Channel surfing

Armed with funds, the news broadcaster will soon make its debut in the entertainment and lifestyle genres.

Sameer Nair, serving his notice period at Star India, laughs aloud when asked about his date of joining NDTV Imagine. For, that's the company that NDTV, the country's premier news broadcaster, has launched to set foot into the world of entertainment television.

That the Star CEO, Nair, will head the entertainment business of NDTV is the media industry's biggest open secret nobody is willing to confirm.

Though Nair's appointment is yet to be announced, the good news is that New Delhi Television (NDTV) has got approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) for foreign investments to the tune of Rs 585 crore for the company's foray into the entertainment and lifestyle space.

A couple of months ago NDTV Networks Plc, a company incorporated in England, had sought the FIPB nod for getting foreign investment for "companies engaged in media and entertainment industry in India."

It said that the money it raises abroad will be invested, among others, in two television companies -- NDTV Imagine Limited and NDTV Lifestyle Limited.

"Raising money outside is part of our strategy to position ourselves as a global company," says KVL Narayan Rao, NDTV's group CEO. NDTV Networks, meanwhile, will drive the group's new business initiatives worldwide including launching new channels for the overseas market.

"The lifestyle channel will be in the English language, though it will be like the Indian version of Discovery's Travel & Living," says Rao. The channel is expected to hit the small screen within three months.

"The young are spending on travel and lifestyle. We decided to capitalize on the trend," he says. NDTV's plan to enter the lifestyle and entertainment genre is based on the gaps that research threw up, maintains Rao.

Company insiders say that the Hindi mass entertainment channel will take about six months to be on air. But Rao refuses to share details except that it will be a mass entertainment channel in Hindi.

Filmmaker Karan Johar's production house, Dharma Productions, has a stake in NDTV's entertainment company and Johar is in its board. NDTV will have the first right of refusal for any television programmes produced by Dharma Productions. Sameer Nair is expected to spearhead the venture.

Interestingly, even before NDTV unveils its plans, media industry experts are viewing the broadcaster's entry into the Hindi entertainment space with a degree of skepticism. Here's why.

For starters, the genre "� popularly known as Hindi GEC (general entertainment channel) is not growing. In fact, there's a marginal decline in the total viewership share of the Hindi GEC genre "� from 24.2 per cent in 2004 to 23 per cent in 2006, according to TAM Media's viewership study.

Says Sony Entertainment Television's executive vice president Rohit Gupta: "Hindi mass entertainment is a crowded space with channels eating into one another's share. The overall viewership share is not growing."

Besides, in a stagnant market the cost of operations is escalating. Programming "� serials, reality shows or films "� has become very expensive.

"The newer channels are struggling. For instance, one of the channels spends Rs 250 crore to earn about Rs 80 crore in advertising revenue. How do you expect the players to survive?" asks Gupta.

Often, the costliest programming does not yield returns either. "Sahara One has not managed to get into the top league despite spending fat sums on big ticket stars like Sridevi, Karishma Kapoor and Raveena Tandon," argues Gupta.

Adds Joy Chakraborthy, executive VP, Zee Network: "Entertainment channels are struggling. Yes, there is money in GEC but you have to get it right."

Other statistics are not encouraging either. According to TAM, if television advertising grew by 22 per cent in 2006 over 2005, the Hindi GEC's growth was lower at 15 per cent. But NDTV Media CEO Raj Nayak, who is responsible for bringing in the ad revenues, is not worried.

"Of course we will have to deliver viewership numbers. But unlike in print, television habits are easier to break. TV reaches people's bedrooms straightaway and habits could change at the click of a remote." Is your remote ready?