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Content king, but distribution crucial for channels

Indiantelevision.com Team

(1 October 2008 8:30 pm)

NEW DELHI: Methods of distribution contribute in a large extent to the popularity of a channel, irrespective of whether it is a niche channel or a GEC.

This was the general consensus among participants at a session on 'The Content Equilibrium', a part of the Indian Digital Networks Summit. Speakers said that content mattered, but it is marketing and distribution that often make a lot of difference.

TAM Media Chief Executive Officer L V Krishnan said that this was the right time to promote niche channels, since digital sampling had just commenced in the country. He said the younger generation was taking very keenly to new technologies. In any case, specialty channels needed community-driven pipelines, he added.

Referring to English content, Krishnan said this would work if it was Indianised suitably, either by way of local programming or dubbing. While he agreed with other speakers that the fee regulations were not very friendly to the service providers, he said that new revenue models would emerge in the years to come. Replying to a question about multi-television homes, he said it had been noticed that general entertainment channels were not making programmes meant for the whole family.

BBC World general manager Nachiket Pantvaidya said that distribution and then marketing come into play more in the case of, what he termed unique content channels. Digitization would make a difference, but not to the viewer. He said there was need to have a 'faith approach' since losses in India were not as high as in some other countries. Short-term losses may have to be borne for long-term profits, he noted.

Pantvaidya also complained about the irrational price regulation regime which had shaken the market, and also the rule that a la carte packages would have to be supplied to all providers and operators. He said the carriage fee should be determined by the demand and supply regime.

Zee Cafe, Zee Studio and Zee Trendz business head Neil Chakravarti said that 90 per cent of the software in English channels in India is coming from overseas. But selling the channels really depended on how innovatively one could market them. He said there was a lot of quality content available in English, but the constraints of what a consumer could be charged often proved to be an impediment. Chakravarti too said that the current price regulation was too rigid.

In reply to a question, he said that only 10 to 15 per cent of the TV homes in the country were multiple-TV homes. He stressed upon the need for addressability, since cable operators still tended to under-state the exact figure of homes to which they supplied signals. He also wanted financially feasible models for specialty channels. Ultimately, the content was the key differentiator between one channel and another.