The book under review Becoming a Global Audience attempts to answer some of these questions by taking a systematic and qualitative approach to the subject. To do so, the author brings together the three divergent traditions; media studies; audience research and international communications all in one loop. And this at a time when the global audience phenomenon has taken more of a `marketing oriented definition'. To quote the author, "A billion people all over the world watching the Olympics or Baywatch is clearly not the answer." But there's more than meets the eye. The author feels that we need to analyse the rise of a particular genre in the TV industry within a certain historical and cultural context.

Starting off on the above premise, Juluri has conducted painstakingly detailed study looking at the music genre in terms of `countdown shows' in India. TV trackers would definitely remember the satellite boom in India which began with the frenzied localised diet of global music television in India with MTV and Channel [V].

Using in-depth interviews with music television viewers and research spanning almost a decade; the author tries to drive home the rationale behind television building and programming. In a group interview format, four representative segments were selected to study the genre in terms of the music played across music channels, individual taste, role of VJs and music videos. The study refers to the various music videos that were a hit in the late 190s, including AR Rehman's Maa Tujhe Salaam, and Alisha's `Made in India; which was the first Indian pop album sold on a scale comparable to Hindi film music albums. To top it up was the `Mcdonalisation' of South Asia as audiences with the influx of Western programming.

What emerges from the study is a broad subjective interpretation of audience tastes, the rise of the genre in the global context and the reasons behind the success of countdown shows. The viewer interviews reveal that the videos and music played on the shows are really a process of seeking, sometimes what a false sense of success; - recognition of who they believe they really are. In an era of liberalization, with rising cultural aspirations viewers got a feeling of being represented in the global context. Also, the author feels for many the experience of the television boom was really seen as a opportunity for training, motivation in the emerging global economy.

Divided into five chapters, the first chapter dwells on the Commercial Context of Music television in India, the second on Music Television and its Audiences and the third on the Liberalisation and the Public. The last two chapters, ` Globalisation and the Nation' and `Becoming a Global Audience' are rather revealing and provide an overview of the industry.

So, does the author deliver? Well, to a large extent he does. Treading on a path where few dare to venture out; Juluri has taken on the concept of audience research to the complexity of real world audiences who watch these programmes. The qualitative research is a welcome change for many media analysts, who believe that a better understanding of the medium may emerge if we stop reducing audiences to a group or just a number of people.

Except for the needless repetition of concepts across the chapters, the book is lucidly written. It's definitely a must read for students of transnational cultural studies, media producers and TV trackers.