History On Loop

It will be set against a historical or mythological backdrop.

the genesis of epic comes from my personal passion and interest in Indian history,which is rich,diverse and comprises millions of untold inspiring and mystical stories.

There are already few mythology based shows on Indian television,so why dedicate an entire channel to it?

With increasing audience fragmentation,broadcasters are creating and distributing genre-specific content to attract a clearly defined target audience.

In India,increasing digital households are giving rise to increased audience expectations. Today,the audience demands diverse viewing opportunities.

the latest FICCI KPMG report has also indicated that digitisation is expected to open up avenues for broadcasters to launch subscription-driven,specialty channels in India.

What kind of programmes can viewers expect?

The content will appeal to both men and women across urban,hindi speaking markets.

Most of the content will be episodic,which is truly unusual in television today.

It is not an intellectual,history or an infotainment channel nor is it dedicated to only mythology-based content.

The channel will cover genres ranging from drama,comedy,romance and supernatural to narrative and nonfiction.

Our content philosophy is to have an entertaining take on history and mythology with investigative stories,modern history and a fresh look at mythology.

For instance,we have acquired the exclusive rights for Indu Sundaresan’s acclaimed novel The Twentieth Wife,which describes the captivating story of grand passion and adventure,of one of India’s most controversial empresses in the Mughal empire,Mehrunnisa,better known as Noor Jehan.

What strategy will you adopt to increase TRPs?

To compare us with current hindi GeCs would be an “apples to oranges” comparison.

We are a ‘segmented’ genre channel and our focus will be more on an episodic viewing pattern.

This is a new approach in Indian television.

Are you looking at different markets to expand? Our aim is to eventually reach all digital households across 50 cities,which includes tier 2 and 3 cities.

It will be available only among digital households in India,which currently comprises approximately 72 million homes and is expected to grow to 179 million by 2017.

therefore,the opportunity is massive.

Our aim is to eventually expand into different language markets.

Are you apprehensive about backlash on promoting mythology subjects? Whenever something “new” or “different” comes to the market,there will be criticism.

But I am sure that there are people who are looking for such differentiated content and will appreciate our effort.