Article:Burning the midnight

Z ee has seen a steady growth in the past one-and-half-years, inching its way closer to the No.1 slot. Here's catching up with the three individuals who form the core team—Punit Goenka (business head), Ashvini Yardi (programming head) and Tarun Mehra (senior vice-president mar- keting). What is the channel's philosophy? Goenka: We're addressing a wider audience and tackling social isssues by revolving fam- ilies around them. It's not just about enter- tainment. The themes of colour discrimi- nation (Saat Phere) and boy vs girl gender bias (Betiyaan)in our prime time soaps have delivered. Viewers relate to these issues in their day to day life. What are your problem areas? Goenka: The weekend band is to be looked into. The afternoon band is next to be revamped. We have to sustain our growth, we can't get complacent. We're going to focus on new time bands like the 11 to 11 30 pm. We're going block by block. When will the new channel launch? Goenka: Our concept is that it will be a GEC (General Entertainment Channel) house- hold channel. Our target audience will be in the age group 15-34. That is the future. There is still lot of work in progress. We have yet to go to the Zee Board for final approval. We're in touch with many pro- duction houses like AB Corp and Tony - Deeya Singh for content . What are the global plans for company? Goenka: We've recently launched in Indone- sia, and Malaysia in Bahasa language. We launched in Central Europe in Russian language and we're subtitling programmes and films in French for the colonies in South Africa. What will it take to beat Star? Goenka: It's taken a lot of sweat and blood In the last one-and-half year, Sameer Nair was a brilliant asset for Star. It all depends if the existing team can continue the momentum. They are down but not out. If they drop the ball, then we catch it. What about Shah Rukh Khan's deal with Zee? Goenka: Yes, we were in dialogue with him. We couldn't zero down on a show that would be suitable for him. We weren't interested in a game or quiz show. Shah Rukh told us that he had a deal, without telling us the details. And though we had an agreement in princi- ple, there was no point holding on to him. How do you see TV evolving? Goenka: It's sitting on the curve of a hock- ey stick. With digitisation ready to take off, the entire medium of television will change. Competition is always good, they expand markets. It keeps us burning the midnight oil. How the viewership tastes will change can't be predicted. Advertising will be the premium source of revenue. Tell us about your marketing strategy? Mehra: Some tell us it's aggresive, some say regressive and there are others who say it's not even noticed. We have improved since last year. It's a combination of hoard- ings and strategic tie-ups which have got our campaigns noticed. Who do you consider the face of the channel? Yardi: Ram Kapoor and Rajshree Thakur. Are you satisfied with Teen Bahuraaniyan? Yardi: Yes, it's a different kind of story in which you really see six bahus, three from each generation. It gives a mix of different cultures. Relationships are also tackled dif- ferently. Today, saas bahu doesn't only mean problems. It's a character-based show. It's not hardcore drama and has its lighter moments. What do you think of Star's initiative to counter the launch of Teen..on Monday? Goenka: My first reaction to Tarun was 'Will it take them 90-minute of drama to hit our 23-minute episode?'. But the idea is good. We're very happy. Finally they are taking us seriously. We must be hurting them some- where very hard. Mehra: Ektaa has the spunk. Yardi:Ektaa's Kasamh Se worked very well for us. Jay (Ram Kapoor) and Bani (Prachee Desai) have clicked well with the viewers. usha.thomas@hindustantimes.com