| But TV news junkies in Delhi may soon hear of this unknown broadcaster if its satellite channel for Delhi, Dilli News, takes off as planned sometime next year. |
| However, the company, keen to consolidate its presence in the Punjab and Haryana region, is first starting a full-fledged news channel for Haryana. |
| "The launch of our third channel (Haryana News) in January 2005 will coincide with the third anniversary of our 24-hour news channel Punjab Today," says J K Jain, chairman, STV Enterprises. |
| It is not surprising why Jain, who has interests in transport and hospitality as well, is eager to expand his media business in the region. For starters, the total advertising market (TV and print) in the Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh region is said to be upwards of Rs 150 crore. And some of this he has already captured through Punjab Today. |
| In the last three years, the channel has received favourable viewer and advertiser response. P&G, Gillette, Maruti, MDH and several other FMCG brands are already on the channel besides local retail advertisers. |
| However, 40 per cent of the total advertising on Punjab Today comes from the government. And that, company insiders say is very lucrative. |
| Punjab Today attracts advertising despite a minuscule share of viewership in the total Punjabi channel market. |
| Explains Jain: "Obviously, news does not get as many eyeballs as entertainment. Our percentage share among the Punjabi channels such as ETC Punjabi, Alpha Punjabi and DD Punjabi may be small, but we are the only 24-hour news channel in the region. And that makes us attractive to advertisers." |
| In the same breath he adds that the TAM ratings or channel share is not a true reflection of the channel's performance as it monitors a couple of big towns in Punjab while Punjab Today is popular in tehsils and villages. |
| Jain may have started his channel three years back but he stepped into the television industry more than a decade ago. STV was among the earliest companies to have set up television studios in Delhi and Mumbai. |
| The company also dabbled a bit in programming. Its big break came when it helped the Business India Group to set up studios for its news channel, TVI. |
| Jain also sold his building to the company from where TVI was operated. "It gave me almost a first hand experience in running a channel and I learnt my biggest lessons there," says Jain. |
| When TVI shut shop he recovered some of his equipment as well as the building from the company in lieu of unpaid bills. Today he runs his channels from the same building that housed TVI. |
| Jain has no qualms about admitting that his channels tick as they are very low-cost operations. They are run on a manual system rather than on servers. |
| The video tapes from the channel's 58 reporters posted across the state take rides on the state transport corporation buses plying in the region to reach Delhi. |
| The STV chairman confesses that he's done well because he's the sole player in the region. "Wonder why nobody has looked at this market," he says adding that competition may change things. |
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