New Delhi: Even as the fast-growing network of Over the Top (OTT) platforms take the media industry by storm, television continues to hold its position as the preferred screen choice for a majority of Indians. And, a vast section of this audience lives in rural India. In fact, the ownership of TV sets in rural India has outpaced growth in urban pockets, shows the latest data from the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC).

With this, has come a paradigm shift, where consumers have once again taken the centre stage in determining how traditional broadcasters decide their content offerings. While there may be a plethora of content for urban viewers, there aren't still enough choices for the rural audience. It is this vast market that Mumbai-based Beginnen Media is keen to tap into, with its new Hindi GEC- Azaad TV. The channel with its philosophy – ‘People First, Rural First’ hit the airwaves in May and caters exclusively to people in rural India. It’s currently available on DD Free Dish and select DPOs.

In an exclusive interaction with Indiantelevision.com, Beginnen Media, managing director Bharat Kumar Ranga talks about his vision for the new channel, its financial model, content offerings, and introduces for the first time, the newly formed team that helped build the brand.

Edited excerpts:

On the decision to focus on rural India

At Beginnen Media, we wanted to relook at the media and entertainment sector with a fresh perspective. We believe that the real transition is not from broadcasting to individual casting or TV to digital, but from being from creative/content-centric to being consumer-centric. We found a great opportunity in the rural segment. While the urban segment has been over-serviced by TV and digital platforms, consumers in rural India are still under-serviced with content that was originally created for urban viewers. They weren’t really considered primary consumers. So, we thought that there was an opportunity for us to see them as primary consumers and create stories exclusively for them.

On how the target audience was identified

We put most of our energies into identifying our target audience. We saw that rural people have a certain mindset, and we decided to focus on that. No matter which place they migrate to, they will carry that mindset with them. Though our content will cater to the Hindi-speaking audience, it will also try to reach out to Hindi-understanding markets like parts of Gujarat, West Bengal, Punjab, Maharashtra, where people may not speak Hindi, but they do understand the language. We want to design our content in such a way that people from across states relate to it. We have also hired specialist agencies that work on consumer products, like the Delhi-based agency- Futurebrands, which is led by Santosh Desai to provide us with data and insights.

On the decision to go Free-to-air (FTA) and growth opportunities in the rural market

In terms of distribution, the TV consumption in rural India is largely through DD Free Dish, and you cannot be on DD Free Dish if you are a Pay channel. So, we chose FTA so that we could reach out to that audience. Since we are the first rural GEC, we thought it makes much more sense to reach out to people quickly, and start building on that connection.

Generally, people tend to confuse Free-to-air (FTA) with rural. While it is fair to say that most people who consume FTA channels are in rural India, and that is the market that we are entering into. But a significant part of the rural audience is also watching pay platforms, other than on DD Free Dish. So, we are venturing into a new category, where we are competing with not just the FTA channels, but also the Pay channels in the rural segment. FTA channels are also available in more households than Pay TV. It's just that the FTA market has not unlocked its full potential yet. The over-supply of acquired content on these channels does not seem to be working anymore. The audience understands that the channels are recycling content, and they want something new, so that is why we hope that our rural model might work.

On the content offerings and original shows

Our original shows got delayed because of the pandemic. But since we had to start the channel distribution, we went ahead with the soft launch. We started building a connection with the audience. Now, our new shows are also under production and we hope that we will be able to sustain and keep the process running in case there's a third wave too.

In terms of content, we have put in a huge amount of energy to determine what our rural audience will like to watch. On the face of it, our content might not look different, but the larger differentiation is in the point of view of the people, that we will try to reflect in the shows. Currently, stories on pay platforms are set up in rural areas, but they are told to an urban audience. We wish to tell stories that reflect their point of view irrespective of where they are based.

On the financial model and opportunities for advertisers

As a rural entertainment channel, we need to have all kinds of revenue- subscription-based, advertising-based, as well as digital revenue. In terms of advertising revenue, we are looking at some sort of premium around the environment that we are giving to our advertisers- ‘digital virtues in a TV business’.  Firstly, we are providing a focussed target audience. For instance, if a campaign runs on any FTA channel, the advertiser may not know if it’s reaching the urban or rural audience. But, in the case of Azaad, the focus is entirely on people with a rural mindset. Secondly, the programming environment. If an advertisement is put on YouTube, it’s difficult to identify the content/genre that the consumer is watching. However, we will offer brand safety in terms of content that aligns well with the values of the brand. Advertisers will be interested in an entertainment platform that is consumer-focussed. We already have some regular advertisers like HUL on board. But the main exercise will begin once we launch original shows.

On the distribution plans for the channel

Simple to our plan, we have looked at all the MSOs. We began with DD Free Dish, where the channel is currently being aired. Then we identified some 50 individual distribution cable operators in rural areas. We are also in talks with 15 more such operators who are working in the outskirts of these areas. They may be lesser-known but attractive to us. We are also in touch with some top DTH and MSOs, but our priority is rural India and we will stick to that.

Rural is a super mass category. We want to create a little space for ourselves, and we understand that it will take some time for us to create a relationship with the audience. We want to become the most credible platform for rural audiences.

On the team that leads Beginnen Media

Director - project & operations: Mohan Gopinath 

A media and broadcast veteran, Gopinath carries nearly 25 years of work experience. He worked with Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) for 18 years, turned entrepreneur, and co-created Bhu Entertainment in 2015. He also helped Viacom launch its first movie channel, Rishtey Cineplex.

Chief marketing officer - Rachin Khanijo

Khanijo carries over 17 years of extensive MarComm experience, during which he has worked at Eros Now as vice president, marketing, and COLORS as associate director – marketing. He has also worked as marketing head at &TV and brand director – Filmfare, Femina, and GoodHomes. At Beginnen Media, he handles marketing, corporate communications, on-air promotions, research & distribution.

General manager, product: Doris Dey

Dey spearheads Business Development, Programming & Content Strategy, Product Innovation, Content Creation, and Curation. In a career spanning 18 years, she has worked as a writer, creative director, and even Independent Producer (OTT). In her previous stint at Essel Group, she envisaged and launched &TV.'

Chief revenue officer, Johnson Jain

Jain carries over two decades of experience in the Media & Entertainment industry and specialises in advertising revenue. He has worked with leading media conglomerates including ZEEL, Sony Network (SET India) & 9x Group. He has played a key role in relaunching Zing in 2016.

Chief financial officer, Dinesh Bhutra

An associate member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, Bhutra has more than a decade of experience in various sectors like Airlines, Telecom, Entertainment, Education, Finance, Media, Data Centre and Refinery including Jet Airways, Reliance Jio, Essel Corporate, MT Educare Ltd, ISSL.  At Beginnen Media, Bhutra also heads Commercial, Administration & Human Resources as its chief finance officer.