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| Participatory gaming | | POWER MOVES: Cellcast Interactive |
| Arunima Mishra / Jan 03, 2011, 00:32 IST |
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Cellcast Interactive is all set to roll out its own television channel in the second quarter of 2011. The channel will be the first 24X7 participatory channel in India and will telecast interactive game shows only. Cellcast Interactive India Founder & Chief Executive Officer Pankaj Thakar says: “Cellcast India has been the pioneer in developing integrated participation content in the fast-growing Indian mobile and interactive TV market. It will be completely based on user-generated content and the viewers can participate and win prizes.”
“We are in talks with three to four networks which already have more than four TV channels in their bouquet to join hands with,” he says. The complete gameplan is not yet ready, says Thakar, like the name of the channel, prime-time slots for the various shows and the new channel’s perspective partners. But he is optimistic about the timing and format of the channel.
“The differentiator for the new channel will be the participatory format with a diverse content. No other channel is offering this kind of content, and I don’t see them coming up with something like this. The Indian audience is deprived of it for which we need a channel of our own,” Thakar says. “We will have a show on employment which will be supported by interactive modes, where we will cater to a specific set of viewers. Also, we will also have shows like Whodunit, where the audience can be the detective, participate, and thus can win prizes.”
A 125-member team is in place to look after the creative as well as the programming side with subject-specific experts. There won’t be plain vanilla commercials on the channel. “We won’t have the 10-, 20- and 30-seconders on our shows. We will give higher visibility to the advertisers with lower cost. We will integrate their brands with us. As there will be no spots, we will provide the platform of 360-degree offering to the advertisers,” says Thakar.
The target group will be the audience that doesn’t want soaps or reality shows but something different. One major impact that participatory television programming has had is that it’s made late-night television viewing somewhat interesting. Instead of being forced to watch repeat telecasts of TV shows, the audience will now have the chance to watch and participate in the interactive television shows. “In the soaps, you have got someone else to tell you the story. But here, you are very much going to be a part of the show. With 3G service coming in, you can make video calls to have to-and-fro communication,” says Thakar.
According to analysts, there is a demand for segmentation in TV content in India. For instance, on the cards is Alva Brothers’ Food First, the only television channel dedicated to food and food-related experiences, sometime in early 2011. “The trend is shifting towards the niche category as viewers are more demanding, and want choice” says an analyst.
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