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Tag: Anil Garg

  • Anil Garg, Chairman & Managing Director, Explore Travel Channel on whether digitization will help smaller channels

    Jaldi 5 with Anil Garg: No industry body to take care of smaller channels

    While digitization is supposed to help bring in greater transparency into the broadcast ecosystem, the real beneficiary will be the small broadcaster who could well be on a near-equal playing field as a big broadcaster. But does the small channel-owner really feel that he or she is going to benefit. While there are several independents in the business, we approached one who is indeed completely unattached to any ‘big’ force and is not part of any major broadcast association or pressure group.

     

    We spoke to Anil Garg, Chairman & Managing Director, Explore Travel Channel.

     

    01. Is there renewed hope for small channels such as yours given that digitization will see access fee being eliminated?

    I don’t know if the access fee will be eliminated completely, but yes it will be in cases where the distributors ask a channel for the signal! The good news is that if digitization is implemented in the manner that has been mandated by the government, it will help many specialized and FTA channels to be a part of the FTA package. But most importantly, we should appreciate that the biggest beneficiary of this historic switchover to digital is going to be the consumer. They will have more choice, better quality of signals and a transparency in billing practices.

     

    02. So is it goodbye to carriage fees wef November 1?

    No, I don’t think so. But there will be some rationalization since the operators have more bandwidth unlike what was the case in the analogue space. Also there is really no prime band kind of placement. With the increased number of channels on the digital platforms, channels are typically grouped by genre. With all this, we will see carriage fees being re- negotiated.

     

    03. Are there areas where you think the government can still step and clear the mess?

    I am not sure if there is a mess in the digitization proposal mandated by the government. This is a serious attempt by the government to shift the nation to digital and this is the only way to grow the industry and all the stakeholders in this ecosystem be it broadcasters, advertisers or the distributors among others. Everyone needs to work together at this important and historic juncture in time.

     

    It is important that the rollout be implemented in time and as fast as possible to ease the perceived pain in implementing, as I said earlier, perhaps the first major step towards improving service levels and bringing in transparency and an element of fairness in this business.

     

    I am sure that once the rollout starts, there will be many suggestions on how to improve the process and am sure that the government and the various stakeholders will be open to discussing such suggestions and sorting them out.

     

    04.What’s your view on ratings? Should TAM be suspended in the early days of

    digitization?

     

    As we are aware, there is already pressure on TAM Media Research to suspend television ratings data on account of digitization rollout in the four metros. There is always resistance to change; in this case we hear that in such a situation the advertisers are concerned on the methodology that will be used by media planners and broadcasters in their pricing mechanisms due to lack of an alternate viewership metric.

     

    It is a fact that the TAM (analogue home) sample size in these four metros is substantial. Therefore, there is bound to be inaccurate viewership data till such time TAM transitions totally in the digital markets. Till such time, using such inaccurate data will be rather unfair to all stakeholders. The other grouse is from the advertisers in that they would like to be cautious about spending large sums on advertising on television without any accurate data on the returns on such spends.

     

    Again as I have said, all the stakeholders must take a call in this matter in the bigger interests of the industry and the consumer in particular. My own personal view is that no one should use inaccurate data.

     

    05. Are industry bodies able to take care of the interests of small channels like yours?

     

    I don’t think any industry body exists to take care of the smaller channels. Neither is there any industry body helping promote the growth of pro-social channels. Nor has the government built any mechanisms to support television channels, large or small; I feel it is high time the government came out with a plan to support media channels, especially if they are in the pro-social domain.

     

    There is an urgent need to build a body akin to NASSCOM for the television industry in this country.

     

  • Emerging technologies are playing a big role in bringing about this shift from traditional TV (latent viewing) to active TV (active viewing), says Anil Garg

    The Anchor: Anil Garg on 10 reasons why specialty channels are the need of the hour

    By Anil Garg

     

    The television landscape in India has seen a paradigm shift in the last few years.  From a plethora of channels offering General Entertainment, News including Business & Market News, Music, Movies, Kids, Sports and so on, one is seeing the emergence of newer specialized genres such as Infotainment, Food, “Classroom” Education, Science and Technology, Specialty Sports (e.g. Golf), Home Shopping and Travel.  There are dozens of reasons for this (be it advances in technologies, affordability, availability, changing lifestyles and such) here are TEN reasons why specialty content will not only survive but thrive in the coming years:

     

    1. Consumer Awareness and Demand

    India, like most other countries, is fast realising that audiences are increasingly discerning especially with multiple TV households in Tier I, II and even III cities across all SEC groups.  Look at how Discovery has diversified from a single channel to Discovery Science and Discovery Turbo; or for that matter NatGeo. Infotainment content is entertaining and educative. Today people increasingly want to learn and know more about the world they live in. For instance, one would never stop a child watching a clip on the “Blue pottery of Jaipur” as opposed to watching cartoons on a kid’s channel.

     

    2. The Nature of Specialized Content

    Specialised content such as a cookery show or a travel show does not need to be in a 30 minute format, so typical of traditional television. Specialised content can be “snacky”; a five minute show on the “Fishing Nets of Kerala” or “48 hours in Cairo” can ignite the angst and aspiration in the mind of viewers who have or would love to experience this. Such content can be informative, educative and yet entertaining. Also such content appeals across all age groups four-adult. Plus, it is non-controversial as in there is no rape or murder or such.

     

    3. Passion

    People who want specialized content are passionate about it. So are the viewers! Take for instance Food or Travel. Specialised content has to be produced by people serious about the domain. As more and more people choose to work in their field of interest, so will they choose to talk about it in more and more creative ways. Likewise, an ever increasing consumer base aware about the affordable availability of such content will tune into what they are passionate about.

     

    4. Forever Content

    Most specialized content is forever in that it does not age. A show on the Taj Mahal or the Pushkar Mela is timeless. Unlike most soaps, reality shows or sporting events, most infotainment content is ageless and can be watched again and again for generations. We still love to watch a clip on what Mumbai looked like in the 50’s even though it is black and white; this will be the case even fifty years hence!

     

    5. Technology including New Media

    Affordable technology makes it possible to offer thousands of channels to viewers.  Technology trends, be it the downward cost of increasingly powerful Cameras, inexpensive video editing Software, dramatically reducing Storage cost, affordable and increased Bandwidth, ever increasing Connectivity, Interactive and Mobile devices and increasing use of innovative Applications – all this makes it possible for a specialized channels to stream to their audiences, anytime, everywhere. As rich content moves from Beta tapes to digital video formats, from huge physical libraries to compact server scale storage in a box, growing a business around this new realisation that the concept of space has changed will help new age entrepreneurs build organisations and brand architectures with specialized content.

     

    6. Portable Content

    The very nature of specialised content is interesting. There is a growing need and demand for on the move infotainment and on demand infotainment (e.g. what to see and do inSingapore), as opposed to a two-three hour movie. As consumer attention spans get shorter, information they seek has to be at their finger tips “here and now”.  Thanks to technology, this is made possible. Specialised content is easy to port for on-demand viewing.

     

    7. Going Digital – Growth of Television and the Net

    As India moves to digitization with the possibility of a 500-1000 channels though fibre and cable to the home, multiple TV households, increased Internet bandwidth and technologies such as 3 and 4G for the masses, affordable yet powerful handheld devices, access to specialized content will be easier and affordable for consumers.  Also for aggregators and distributors of such content, it will be imperative to reach out to every single viewer with a rich and varied offering.

     

    8. Education

    As the Indian population comes to grips with evolving technologies, the nature of content, applications and their usage will explode. From ten years ago when not many people used an ATM machine or a cell phone, the scenario is changing rapidly and dramatically. As people learn how to use a phone for purposes other than talking, to using the net for purposes other than checking emails or making a railway booking, we will see people searching for informative content and entertainment.

     

    9. Targeted appeal

    For advertisers, sponsors and the like, specialized channels offer a focused, targeted audience. Also, technology is fast reducing the costs for reaching out to the customer and getting a better handle of behavioural and psychometric testing – e.g. social media and viral.

     

    10. Business Sense

    Businesses understand the reasons above.  Channels like a GEC, Movies, or Sports are very expensive to setup and operate; in India we have seen many such channels go down.  For the cost of a single show on a channel in these traditional genres, it is possible to setup and operate a specialized channel and also to make it profitable. Ten years ago not many people thought that a channel like Discovery made any business sense! Also, specialized infotainment channels have multiple revenue streams; the touch-points for consumers sourcing information of interest are multiple.  The same content can be sampled on TV, researched in print and enabled/fulfilled via the web as an example – all thanks to technology.

     

    In a nutshell, emerging technologies are playing a big role in bringing about this shift from traditional TV (latent viewing) to active TV (active viewing).  For instance in a specialized genre such as Travel, television can provide excellent programming backed up by a supporting interactive mechanism either through a website or an interactive mobile gadget which can create lead generation for travel booking, with applications that can provide ‘here and now’ information while at home or office or on the go. This increases the opportunity base and revenue potential for all possible trade partners – traditional travel operators, tourism boards, hotels and airlines, fleet operators and more – with the help of emerging new media technologies which help link up all possible interactions.

     

    As all trends point to specialized content, such content will become the trend!

     

    Anil Garg is Chairman & Managing Director, Explore Travel Channel