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Movie
channels top favourites in Asia: Television Asia survey
Our eFE Bureau in
New Delhi
News and current affairs channels seem to
have lost out to the movie channels in Asia this year. Although
movie channels are a clear winner in Asia, India’s leading
entertainment channel Star Plus continues to be strong in
the region, according to the second annual survey by Singapore-based
cable and satellite magazine Television Asia. This survey
is based on the feedback given by cable operators around Asia.
Cable operators around Asia have once again
voted for HBO as the best channel in programming. This movie
channel is also on top of the list for sales and marketing
support; popularity; and drawing best viewer feedback, as
per the Television Asia survey.
Clearly indicating that movies are what
people like to watch best in the region, both HBO and Star
Movies have done exceedingly well in the survey. For instance,
in the category of best programming, HBO has notched the number
one slot, while Star Movies is number two. Similarly, HBO
has been ranked as the most popular channel, and Star Movies
is second in the popularity list. In terms of best viewer
feedback, again HBO leads, followed by Star Movies. In terms
of best value for money, the survey has ranked Star Movies
as the top channel.
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No
more channels, please: Operators
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| Cable operators are against having more
channels, according to the recent Television Asia survey.
In fact, an operator from India said: ‘If possible, make
only one channel for each category.’ Targeted programming,
specially for children and women, and game/interactive
shows appear to be the demand of the hour. However, 32
per cent of the respondents (cable operators) said that
they were not planning to programme their own pay TV channel.
Some, however, said that they planned to launch their
own services in the future. |
Despite the strong preference for movies
in the survey, Star’s Hindi entertainment channel—Star Plus—figures
in both the best programming list and also in the most popular
channel category. Last year also, Star Plus was among the
most popular channels.
Although movie channels emerged favourites
in the previous year’s survey also, this year the preference
for movies is even more obvious. Last year for example, HBO
was classified as the best programming channel, but the second
and the third position went to non-movie channels—Discovery
and CNN International. However, this year, the top three channels
in best programming are HBO, Star Movies and Star Plus/Viva
Cinema. (Viva Cinema is Star’s joint venture movie channel
in Philippines.) Also, the two most popular channels this
year are HBO and Star Movies.
Surprisingly, Discovery, which was in the
second position last year for best programming, did not find
any mention this year. Even CNN International, which was among
the best programming and best viewer feedback channels last
year, does not find any mention in the top three places this
year. While the ‘best value for money’ channel has been assessed
as Star Movies, HBO is on top in terms of best sales and marketing
support.
This survey was conducted among 400 cable
operators across Asia in October 2001. Respondents were from
India, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan and Hong
Kong.
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