Guest Column

The checkered category
Rajesh Kamat, CEO, Colors.

2008 took the Indian television landscape through a major metamorphosis. The entry of new channels in the GEC space managed to disrupt the existing status quo and the monopoly of certain long standing players.

Not just that, content played a major role. The Indian audiences were in for an audio-visual treat with channels trying their best to come up with innovative ideas. Also, advertisers weren't left out either. The entry of major DTH players and the increasing digitization of television in the metros led to a never before seen competitiveness amongst channels.

So, what can one look forward to in the New Year after such an action packed term; and especially during the slowdown? Well, now that the party is over and the champagne has been drunk; let's get back to business. Going ahead, with increased competition and economic slowdown, the pace of growth is expected to come down but television broadcasting as a sector will be relatively less affected. However, it will become mandatory for television networks to brace themselves for a tough battle and some sound moves to win the game. Their only salvation would come from compelling content and differentiation.

The GEC chessboard

General entertainment channels (GECs), which already got redefined due to the fatigue in programming, will get more fragmented than they did in 2008. The key to succeed in this segment will depend on how smartly they move across the board.

Content is the king

At the moment, the Indian television space is quite crowded. Broadcasters need to remember that a lot of Indian households are still single TV households; one remote control increases stickiness thus creating challenges for channels. The next level of development of the space should have a greater focus on differentiated content and niche channels. This will help both the audience, which is looking for more specialized content, and advertisers, who can target their audience in a more cost effective manner. The answer lies in being strong where it matters the most - the content.

Distribution - the supporting queen

Strong content wins half the battle but the other half needs a lot of looking after. This is where distribution will play a crucial role. Getting the right product to the right place at the right time is essential for success. Content may be great, but if not supported by correct distribution, it will be nothing but an utter waste. So the king may stand tall, but without his queen, he has little value. She needs to support him right through the end. The bishop runneth the scheduling path

Once you have your content and distribution channel in place, what can really make an impact is the way you schedule your shows. For a long time now, scheduling was not an aspect broadcasters were willing to experiment too much with. Most of them followed the tried-and-tested one way route which got some a fair amount of success while the rest simply followed the trend. Here is where you need to think and walk like the bishop. Disruptive scheduling catches the eye of the audience and of the advertisers doing unparalleled damage to competition. Get it right and the bishop can grab success from unexpected corners!

The horse will trot its way to digital success

The Indian television industry has already accepted digitization. It will see a substantial growth on the subscription revenues going forward. It will drive TV penetration in the non-metro markets, which will, ultimately, ensure better pay revenues for broadcasters. To cope up with this drastic change in distribution one will see a lot of new products being launched by television networks especially for the subscription market in order to balance out any risk from the advertising business. The horse may not walk straight, but that's what wins you battles!

Fiction shows, your brave pawns

It's a fact, fiction shows rule the roost. Get them right and they can cause tremendous damage and this we have seen in the past few years. Just like front liners in the army, fiction shows are the ones that actually shape the war. Truth is, they wage the war and fight till the last breath. Some casualties here may cause a little grief but those few that surge ahead can terribly damage the opposite camp.

The elephant shall dance to format show success

Format shows is where you can innovate and create some excitement while your fiction shows keep the uphill climb going on. Although, with big budgets, huge production values, celebrities and all that jazz - format shows are extremely tricky. And hence, they can't be sustained for too long. But plan your moves right and even the elephant can be made to dance. And one can only imagine the damage a dancing elephant can cause!

All-in-all, the year ahead promises to be a roller-coaster ride. The highs will be dizzying but there will be pit falls too. But it will be essential to take risks and innovate. If you're not making mistakes, you're not taking risks, and that means you're not going anywhere. All channels today have all the necessary resources that can take them to success. But the winner is the one who takes the same ingredients as everyone else and produces the best results. The New Year is indeed going to be an exciting one and unlike the Chess board, the GEC space will not just be black & white....but quite 'COLOR'ful!