Antenna Up

Surveys and polls have clearly revealed that Zee scores above the others where Indian viewers are concerned. Sony, meanwhile, having snagged the telecast rights for most of the big events in the last two years, also finds its popularity soaring of late. Both, however, seem to believe that they8217;ve not yet landed on the magical mantra for supreme success in the business.

Both are convinced that there8217;s tough competition ahead, and are roping in creative minds to provide that little extra which they believe will give them an edge over the others. A spokesperson for Zee explains that their all-new movie channel quot;will have films from all over the world, but mostly from the US, and is targeted at family audiences.quot; Their entertainment channel, on the other hand, is looking at capturing the 15 to 40 age-group. quot;This one will have no film inputs but is entirely entertainment-based with five hours of exclusive programming from India,quot; our source adds. The channel8217;s USP is the internationally popular daily chat show with David Letterman. Zee, apparently, doesn8217;t see much competition from the existing channels except perhaps Star World.

Sahara8217;s Vinod Pande has been sounding mighty mysterious ever since the channel8217;s launch was officially announced a few months ago. He explains that quot;since one can8217;t be drastically different as far as the genres of television shows are concerned, one certainly can strive for higher quality programming.quot; He says they are quot;also looking at creating events exclusively for our channel and then telecasting them, rather than just obtaining the rights of already popular events.quot; And true to his word, viewers can look forward to a lavish launch featuring performances from several Bollywood stars, an event that has already taken place and been recorded at Sahara City in Lucknow. Incidentally, soon after the mother channel goes on air, subsidiary film and news channels will also follow.

Sony8217;s MAX, which has been running informally since October last year, will also go in for a formal launch this week. quot;We were waiting till we had a story to tell,quot; explains Kacon Sethi, Vice President, MAX. Interestingly, the story tallies with the one Sahara has just been telling. They too have arrived at the importance of creating events for audience interest. The real edge though, comes from its focus on quot;cricket, movies and eventsquot;, the three things that they believe, attract Indian audiences the most.

If Zee8217;s English movie channel may be best compared to Star Movies, MAX comes closest in definition to TNT in an Indian avtaar. MAX will show only Indian films ranging from absolutely new ones to classics along with biographies and other programmes built around films, while cricket buffs will be treated to shows based on everything about the game and its heroes. The real coup comes from MAX8217;s landing the telecast rights of the massively popular Sharjah game towards the end of March.

All three channels say they8217;re not nervous about competition. Instead, they insist everything8217;s rosy. quot;There8217;s no point in coming on in a boringly sedate atmosphere. The fun lies in the competition,quot; says Pande, while Sethi is clear about the quality name Sony has already got for itself. Zee, meanwhile, feels it doesn8217;t really require an introduction for anything new that it brings in. Now, of course, it8217;s for the viewers to decide if these channels will be more of the same thing, or whether TV will never be the same again.