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Announcing
this, Dr Prannoy Roy, chairman, NDTV Ltd, said that this would
complement the English newspapers and cater to a so far unaddressed
TV viewership of five million.
 The
value for the money invested is clear: Delhi has a retail and
local advertisement kitty that runs into millions of rupees, and
has been so far tapped by only small local vernacular newspapers.
Roy
said the company's research shows that this is a market of sophisticated
retailers and other advertisers - from malls to eateries and entertainment
hubs that would willingly pay a steep tariff if they can reach
out to this TV viewership market.
This
is not a 'pure' news channel, Roy explained, but both news and
non-news channel that would provide information and localised
content, which includes the likes of live shows of college debates
(with the one from Miranda College already aired).
Sanjay
Nigam, CEO in charge of the channel, said this would be news you
can use, which includes road traffic updates, as well as everything
that a denizen of Delhi would need to know to be abreast of what's
around.
NDTV
has clearly also sought to take a pinch from the Citizen Journalist
concept, but made it radically different, in that colourful
taxis, a fully operational studio (OB Van) and a dedicated chopper
would feed in news.
The
taxis and the bus would move from area to area and bring in local
people, take their views and air them Live, Suparna Singh, head
of promos and editorial chief at the new channel explained.
Asked
whether this is their version of Citizen Journalist, Roy
took a snap at rival channel CNN IBN: "This is different,
because journalism is a professional thing and just as there cannot
be a citizen doctor or a citizen engineer, we are not looking
at a citizen journalist.
"We
believe that this will make the channel interactive, though the
citizen may not be able to talk to the anchor, but his or her
views can be aired directly."
Singh
stated another of the USPs of the channel: "We believe Delhi
is worth fighting for," and explained that the channel will
be young, progressive and proactive, and would take up all the
problems of the city and fight for the citizen's rights.
Asked
to how far NDTV would take such fights, Roy stated that the fights
about governance would be deadly serious and would be taken to
the end.
"The
channel is being driven by young people with 'kinetic energy',"
Singh said, adding that there are 125 people on board.
But
there are similar channels in Hindi which have the same formula,
so would language be the only differentiator?
Responding
to this, Nigam said that the NDTV foray into this arena would
be marked by its old track record of credibility and reliability,
dismissing the vernacular channels as overtly sensationalised
and hardly credible.
In
fact, Nigam said that when there is a stress on globalisation,
this move towards localisation may seem like an anachronism, but
it was not, as today, Delhi is almost like a country.
"The
people need info that will navigate the lives of Delhiites,"
Nigam said, which would be the "unique value proposition"
for the channel.
There
are many, many Delhis today, and the days of South Delhi ending
in Lajpat Nagar are over, and there are many categories of people
not from all walks of life but all regions and many countries
who need to stay abreast of this city.
This
is the specific market the NDTV plans to corner and not just in
Delhi; in another few months, there would be four more channels,
Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore, each with its niche programming
and sharp local focus.
Roy
parried all questions on financial issues, but insisted that there
is enough monetary depth in this market to give them a clear sense
of fast-track business.
This
is why, at least officially, Metro Nation channel would not slash
its advertisement tariff, but would offer competitive prices,
Roy said and claimed that already there are people wanting to
come on board.
While
the channel would be FTA, Roy admitted that it would go on one
of the DTH service providers, but refused to divulge the name,
stating simply: "We have a commitment on DTH."
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