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"We have an India Hour from 8-10 pm on Thursday where
we showcase films made in India. However our philosophy is that
it is not the content that needs to be local but rather its presentation.
"So we don’t feel that it is important where the content is
from. Even if it comes from Alaska as long as the show tells a great
story and be backed up by great production values. Our audience
should be able to relate with it. Conversely if you have a made
in India product that has not been not backed up by a great story
then it will not work. Our localisation process involves dubbing
in Hindi. When we do promotions we try and bring a local angle to
it.
"There are great production people in India. However our projects
will be done keeping in mind not just India but also the global
audience. The cost of a show
could go from Rs. 5 million to as much as Rs. 50 million. Mission
Everest, which we did last year, cost us $1.4 million. Taxi
Ride would of course be much less."
As had been reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com NGC has launched
its biggest localised initiative to date Nokia Innovations.
Besides the on-air show which airs every Sunday at 10 pm there will
be an on-ground initiative. This is a tie up that NGC has done with
the mobile service provider Nokia and IIT Delhi to find Indians
who have turned their creative genius into technology that benefits
the country.
"The show is about cutting edge technological developments.
It is exactly what our brand values are about. It also means taking
our mission beyond the
channel through an award which we have instituted for kids. Nokia’s
brand values are also about innovations. So they have managed to
go beyond plain vanilla advertising. They are a partner in the true
sense of the word."
NGC will visit several schools across the country in this regard.
However the main thrust will rest on promoting the show on the Star
network. The outdoor campaign kicked off with hoardings being seen
in
prominent places.
"When we green light a local project it is important that
it should resonate key NGC values. Research and credibility are
paramount in importance. It should be
cutting edge. At the moment because of the scale of Innovations
our focus on the kids genre is just that show. Once it gets over
we would certainly look at expanding our repertoire in that genre."
As far as channel share is concerned Gandevia claimed that data
over the past several weeks showed that it was neck and neck with
Discovery. "We look at trends over several weeks. However we
do not define competition as just Discovery because together we
are not that big. Our audience can also come from music
and sports channels."
On the advertising front NGC is looking at more than doubling revenues..
As per Indiantelevison.com estimates the broadcaster earned Rs.
150 million in the previous fiscal. If our assessment is correct
then Gandevia is looking at a haul of over Rs. 300 million.
The channel recently invested in a team of ad sales professionals
who are exclusive to NGC. "We have also invested a lot of effort
in providing solutions for advertisers to invest in our brand. To
give you an example earlier we never had a confectionery brand advertising.
Now we have Perfetti. Hero Honda has returned after being absent
for a year" Gandevia added.
While not being specific Gandevia sounded an optimistic note about
providing content online in the future. "We already have access
to exclusive broadband content. Already on our India site visitors
can view clips and promotional material from our shows. With the
amount of bandwidth available in the country growing rapidly online
content is an area that shows promise."
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