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Journalism of Courage
Three years may be a long time elsewhere. Not in the television industry, especially for a new channel that was established after big brother chose to depart. But Channel V not only managed to carve out a unique identity, it8217;s also held its turf even after the return of MTV. Launched on 27 May, 1994 with a handful of VJs, Channel V has grown to a staff strength of 70 plus with a dozen odd VJs. It claims to be watched by over 30 million viewers in India. Under a slightly lunatic but highly creative general manager, Jules Fuller. It has also recently introduced new India-specific shows like Simply South, Toofan TV and Close Encounters. Accusations that Channel V copied the promo style and programme content from MTV is denied by Velu Shankar, the executive producer. 8220;The music genre demands that kind of an imagery and style,8221; he says. Channel V has a healthy respect for MTV, but 8220;We are very strong in our own way.8221; Shanshank Ghosh, the creative consultant, dismisses the competition with a terse question, 8220;MTV who?8221;
Nevertheless, the team doesn8217;t believe in letting good ideas pass by. So, if MTV has got Beavis and Butthead, Ghosh says V has something better, something desi Udham Singh, the guy who whiplashes music videos. 8220;We invent our own formulae. The American concept of attitude8217; is not the same as the Indian one,8221; explains Ghosh.
Including going full steam ahead with road shows, pub-promotions and other interactive events. Channel V has also dabbled in music cassettes. 8220;This is a natural extension of our channel,8221;8217; claims Fuller. Ghosh has a dream project 8212; to start a band called 8220;After your dad goes to sleep!8221;
8220;People buy us on brand influence, because we get noticed. Youth know our catch phrases, our signals and signs, our VJs and their eccentricities,8221; says Fuller.. The VJs are selected on how they talk and whether they can build a relationship with the audience 8212; it is like a friendship. However, for all this, there are problems. In one TV households kids get sidelined by parents and so does V by other channels. 8220;Forty per cent of our audience watches V at a friend8217;s house or in cafes,8221; says Fuller. The other drawback is the paucity of live music and a sense of history. 8220;Our attitude is to give the public what its likes plus something it should listen to,8221; says Ghosh. Another problem is that music channels have, traditionally, been snag channels people watch and switch to something else. 8220;The challenge is to make them stay on,8221; says Shankar. And when asked what has gone drastically wrong with V, Ghosh replies, 8220;Office space! We have grown and have run out of space so fast that we did not even notice,8221; he says. The marketing division moved out, curiously, to an office just above MTV8217;s!
8220;Now we can spy on MTV. We have drilled holes in the floor to see what they are upto!8221; he says. Ghosh claims the secret of V8217;s success is that V is probably the only channel which knows its audience 8212; the youth and the youth-minded. 8220;We don8217;t have a crime or soap script we have to stick to,8221; he says. He does not agree that MTV is up-market and V down-market. 8220;If you take a look at your fancy kids and the normal Indian kids, there are certain common denominators, universals that work,8221; he says.
Channel V cuts through the divide separating the South Mumbai brat and the guy in Ahmedabad. 8220;And there is a way to talk with them. There is no separate speak for them,8221; Ghosh adds.Thelingua franca, needless to say, is V-speak.
