“Attractive markets always bring in more players”

The last regional channel that Zee launched was Zee Talkies in 2007. So what is the mandate now?

Over a period of time we have been launching these channels. And it takes a little time for channels to be up and running and have a decent amount of market share that we can start challenging the leaders. As you have seen in Bangla and Marathi markets, we started as a leader. But in southern India we obviously came from behind. And the idea is to consolidate our position in these markets. It?s not that we have decided not to launch any more channels. But it is a matter of timing. We will definitely look at other options in future.

Which are the other regional markets which have the potential?

There are two southern regions where we don?t have any GEC channel. And then there are emerging markets in other parts of the country. They may not be as big today as the initial six. But the demographics change. For example, in much of the northern part of the country, television penetration is far smaller today than the southern part of the country.

What kind of growth rate are you witnessing in the regional channel space?

The regional market is growing very rapidly. As India adds more and more TV households, most of the incremental households are getting added in the rural areas, where the propensity to consume regional content is far higher.

If we consider the advertising growth rate, when the overall television industry saw 2-3% growth, growth in regional channels is in double digits. Similarly in the last few years when overall TV advertising was growing at 15-17%, regional would have grown at about 30%. .

How much can regional channels contribute to Zee?s overall revenues?

The process of consolidation will start now from the next quarter. So far the regional entertainment business has been separate. Regional channels had a turnover of nearly Rs 340 crore in financial year 2009.

What are the challenges?

I think there are more opportunities as of now. Of course there are challenges. Attractive markets always bring in more competition.