CNN SCOUTS FOR INDIA OPTIONS
CNN International president Chris
Cramer made a whistle stop visit to India last week.
His mission: understand the Indian market and come
up with a plan for CNN that will deliver audiences.
At the end of it all, Cramer went back to Atlanta
with one conviction.
"We have to do something on the
Internet for India," he says. "We were in Delhi
and were excited with what was happening on the
Internet scene in India. CNN Interactive is an opportunity
for us."
Cramer is also looking at the option
of extending CNN’s coverage of India and the region.
"We have stepped up our Asia wide programming from
14 hours to 30 hours a week and trebled our coverage
of India," he says.
He added that India is one of the
countries where the Beeb is doing better than CNN.
"We intend to change that," he adds. "BBC’s success
can be attributed to Mark Tully and the fact that
they have been here much longer than us. We, however,
are hungry for making a dent here." Amongst the
options being considered for the region include:
an India specific beam and a south Asia wide beam.
"We will have to see which one makes sense," says
Cramer.
