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 If
Plus catered to the middle class market and ensured dominance in
that area, Utsav, the FTA channel launched earlier this year was
to ensure prominent market share in the lower end market by taking
on the SAB TVs and Saharas head on. With One's entry onto Indian
television, the effort is primarily to tap into the high end upmarket
audience, who currently may not be tuning into television or flirting
with the competition (read Sony Entertainment Television), says
senior V-P content and communications Deepak Segal.
SET till date has successfully managed to position itself as a
young alternate viewing option that throws up clutter-free programming.
Very obviously, StarOne's entry, apart from attracting newer audiences
to the TV viewing pie, will be to eat into Sony's loyal viewership
share.
"Not often does a brand like this evoke such high interest
in the market," asserts senior V-P marketing and communications
Ajay Vidyasagar.
Interestingly, the philosophy being evolved viewing, the whole
StarOne model was designed by keeping Star Plus as the reference
point. Everything that Star Plus lacked has been incorporated into
Star One. "This is a very brave effort from Star as we are
trying to break away from a success formula which we created ourselves,"
gushes V-P Content and Communications Ravinath Menon.
Priced at Rs 10 per household, this premium Hindi channel has a
distinct look and feel with interesting programming concepts and
cutting edge production values. Launching with an array of 21 original
programmes across a range of genres, StarOne is hopeful of attracting
high end advertisers that news channels and other niche channels
were unable to cater to. Additionally, with the mix of Plus, Utsav
and now StarOne, advertisers will be able to cover the entire spectrum
of Hindi speaking audiences.
Although some might see the content as inspired from international
formats, all shows have been commissioned to home grown production
houses and hence ensures the expansion of the content business across
the country.
STARONE SOON GOING TO UK, US
The channel also has overseas ambitions with plans to be distributed
in the US as well as on the Sky Network in the UK. "This will
ensure that the StarOne also caters to the second and the third
generation Indians overseas who will find the programming a lot
more urban and contemporary," says Star India CEO Peter Mukerjea.
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