It's the best of times; it's the worst of times—for television, that is. No one knows that better than 53-year-old Kunal Dasgupta, CEO of Sony Entertainment Television (SET) for 11 years now. For, while there is a huge business opportunity (think direct-to-home television, broadband convergence and so forth), it's a huge challenge, too, with stiff competition all around. SET, which has tried everything from new programming to global forays, is still at number 3. And with Zee making a comeback of sorts, it isn't getting any easier. But Dasgupta is optimistic that with four new snazzy shows in the pipeline, investment into its distribution business and acquisitions of new channels, Sony should see a change in the next six months. He spoke to Sudipta Datta of The Financial Express. Excerpts: With Star sticking to the top slot and Zee in a resurgent mood, how is Sony planning to take on the competition? < = src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> < =1.1 src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/ads?client=ca-indianexpress_js&dt=1162447588900&adsafe=high&lmt=1162447588&num_ads=4&output=js&adtest=off&channel=financial_express&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.financialexpress.com%2Ffe_full_story.php%3Fcontent_id%3D144982&ref=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.google.com%2Fnews%3Fhl%3Den%26q%3Dsony%2520zee%26ie%3DUTF-8%26oe%3DUTF-8%26sa%3DN%26tab%3Dwn&cc=291&u_h=600&u_w=800&u_ah=572&u_aw=800&u_cd=16&u_tz=-480&u_his=38&u_java=true"> Zee TV
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FreeTVonline.com | | We have lined up a number of new shows. The first, the reality show Bigg Boss, premieres on November 3 on prime time. Thereafter, we will air three shows back-to-back, in December, January and February—all drama, all soaps, none from the Balaji stable. Hopefully, we should see a change in the next six months. Which are the shows you love most on SET? Are there any you don't like? The show I love most is CID. I also like Boogie Woogie, Jhalak Dikhla Ja and Ek Ladki Anjaani Si, though unfortunately it's not doing too well. One show I wish was handled better is Aisa Des Hai Mera. You have been with SET for 11 years now. Is the stage of consolidation over? How does it compare with rivals? Consolidation is an ongoing process. We are consolidating in various ways, both in business terms, as well as in programming. For example, we are thinking of adding more channels to our distribution business. We are also looking at acquisitions to expand in genres we aren't presently in full-time at the moment— like sports and music. We are not looking at news because at the moment, a foreign company can own only 26% in an Indian news channel and we want to hold a majority stake in whichever channel we acquire. Set is a Rs 1,000-crore company now. Where do you see it growing financially, say, in the next five years? In FY07, we expect to touch Rs 1,200 crore. And in five years, we should go to Rs 5,000 crore. While organic growth will see us doubling our revenues, looking ahead we expect a lot from the distribution subscription business. Like elsewhere in the world, people in India are beginning to download episodes of soaps, shows, whatever, onto iPods. We expect 50% of our revenues to come from the distribution business in future. Tell us a bit about another reality show on SET, Bigg Boss. Do you think this intrusive, rather controversial, show will find takers in India? Well, as you know, it's the Indian version of the internationally acclaimed Big Brother. All the 13 interesting personalities of the show are tied up. It's an experiment with new programming and I hope it does well. The channels you have acquired, even SAB TV, appear to be doing better than the main channel, SET. Has SET lost out a bit in your quest for growth? Well, I agree that it has lost out somewhat... But we hope to change that. We have a new programming head, a new channel head and a new marketing head. So, yes, things should look up soon. You seem to be way ahead of the rivals at least in one count—sport. Is there anything you'd like to change in Sony MAX? No, it's doing very well. Thanks in large part because of cricket, of course, which brings in much of the revenue. In fac, both MAX and SET are big revenue drivers. I am also quite pleased with how SAB is faring. As also Sony PIX, which last week crossed HBO primetime in viewership. There is a complaint about Sony PIX... there are just too many repeats. When will you add to the library? Now, the number of movies being censored is too many. Let the censorship issue be sorted out... and just see how we take on our rivals. |
Anupamaa
