Bengal Renaissance On The Small Screen
The satellite channel boom seems to have made West Bengal and the Bengali-speaking audiences the hub of its focus. Not so long back, Doordarshan's Calcutta Kendra was the lone player offering a Bengali fare. Take a look at the host of options today. Broadcast Worldwide's Tara and Eenadu TV's ETV are the most recent additions to the Bengali bandwagon, which includes Zee Network's Alpha Bengali (launched in September 1999), market leader Doordarshan and sundry other players such as ATN Bangla.
The rush into Bengal continues as ATN is set to launch another entertainment channel called ATN World, and Sahara TV, after its Hindi channel, is ready for a foray into Bengali. Perhaps, the huge number of Bengali-speaking audience explains the craze for Bengali channels in the country. The channels cater to nearly 35 million Bengali-speaking people. However, including the Indian diaspora and the population of Bangladesh, this figure is estimated to be an impressive 220 million. Besides, experts point out that with majority of the Tollywood films turning out to be lossmaking ventures, the market for Bengali channels has become lucrative.
But there is a downside, too. Currently, east is a small market for advertisers. The total advertising spend in the east is pegged at about Rs 55 crore. Of this, Doordarshan's Calcutta Kendra grabbed a huge Rs 25.8 crore in 1999-2000. The growth rates in the region are nominal _ between 5 per cent and 7 per cent. So, how do so many players hope to survive?
To be sure, each player has distinct survival plan up his sleeve. Rathikant Basu-promoted Tara hopes to beat competition by virtue of its innovative programming. Besides, the channel will depend on Bangladesh for 25 per cent to 30 per cent of its advertising revenues. Says the channel head B Guha, "There are 220 million Bengali-speaking people in the subcontinent, with Bangladesh being second largest market after India." Incidentally, ATN generates 50 per cent of its ad revenue from Bangladesh.
Zee's Alpha Bengali, however, is not eyeing Bangladesh for revenue. According to a senior Zee official, since the channel is a part of a direct-to-operator platform, it will eventually be a pay channel. Currently, Alpha is positioned as a complete family entertainer with a wide programming mix offering `something for everyone'. This year, the channel plans to aggressively promote itself through advertising.
Eenadu's ETV has taken the news and current affairs route to differentiate itself in an overcrowded market. It has 17 news bulletins in a day and is setting up bureaux in Tripura Patna, Ranchi, Dhanbad and Jamshedpur. The channel already has a news bureaux in Calcutta and Tripura. Positioned as a general entertainment channel, ATN plans to invest nearly Rs 8 crore this year. Its new channel ATN World is on the anvil. While most of ATN Bangla's programmes originate in and cater to Bangladesh, ATN World's prime time programmes will be for Indians.
Whatever be the programming and marketing strategies, the new players will face stiff competition from Doordarshan Kendra Calcutta (DKC). DD's Bengali channel is one of the highest revenues earners in its bouquet of regional channels. DKC has grown substantially in 1999-2000 netting Rs 25.8 crore in revenue a substantial increase over last years' 16.8 crore.
Secondly, being available both on the terrestrial and satellite network, DD's reach is far greater than the private satellite channels. Cable and satellite (C&S) penetration in West Bengal is still low. According to National Readership Survey (1999) of the 4.4 million TV households only 1.7 million have cable and satellite TV. While barely 50 per cent TV households have cable in the urban areas, the C&S penetration is as allow as under 9 per cent in the rural markets.
That is not all. There is little local advertising that these private channels can hope to tap. According to the existing broadcasting legislation, only exporters can advertise on the satellite channels uplinked from outside India. "The problem will be resolved once we uplink from India," says a Zee official. On the other hand, Doordarshan has no restrictions on advertisers. Therefore, it manages to generate a huge 60 per cent of its total advertising revenues from the local market and the remaining 40 per cent from the national advertisers.
Despite its inherent strengths, DD is not willing to take competition lying down. It is beefing up its programming. A series of new programmes are slated to be introduced from June. Says Biswanath Das, director at DKC, "In the last four months we have aired almost 40 live telecast or deferred live programmes."
When there is a deluge of channels and a handful of advertisers, it is only the Darwinian theory of evolution which will determine the fate of these channels.