is certainly not new to the business of media. In September 2005, Rao became the CEO of India TV and got the channel started on what he calls,"the business of news highway". Taking charge of the company after an "informal meeting of over four hours" with Rajat Sharma, editor-in-chief, India TV, Rao has nearly 30 years of experience in account management, strategic planning and general management with leading global advertising companies like Lintas, Ogilvy & Mather and McCann Worldgroup.
He defends sting operations in a candid talk with Priyanka Joshi and discusses the channel's career path for 2006.
India TV is a relatively new channel and you haven't been associated with media. Don't you think there will be a lot of hurdles?
Broadcasting may be a new career, but the work I am expected to do here is similar to my previous assignments. I have to generate visible results by gaining popularity with audiences. I am quite comfortable with my responsibilities at India TV, what with the synergy of ideas flowing from business heads to news editors.
What's been your main contribution to the channel?
For starters, I worked closely with Rajat Sharma on content and programming and started Breaking News, a programme hosted by Sharma that debuted in October this year. Putting content that is unique and exclusive to India TV, night after night, is a challenge in itself. Thankfully, we've been successful and Breaking News is one of the prime-time shows for the channel.
But is it feasible to bank on just one prime show?
Even I would hesitate to say that Rajat Sharma is our only star. Our morning band has developed well with shows like Yog Science with Swami Ramdev, a programme for contemporary living and yoga. The whole day is structured meticulously and that's why we take care of different audience brackets. Our biggest USP is that we stand for responsible journalism.
Can sting operations on actors like Shakti Kapoor and Aman Verma be labelled as "responsible" journalism?
Well, at least we don't broadcast dismembered bodies of victims who die in bomb blasts. Most channels showed such footage in the recent bomb blasts that rocked New Delhi. We refused to transmit any such visuals and ran the same story after nearly 20 minutes of getting our facts in place.
But what about the Shakti Kapoor and Aman Verma exposes?
Any channel who had similar stories would have run them. With those exposes we made it to the headlines of newspapers, received more than 34,000 SMSes from audiences and got our TRPs in place. Sensationalism sells, content drives audiences, audiences drive advertising, and advertising drives channels.
With newer players in the Hindi news channels market, how will India TV fare?
Not all existing news channels can survive the competition. Each one has to compartmentalise their reach. It's time to narrow down the focus as there isn't place for everyone. India TV will definitely be among the top four national news channels. We have managed to get almost 7 per cent of the total Hindi news market and will continue to expand by concentrating on channel distribution for a pan- India impact.
