the price of The History Channel has yet to be announced.
BBC, ITV and Villiage Roadshow are some of The History
Channel's production partners. Gandevia said that this helped to
keep costs down.
Also read:
History Channel launching
in India 23 November
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