Our revenue target is to grow upwards of 30%
star India is aggressively building a wide portfolio of English entertainment channels. Its aim: to capture specific needs of different viewers.
Backed by a rise in audience share, Star is eyeing a revenue growth of 30 per cent from its English channels.
In an interview withIndiantelevision.com'sAshwin Pinto, Star India senior VP, GM English Channels Saurabh Yagnik talks about the strategy the network has adopted in growing the consumption for English entertainment channels.
Excerpts:
After Star India started overseeing the operations of the English channels, what has been the difference?The English channels got managed in October 2009. That was when we had a transition from Hong Kong to India. We set up a full team to look into content, marketing and positioning of the channels. With our better understanding of the local market conditions and what people watch, we have added value to the viewer. This is reflected in how our category shares have grown. | |
Could you elaborate on the growth of these channels, particularly with reference to this year?We have seen results coming from the momentum of the things we did last year. We also launched more channels to strengthen the portfolio; HD feeds for Star Movies and Star World were recently launched. We upped the ante for marketing on Fox Crime and FX. We are going about aggressively building a portfolio that caters to specific viewer needs in various ways. We use this to build consumption and grow the share of Star as a network. | |
Even in revenues?The pace of growth has been fantastic. Our target is to grow upwards of 30 per cent. This is the kind of momentum we are looking at. | |
What are the challenges before English channels at this point of time?
Growing consumption for English content is the biggest challenge; it is also an opportunity. We tackle this by driving the relativity and relevance of content. You are seeing more on-ground led activities for promotions. Last year we aired the Oscars and did a 360 degree campaign. This time we did the James Bond festival and had a 360 degree approach. This helped the viewers relate more. A similar thing was done with 'Avatar' to drive awareness of Star Moviesand we used Star Plus as well for the film. We have done local shows on Star World like 'Koffee With Karan' to drive viewership. We are also doing localised promotions around shows. For Masterchef Australia, we brought a jury member down here. Among other things a live chat happened which was well received by the audience. We put legs to our promotional strategy to ensure that people find content that is relevant and relatable. Then you intersperse it with aggregator shows like Koffee With Karan. This is how you break barriers for English consumption. | |
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