Bennett, Coleman and Company Limited is flirting with television once again. But group president Arun Arora is clear that this time round, the relationship with the medium is for keeps. In the pipeline are not one, but four TV channels that the media powerhouse plans to unleash in the next 15 months. None is designed as a 'me too' channel, but will have a distinct personality of its own, a genre untested on Indian airwaves thus far. Arora oversees the venture, and Zee import Apurva Purohit spearheads the television initiative.
Inside the behemoth that is the Old Lady of Boribunder's edifice, Arora's office is a relatively spartan affair compared to the bright and funky decor that marks the Zoom ramparts two floors above. His restrained responses to queries about Times' ambitious TV plans belie the obvious enthusiasm that envelops the organisation, currently in the throes of the launch of the first channel off the block - Zoom.
Arora himself is upbeat about Zoom, an entertainment and lifestyle channel modeled on the lines of Times' popular city centric supplement that has exalted Page 3 to a fine art. In a chat with indiantelevision.com, Arora held forth on the various programming, marketing and distribution plans that are being put in place to ensure a smooth launch for Zoom.
Excerpts:
Zoom now seems to be ready for an imminent launch. Are things ready on the marketing and programming fronts? |
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What about the distribution end? |
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Where are you seeding them initially? |
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Which are the channels from the Times stable that will follow Zoom? While the business channel is still far away, the launch of a music channel from the BCCL stable is more likely in the near future, but no name has been finalised for it so far. We are working on the format for the channel, but it is not being thought of as a Times Music addendum. Even our Planet M stores are not Times Music shops, they are more a destination store for all music companies. The spiritual channel will also be run at an arm's length from Times Music, while recognising and exploiting the synergies of existing Times products. |
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Have you appointed separate business heads for the individual channels? |
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What are the preparations being made for the launch of the business channel? |
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What kind of research and thought went into the making of Zoom? We believe that people are slowly getting fed up of the saas bahu soaps, and every channel, by and large, is showing the same kind of scheming mothers in law and daughters in law, which has put off a lot of thinking minds. Zoom is for those minds which find different entertainment interesting. |
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So you are not targeting the masses, since most of the masses still prefer the soaps? |
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So, is Zoom targeted at the 18 plus viewer? |
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Which are the international broadcasters you have tied up with for footage? |
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How is the programming on Zoom going to be divided, will it be a mix of Hindi and English? |
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What is the product positioning of the channel? |
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Is it skewed towards the male audience? |
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Is it the Bombay Times kind of reader who's the targeted viewer? |
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What kind of a programming matrix will Zoom have? |
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Will there be a lot of coverage of celebrity parties? |
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How much of The Times of India brand will you actually use in the content and marketing of Zoom? |
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We already know about Malaika Arora doing a show, the Manish Malhotra show...who are the other celebrity names roped in to do the rest of the programming? |
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Since Das does his acts in English, will his shows be in English too? |
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What about other shows, like the one Fahad Samar is doing? |
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What is the time line for the launch of Zoom? We have taken 80,000 square feet of space in Kamla mills in Mumbai, and uplinking at some point of time, will come to Mumbai definitely. We are currently doing up the place, and the whole television wing will shift there soon. |
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Will Zoom not be very Mumbai centric as of now? |
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But your shows are of the lifestyle, celebrity, game show genres...how does it appeal to the thinking individual? |
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But how do celebrity shows appeal to the thinking male? |
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But how do you track this elusive thinking viewer? |
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Was this research done internally? |
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How long a gestation period do you give Zoom to break even? |
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Times' last venture into television was not a very successful one. What learnings have you carried over from the last experience this time? The top management then decided that with the limited management resources at the time, we would establish leadership in print, particularly in Delhi and Bangalore, and once that is done, we would enter television with our full might. Which is probably why it more a half hearted attempt at some programming for Doordarshan and the like, never all out as will be the case now. |
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So, will there be a different approach taken to television this time round? |
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Is programming for Zoom more expensive than for general entertainment channels? |
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But are the shows largely studio based? |
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What kind of advertising are you looking at? |
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Would you go in for advertorials? |
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Will there be any bundling with other Times brands? |
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Will Zoom be under Entertainment Network India Limited (which runs Times' FM initiative, Radio Mirchi)? |
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What are the marketing and promotional efforts in place for Zoom? |
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What is happening on the magazine front, the deal with the BBC? |