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| July 17, 2000 | ||
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 Satellite
television came to India when Star TV launched with a big bang in 1991
with five channels. However, they never scored with viewership because the
channels were all in English. On the other hand, Zee TV, the upstart Hindi
channel launched by Subhash Chandra on the same platform drove the market.
After a lot of wheeling and dealing, twisting and all-out corporate war,
Star, which had a stake in Zee, finally parted company earlier this year.
And this permitted Star to now mould its Star Plus channel totally in
Hindi which it was previously forbidden from doing. During the interim,
Star didn't gain ground because of its legacy, while other channels like
Sony grabbed marketshare by launching in Hindi -- leaving Star very much
on the margins.
Now, finally, Star is striking back by launching Star Plus as an all-Hindi entertainment channel, showcasing it with India's biggest ever show. It has picked India's top star Amitabh Bachchan, matched him with a copy of a highly successful game show, boosted it with a massive publicity blitz and backed it with a staggering budget of Rs 75 crore. Kaun Banega Crorepati? has caught the country's imagination and is seen as a serious contender to grab a substantial chunk of India's 33.6 million satellite TV homes during prime-time in this highly competitive, cut-throat market. In a way, both Star and Bachchan are putting their careers at risk by restructuring themselves in new avatars; Bachchan as a game-show host and Star Plus in its all-Hindi garb. Associate Editor V. Shankar Aiyar, who put together this week's cover story, Special Correspondent Anupama Chopra and Correspondent Natasha Israni covered every aspect of this thrilling, maximum-risk makeover, spending hours in studios, talking to executives, audiences and Bachchan himself in an exclusive interview. "Bachchan's draw and the magic of money might pull the show through," says Aiyar. Kaun Banega Crorepati? is a question probably more vexing to both the Stars. Will they make it?
(Aroon Purie) |
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