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NEW
DELHI: Space TV, a 24/7 realty and lifestyle channel, is planning
to launch on 16 February.
Owned
by Scorpion Media, the free-to-air (FTA) channel is currently
undergoing a test run.
"We
are looking at a 16 February launch," said Space TV CEO
Joys Sebastian.
Driven
by glamour and aspiration, the TG for the channel is the 20
plus-segment from the upper rungs of society, which, the channel
thinks, is in a position to play in the real estate segment,
either by investing or by simply buying premium homes.
Sebastian
said that it would be a high-tech affair, with the Brainstorm
virtual studio being brought in from Japan for the first time
in television in the country. "All
channels have virtual studios, but they are all for news channels.
Brainstorm is for this kind of programming," he added.
The
equipment had arrived, and training and installation by Japanese
experts and trainers had started from 4 February.
The
content includes a 360-degree approach to lifestyle and realty,
including tarot and vastu in locating and designing homes,
location and prices of budget hotels and modes of transport,
spas and health resorts as well as shopping places.
So,
if these houses and hotels are going to be featured on the
channel - which is a kind of free publicity for the builders
- why should anyone pay for advertisements?
"I
have devised a new revenue model, which I call the 'premier
space,' in which the top-of-the-rung builders are given complete
service, in each and every aspect of their latest work. From
new constructions to issue of IPOs or FDIs, if any, will be
covered, for which they'll pay a premium price," Sebastian
explained.
He
also added that of these companies, Parsvnath, Omaxe and JMD
are in the process of final tie-ups, and he would restrict
the entrants to 14 top companies.
Each
company would get a minimum assured 15 minutes of coverage
daily at prime time, between 9 am and 9 pm, and would pay
a premium price for the service.
"The
other advertisers would be those in the accessories market,
from floor tiles to bath tubs, lighting systems, hardware
companies, swimming pool constructors, you name it,"
Sebastian added.
Each
half-hour programme would cost the company between Rs 1 to
1.3 lakh.
The
channel will run programmes like House Hunt, on checking
out luxury homes. India
Property Preview will talk about the latest in real estate,
from new projects, IPOs and FDIs, banking facilities for housing,
etc buying rates, and such other details.
"We call the show City Brief because the sector
is booming in cities. As the boom has expanded beyond the
big city boundaries, our scope, too, expands to small cities
and towns. We bring the updates twice every hour, from 9 am
to 9 pm everyday," Sebastian said.
Celeb
Home is the inside story of a celebrity home, showing
how a celebrity's home has been done up.
Budget
Hotel is meant for the busy executive who wants everything
in five-star quality sans the price tag, making the show somewhat
in the nature of travel and living.
The
channel has not left out the spiritual niche either; the programme
Inward Journey is about discovering the spirituality
of India. "One
goes to a legendary place that has housed the essence of our
philosophy for millennia, and the journey initiates the realisation
within," Sebastian said. The programme would also list
the prices of property in those holy cities for people wanting
to settle there.
Street
Treats is about street delights from Dilli Haat to Alu
Chaat. Food En Route caters to that niche, doing a
bit of a Vir Sanghvi-like sojourn seeing Amritsari Naan or
biriyani being cooked, in its natural habitat.
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