One more chance to voice our opinion towards STAR

What have been the landmarks of STAR Jalsa's one-year run?

It's been an exciting year for the STAR group as a whole and particularly for STAR Jalsa. We launched on September 8 last year amid a lot of hype and became the number one player within a few months. In the pecking order of Bengali entertainment television, STAR Jalsa is at the top of the heap. We came in with interesting concepts and innovative programming put together in a slick package and that quickly came to the notice of consumers who welcomed us with high TRPs (Television Rating Points). For the past four-five weeks, STAR Jalsa has commanded 500 GRPs (Group Rating Points) which is phenomenal. I can safely say that STAR Jalsa is now one of the biggest brands in Bengal. We have managed to adhere to our tagline of "Cholo Paltai" and have brought about a change in the sphere of Bengali entertainment television.

What, according to you, are the key contributors in the STAR India and STAR Jalsa success stories?

The STAR network is one of the largest networks in the world, beaming into 130 million homes. I would attribute our success over the last one decade to three important factors. First, we have a deep understanding of the markets we venture into and the consumers we cater to. We have a strong management in every regional area that we have managed to build a presence in. It is the job of this core management group to understand the emotions and needs of the consumer and cater to him accordingly. Like with STAR Jalsa, we launched the channel knowing and understanding the angst of the average Bengali audience who wanted more out of his entertainment channels. We believe that after having built a strong presence nationally, local and regional is the way to go for the STAR network.

Second, we lay a lot of emphasis on quality programming. When we came in with STAR Jalsa, we had just three hours of programming compared to other channels that had six hours, but our intention was to provide quality even when beaming for a much shorter time period. We wanted to introduce and maintain a national standard in the Jalsa programming.

Third, innovative concepts is what has made us the brand that we are today. On the national level, we are constantly innovating with fiction and non-fiction content and our endeavour with STAR Jalsa has been no different. From Swaymbwar to Ekhane Akash Neel to the latest Tollywood blockbusters, all our shows have brought something new for the Bengal consumer.

Coming to the STAR network, where do you see yourself in the next two years?

We have grown as a network and have strengthened our number one position. Besides introducing and maintaining quality and innovative content, we have also expanded our presence. We have gone regional in a big way, especially in the southern part of the country where we are now present in all five states. We have also moved from television to films, with the joint venture between STAR and Fox, tasting success first with Slumdog Millionaire and more recently with Quick Gun Murugan. STAR Den which is our television distribution wing is also doing well. We also have STAR Player which is our online forum and yet another way to get in touch with our consumers. For example, we played out the inaugural episode of Tere Mere Beach Mein on STAR Player a good 24 hours before the television run and obtained instant online feedback from our viewers.

STAR Plus was the undisputed leader for a decade till Colors stormed in last year. Did that take you by surprise?

We believe that competition in any form is very good. I wouldn't say that we were taken by surprise and a lot of our content changes and introductions that you see happening now across channels was planned much before Colors came in. I would say that the presence of other strong players in the market has only made it better, because that means quality programming and innovative concepts from all the channels, like we have done recently with Sach Ka Saamna and then with Tere Mere Beach Mein. Even with our fiction programming on STAR Plus — like Bidaai, Mitwaa and Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai — we have changed the paradigms of regular soaps. I think the STAR network is in a very good position now and from here we can only get bigger.

What are your future plans?

Well, the level of competition is only going to increase in the next couple of years. The STAR network has a vast portfolio of channels from STAR Movies and STAR World to Channel V which has recently been relaunched and we will look to increase this portfolio in the next few years. As I have mentioned earlier, the Internet and mobile platforms will grow in importance and reach and we will leverage these forums in the challenge to stay ahead in the game.