Television channels thought TED Talks was boring: Chris Anderson

Interview with Chris Anderson and Juliet Blake

Having spent his childhood years in Mussoorie, and no stranger to India, Chris Anderson, head of TED, is bringing TED Talks to television in a tie-up with STAR India. For the non-profit TED, renowned for its ideas-based conferences, available free on the internet, it is its first such project on TV globally. In India to announce the launch of the show hosted by Shah Rukh Khan, Anderson and Juliet Blake, head of TV and curator of special projects at TED, speak to Urvi Malvania. Edited excerpts:

Isn’t going from web to television a backward step? 

Anderson: It’s funny actually. When I first took over TED in 2001, we were trying to figure out how to take it to a bigger audience. We knew we had something special that should deserve a bigger audience. We tried to persuade TV companies back then to show TED Talks through some kind of TV programme but the view back then was that talking heads are pretty boring. It took an explosion of content on the internet, with these talks going viral, to change that assumption. 

How did your partnership with STAR TV come about? 

Anderson: STAR reached out to us in a more ambitious way than any other major TV company had done before. It turned into a very fruitful relationship. It felt, right from the early days, like a meeting of minds. They understand how to do this and to make sure the right values are embedded in it. STAR has the reach, and the team showed a willingness to create a high-impact TED event. They were serious about working on the process of identifying, recruiting and coaching the best speakers possible.

Do you see it moving to other countries? 

Anderson: If it is successful, it’s going to be very tempting to try and do that. The impact on TED’s mission, then, would be spectacular. We are a non-profit, trying to impact as many people as possible with ideas. The scale and reach of a company like STAR are mind-boggling.

Blake: I periodically get calls from big companies in many foreign countries but I think it was really Uday Shankar’s (chief executive, STAR TV) passion and STAR’s willingness to say ‘let’s sit down and talk about this’. We have made it very entertaining. It does not feel only like a series of talks. It is an entertainment programme, with wonderful TED Talks. Shah Rukh Khan brings something wonderful to it (the show) and is extremely authentic in it. 

How deeply was TED involved in choosing the content and speakers?

Blake: I have chosen each and every speaker, together with STAR and Freemantle (the show’s producer).

Most of the TED Talks are 15 to 18 minutes. Would this be a longer format, since it’s on TV? 

Anderson: Nowadays, most of the talks are around 12 minutes. Most of them are a bit shorter than that on the TV show. 

How long have you worked with STAR on the show?

Blake: Just over 18 months but conversations had been going on almost two years before that. It’s been a long engagement and a good marriage.

Did you have a role to play in the choice of Shah Rukh Khan as host?

Blake: There was a very short shortlist and he was at the very top of the list. We discussed other people but there seemed to be only one person in our opinion who could carry this off. If you spend time in his office and home, you will see it’s lined floor to ceiling with books and he’s read them all. They’re not only there for show. 

What are the guidelines when you license the format?

Blake: The one thing we would never allow, ever, is a speaker to be interrupted by a commercial break. That’s been a consideration in terms of how these episodes have been developed creatively. 

That must have been a challenge, since India is an advertisement-led market. How did you deal with it?

Blake: Well, wait and see. We’ve made it work perfectly.  

What are the major revenue streams for TED now? 

Anderson: Attendance fees account for 40 per cent and so do commercial sponsorships and licensing combined. The other revenue streams such as foundation support and book sales constitute the remaining 20 per cent.