A Renewed Purpose For Star One

A Renewed Purpose For Star One

The current tussle at the top of India's TV ratings between powerful incumbent Star Plus and supercharged challenger Colors has an industry gripped, as longstanding ideas of what makes a winning channel are overturned in favor of bold new bets that signal a new era in Indian TV.

However, Star Plus isn't Star's only Hindi-entertainment channel getting an overhaul. While Star Plus is engaged in a high-profile scrap at the top, Star executives are also busy revamping its sibling, Star One, which competes in a second ratings tier below Star Plus and Colors – a move that is indirectly turning up the competitive heat on Star Plus in the process.

"In the Star family, Star Plus had the monopoly license," declares Star India CEO Uday Shankar, stressing that the current rejuvenation of Star Plus will see it aggressively pursue younger viewers also catered to by Star One. "That license doesn't exist anymore."

Shankar is rolling out family-friendly shows and stories on Star One that are similar in tone to programs on Star Plus, but with settings that appeal to younger members of the household. Such similarities mean that Star One can help show younger audiences what Star as a whole has to offer, especially those in smaller towns, as well as compete for viewers.

The channel has more room to maneuver than Star Plus, which is constrained by the need to appeal to a mass audience, though it serves more as a test-bed for fresh ideas that its larger stable-mate can borrow, than as a vehicle for alternative programming.

"No matter how much I preach to my creative team to experiment more, they are reluctant to do that," Shankar explains. "When they see something on Star One, it's much easier to adapt to Star Plus."

Similar programs, different strategies
There are some on-screen differentiators between the two channels – dramas on Star Plus revolve around the family while those on Star One cover friendships, such as Miley Jab Hum Tum, a new drama particularly popular among young women that is set in a college. The main differences lie off-screen however, in the two channels' strategic rationale.

While Shankar wants to boost Star One's performance, it will be without the aggressive marketing or big-ticket shows typically used to drive a mass Hindi general entertainment channel. Star One relies more on repeats, with less money to spend on both content and distribution; consequently, shifts in ratings and advertising are gentler than the high-stakes swings experienced by the likes of Star Plus, Colors and Zee in the genre's top tier.

An ambition to lead the second tier
The hope is that the changes being made to Star One's programming will lift its audience to about 100 GRPs, making it big enough to stand out from rival channels in Hindi general entertainment's cluttered second tier. This should put Star One in a strong position to capture viewers and advertisers that Star Plus might lose to rival channels.

"With a low-cost base," Shankar says, "100 GRPs becomes a very interesting vehicle for GEC advertisers who don't want to put all their money into expensive Star Plus prime-time." As in the top tier however, competition in Hindi general entertainment's second tier remains fierce, with Star One's April ratings dipping below the 60-GRP mark after a stronger showing earlier in the year, lagging both NDTV Imagine and Sony TV.

Nevertheless, Shankar wants the channel to develop a business model that's successful in its own right, rather than serve solely as a flank channel for Star Plus. "Internally we see Star One as a standalone story," he says. "We see the business value it offers, and there is consensus that we need to work on Star One's costs very very closely."