In Kolkata: content is the real game

IN CONVERSATION

Over the past six months, media circles in Kolkata have had only one thing to talk about - Kolkata TV, the fat salaries it was offering, and how this or that star reporter had resigned to join the new 24-hour Bengali news channel from Xenitis, a company best-known for retailing low-cost PCs starting at prices below Rs 10,000. At the centre of all this was veteran journalist SUMAN CHATTOPADHYAY who resigned as executive editor of Star Ananda last October to join the new venture as chief editor. He displayed all the equanimity of a man who had set the cat among the pigeons when Business Standard caught up with him days before its launch.

Investment of Rs 100 crore in a regional channel "" that must be unprecedented?

Yes, it is. But the kind of infrastucture we've put together is also unprecedented in regional news channels.

The 3,000 sq ft studio on Park Street is the biggest in town. We are the only one in these parts to have our own teleport, state-of-the-art studio and field cameras. We have also put in place an extensive network of correspondents, retainers and stringers.

Why teleport? How many channels can you accommodate?

Two, or even three. We have long-term plans to come up with a general entertainment channel. Besides, we can also lease it out in the short-term.

But is the market for Bengali news channels big enough to support such investments?

The market may not be big enough right now but the market expands for a good product.

What about content?

The real game is in content. I want to take audio-visual Bengali journalism from its nascent stage and give a platform to serious journalists .

How soon do you think you can break even?

It should not be too difficult to recover costs on the working expenses. In a year's time, we plan to add on to our portfolio an entertainment channel, a magazine and a newspaper. Then we can leverage one with the other.