Rocking to the music

South Indian music channel Southern Spice is riding high

What's the second most watched music channel in south India? Till recently it was Channel [V], the MTV lookalike which has pinned its faith and ratings on film music and Indipop mixed with western rock music.

But Channel [V] has just been pushed downwards in the viewership charts. The second-largest channel in south India is a local upstart called Southern Spice, which has just edged past [V] to claim its place in the sun.

That's not bad for a channel which has taken plenty of risks in its short three-year life. Southern Spice (better known as SS Music) belts out an unusual combination of music in all the four south Indian languages.

"We launched the channel in April 2001 with a bit of hesitation as to whether we must go in for all four southern languages. We decided to take a chance as it would have a better reach in the south," says Bryan Oliver Peppin, head of programming & production, SS Music.

Today that gamble seems to have paid off. The TAM ratings for October 2003 and the first two weeks of November show that SS Music is a short head in front of Channel [V] in the southern region.

The TAM ratings for the south, which cover all the metros and take into account viewership during prime time "" 4.00 pm to 11.30 pm "" covering the age group 15 to 34, show that MTV is in front with 10.28 and that SS Music has moved into second place with an 8.29 per cent share. Coming in third place is Channel [V] with 8.09.

Revenues have also kept pace at the three-year-old channel. Last year, revenues touched Rs 8 crore and this year they should touch Rs 12 crore.

What's more, India's top brands are all there between the southern melodies "" Colgate, Hutch, Pepsi, Newport Jeans, Band-Aid, Seagram, McDowell and Action Shoes to name a few.

That's quite an achievement for a channel which isn't backed by a giant media group and which started with a shoestring budget of Rs 5 crore. Most of that money went into buying equipment and offices.

Mind you, the channel does have powerful backers who helped in the early days. It was founded by Martin Lottery Agency based in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.

The initial support came almost entirely from the lottery business but today that has fallen to about 10 per cent. Even that money comes in the form of advertisements.

The decision to broadcast in the four southern languages has turned out, in retrospect, to have been an extremely smart one.

Still, Tamil is the channel's mainstay and about 35 per cent of the programmes are in this language.

The TAM rating in the second week of November shows that SS Music has a viewership almost twice as big as MTV in Tamil Nadu. SS Music will celebrate its third birthday on Tamil New Year's day on April 14.

Peppin believes the channel has managed to catch the eyes and ears of young south Indian viewers with its savvy mix of programming. It aims to capture an audience aged between 15 and 40 but Peppin insists that lots of others also tune in frequently.

He also insists that it's important to keep altering the format frequently so that young viewers don't get bored.

But SS Music has certainly borrowed several leaves from the marketing handbook put together by global giants like MTV "" and it has added a few of its own tricks.

For instance, it recently held a VJ Hunt contest in Chennai and Bangalore and crowds flocked to the audition.

In other ways too, the channel has been a trendsetter. About 10 months ago, SS Music forced MTV and Channel [V] to alter their formats.

During late night sessions both channels were airing Indian music. SS Music, however, suddenly changed the rules of the game and launched a late night (to dawn) programme playing English music videos.

"Reacting to the viewer response, the two big banners followed suit," says Peppin. He believes this was the first time the two other channels took SS Music seriously.

That isn't all. The channel recently teamed up with the RPG-controlled Music World for a promotion that has received strong responses. Shoppers can walk into Music World outlets and record their message on video with a request for a favourite song.

"We launched the 'Virtual Request' in Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad just a few months ago," says Peppin. "On an average we get 150 requests a day when we take only a maximum of 15 requests."

SS Music is going ahead with the launch of 'Virtual Request' in Cochin and at a second Music World outlet in Bangalore.

On the distribution front, the channel has embarked on a mission to increase its presence in the four southern states.

Says Peppin, " Cable operators sometimes falsify reports and say the channel is on air, when it is not. But the new connectivity report from TAM gives a clear idea of whether we are available in all the districts."

But challenges remain. Having decided to set the distribution right, the immediate challenge is to get the programming mix right. To begin with, SS Music is working on a major VJ Hunt plan that has already made waves in Chennai and Bangalore.

Peppin explains "We have tied up with Airtel to let aspiring VJs call in and register. The response so far has been overwhelming."

The Chennai VJ Hunt attracted over 5,000 callers and another 1,700 in Bangalore. Peppin's PC is overflowing with a huge collection of one-minute-long recorded telephone calls.

Auditions have already started and five people from each city have been short-listed. Similar exercises will be held in Kochi, Hyderabad and Mumbai. Only three people will make the cut. The fact that four of its present VJs have already made it to the movies also explains why thousands are rushing to audition.

That isn't all. SS Music also has a range of smaller promotions aimed at appealing to young viewers. There has been a 'Diva of the Month' contest and a 'Dude of the Month'. There has even been an 'Icon of the Month' and a 'No.1 artist of the Month'.

Peppin points out that one giant problem of running a channel catering to the four southern languages is the non-availability of pop music in local languages. The southern states are yet to come up with anything similar to Indipop.

Getting international sound tracks is not very difficult. Music companies which are looking for promotion are more than happy to share music videos or clippings.

The real challenge, Peppin says, is to create the channel's own content. "We have spotted artists who can be promoted and would help in getting good quality content," he says. These will be the new age re-mixes and the south's own version of Indipop.

"We are also looking at creating some entertainment value in the channel," he says. These could be game shows, competition or maybe even a film awards show.

"Film actors who want to come across as English-speaking folks and appeal to a larger body of audience do not have a platform in the south yet. We will try to create one through the launch of an annual film award show," Peppin adds.

The channel is even planning to rope in some big name audit firms (just like the Oscars in the US!), to lend a feeling of authenticity to the juries decisions. Talks are also on with FM radio channel for co-branding and promotion.

The beginning was modest. But as one industry watcher says, "SS Music is not big today, but it has the potential to give the Ms and Vs a run for their money. At least in this part of the world."