The Hindu Business Line : 2004 sees entry of more kids' channels in cable homes

INDIA'S performance on the cricket field was just about passable but the sport itself kicked up a huge amount of attention in 2004 as broadcasters fought a pitched battle for its rights.

Zee and ESPN-Star Sports were left nursing their wounds while State-owned Doordarshan ended up with broadcast rights for a limited number of matches. Clearly, there was no winner in this match. And subsequently, it was proved that cricket was not that attractive a property that could bring in the advertisers as India lost most of the matches against its competitors.

Says Mr Anil Wanvari, Founder and CEO, Indiantelevision.com, ``Indiantelevision industry has had to face a reality check during 2004.'' The reality check for the industry was apparent in every facet of the business - distribution, cricket broadcast rights, channel supremacy or programming, he said.

Nevertheless, the Rs 12,000-crore broadcast industry continued soaring, growing hugely bringing alongside the perils of such a fast pace growth.

After the debacle of conditional access system in 2003, issues surrounding distribution remains unresolved. Consumers across the country continued to battle with cable operations over availability of channels. With the increase in the number of channels multi-system operators (MSO) had run out of channel carrying capacity. Most cable operators have a carrying capacity of 550 megahertz, which allows for beaming up to 67 channels. Bandwidth space constraints are expected to drive up annual carriage fees especially for the new channels.

Upgradation of distribution infrastructure necessitates investment but cable operators do not have the financial wherewithal to see this through, industry members said. Additionally, consumer resistance to hike in subscription contined to assail the cable industry. But by the end of the year, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) allowed for a seven per cent increase in cable bills.

Now broadcasters clearly could not be selective about offering channels for viewing. TRAI mandated that every broadcaster must provide on request signals of its TV channels on non-discriminatory terms to all distributors of TV channels, including the cable operator, DTH operator, multi-system operator (MSO), head-ends in the sky (HITS) operator.

However, the television industry's enthusiasm to offer more channels failed to ebb. More channels joined the fray. If 2003 was the year for new channels, 2004 saw many kids channels entering Indian cable and satellite homes. Pogo from the Turner stable was the first to arrive followed by Animax, Hungama, Toon Disney Channel and Disney Channel. Disney finally made it to India on the ground that this market was integral to its growth. The others to arrive were Star One and Zoom. Sahara Manoranjan reinvented itself as Sahara One.

Star, the number one channel, did have its jittery moments as Sony inched up closer as its serials and live shows notched up higher ratings. Star ended the year maintaining its numero uno position but may have lost some share to competition, says industry analysts. In the South, Sun TV sparkled, as it did not lose sight of its goal of being the colossus of South Indian television industry. It capped the year with a multi-year agreement with Buena Vista International Television for blockbuster library features.

Sun TV also entered into an agreement with Malaysia's leading broadcaster, Astro All Asia Networks plc for setting up a joint venture to originate, aggregate and distribute television programming and channels for the global audience. Industry analysts believe this is a winning proposition for Sun TV.

State-owned Doordarshan emerged from the shadows as it battled broadcasters to find a space among viewers' minds. It adapted to the `changing' needs of viewers though presentation gaffes continued to plague it.

Industry analysts believe, Doordarshan is one broadcaster that could make major inroads in 2005; especially after the launch of its DTH service.

``In 2005, DTH plans will fructify. It will also the year when Disney's impact will play out,'' says Mr Wanvari.

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