Beyond the ratings game

MEDIA: India's newest TV channel is on air, but the viewers are not exactly jumping for joy.

The country's youngest TV channel "" Lok Sabha Television (LSTV) "" hasn't exactly stormed the popularity charts, but that was never the attempt either.

The 10-day old brainchild of Speaker Somnath Chatterjee was aimed at bringing some order into proceedings which frequently got unruly.

"Let people watch and form their own opinions on who they have voted for and what the Parliament does," the speaker reportedly said at a meeting.

But how many people are watching? It is early days, but one can get an idea from the slick options that are available to the typical viewer "" drama (like the K-serials), reality drama (news), music, nature, living, spiritual, history and action.

The monotonous drone of Lok Sabha speeches, which constitutes the bulk of programming on the 24-hour channel, is unlikely to stand up to what is on offer.

There is one thing going for the channel though "" the cost. When the channel was mooted a year-and-a-half ago, Chatterjee was told by the information and broadcasting ministry that it would take Rs 200 crore a year and a full-time staff of 260 to run the channel. He backed out of the project.

"At this point, he met the head of a private television channel who was astounded by the cost estimate," said a source close to the speaker. "With the kind of archival materials we have, as well as the hardware already in place, the channel could be done much cheaper," he asserted.

A feasibility report subsequently prepared by former Doordarshan boss Bhaskar Ghosh gave a more realistic cost estimate "" the channel could be launched with an investment of Rs 6-7 crore in hardware, and a people-expense of about Rs 12 core per annum (only 60 -70 people required). Ghosh now heads the channel.

The channel is wholly owned by the Lok Sabha secretariat, and is available freely on cable networks. Only public sector units are allowed to sponsor programmes or advertise on the channel.

"When footage of proceedings is sold to private channels, they are not allowed to tamper with it, therefore company logos on the screen will have to be carried on the private channels too," he said.

While other state-run channels leave much to be desired, officialdom feels that this channel could be "India's answer to the history channel." Even with the blitzkrieg of promos planned, that is a tall order indeed. But who knows...