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One is unable
to pay its employees. Another has to close its operations in Britain.
The third has posted losses for the first time. The honeymoon period of
Asian satellite channels in Britain is over. Now, it's "survival
of the fittest".
Year 2000 saw the launch of over 20 Asian channels in the UK. Big bashes,
huge parties in Hilton, glamour and glitter were the hallmark of the Asian
media market that was expanding at a breakneck speed. The size of the
pie remained relatively the same but the number of channels kept increasing.
Seeing the rising number of Asian channels and ethnic viewers' obvious
interest in them, even mainstream channels got together to launch a Cultural
Diversity Network to introduce more ethnic programmes in their schedule.
But economic slowdown, mismanagement, dearth of skilled professionals
and mounting overheads forced have many an Asian satellite and cable channel
to close shop.
The first one to go was Namaste Television. Namaste was renowned for
its local programmes. A cable television channel, it catered to the needs
of Asian viewers in the UK. "Mismanagement and high overheads were
the main reasons for its demise. There was a dearth of skilled professionals
as well," says Shan Khan, station manager, Namaste.
Next one to go was Channel East (with a promise to come back). Channel
East's whole concept was to cater to the special needs of British Asians.
It produced a lot of high quality local programmes covering news, entertainment
and social issues. It also boasted of having one of the finest studios
in London. Over 50 per cent of the programmes aired on the channel were
produced in Britain. It, however, also became notorious for allegedly
not paying its employees. It has been off-air for a couple of months now.
At the moment, the main competitors are Zee, Sony, B4U and Star. But
global economic slowdown and competition have affected the main players
too. After film financier Bharat Shah's arrest in Mumbai, there were rumours
that B4U has lost the edge it had over other channels in showing the latest
releases. Kishore Lulla, B4U director, agrees that times are tough but
refutes allegations that B4U is going downhill. "This is the year
of consolidation," he says, "In India, B4U has 50 per cent market
share because we have a music channel and we are the only channel that
is devoted to Bollywood." He agrees that today the issue is about
survival and there is no room for so many channels, "but our positioning
is clear and at the moment we are consolidating".
The channel which has retained its top position from the time of its
launch in the UK is Zee TV. It ruled the roost for six long years, enjoying
a monopolistic market where there was little competition. But with the
advent of Sony, B4U, Star and other channels in Britain, Zee too has witnessed
a decline in its number of subscribers. For the first time in Britain,
it posted losses in the year 2000.
To regain lost ground and subscribers, Zee introduced some special packages.
At a time when Star introduced Star News and Star Plus for £16,
Zee offered a fresh package of £12 for three channels-Zee, Zee Cinema
and Zee Music. "The new package was very successful," says Sanjay
Pathak, marketing head, Zee TV.
As for Star, it came with a big bang here. James Murdoch declared that
Star would become number one in no time. But no such miracle happened.
According to media sources, Star has failed miserably at getting a substantial
number of subscribers. "When Star entered the market, I thought it
could create some ripples but we have seen no effect so far. It outpriced
itself," reasons Pathak.
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CURRENT
ISSUE NOV 26, 2001
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