Last month saw the launch of History, an infotainment channel (read factual entertainment) from A+E Networks-TV18, a joint-venture between TV18 and A+E Networks. Placed in the mass – to – premium space, the channel claims to redefine the genre by focusing on contemporary history and keeping away from what channels in this genre bore the viewers with ? black and white footage from the past. In an interview with Rohit Nautiyal of FE , Ajay Chacko, president, A+E Networks-TV18 talks about this new approach, why production and marketing are equally important in this genre and the channel’s connect with Salman Khan. Edited excerpts.
Why is Network18 getting into factual entertainment now with the launch of History?
We have realised how factual entertainment works as a mainstream alternative to fiction based shows. Earlier fiction based entertainment channels (or general entertainment channels, or GECs) commanded over 50-60% market share globally. Today, no genre commands more than 15-20% share. While globally, fiction based content has 18-20% of the overall pie, factual entertainment stands at 12%. With the idea of ‘infotainment’ transforming over the years, players such as Discovery and A+E have realised that they are actually operating in the entertainment space. Entertainment is the main focus and other stuff like wildlife, travel or history happens by the way.
What’s the idea of history for today’s viewer who’s tired of seeing black and white footage and how will History address this and other needs?
As a subject, history is about achievement. As much as 65% of India ‘s population was born after 1980 and for all these people 1990 is like history. Sachin Tendulkar makes history more often when compared to many historical figures. So by wearing a different hat as broadcasters and not showing black and white footage all day, we will tell the story of ordinary people leading extraordinary lives. For example, in one of our shows titled Top Shot, 16 top shooters from America will fight for the top prize of $1,00,000. Each episode reveals weapons, technologies and tactics of a different era and the contestants face challenges inspired by real events – from medieval crossbow contests to modern-day sniper missions. This approach has already worked in the US , Europe , Latin America and some parts of Asia . Still the genre is very small in India and we would like to expand it.
Also, our research showed that in the case of GECs everything happens in closed spaces and the Indian viewer is tired of seeing this all the time. This sentiment is shared by people from across the SECs (socio economic classes).
Salman Khan is an unusual choice you made for History’s launch. What is the connection?
Recently, the channel launched a high-voltage campaign across various media, starring Salman Khan with the slogan Kuch Naya Dekho, History Bante Dekho. Salman is unpredictable and that’s what we will be with our shows. He is someone who cuts across SECs and age groups. At the same time, the campaign is not preachy with zero effort of projecting the channel in a larger than life way.
Stickiness has been a major issue with infotainment and other niche channels. What are you doing to ensure that more viewers tune in to watch your channel regularly?
We have got a lot to learn from GECs who have been paying equal attention to production and marketing of shows. Infotainment channels are not doing enough on the marketing side. By bringing Salman on board we got the right sampling. Also, players in this space have hardly focused on building local content and stuck to token programming by launching one or two average or in most cases poor local productions. We are currently working on two Indian productions with BBC and Endemol. The objective is not just to fill up the programming hours but to have Indian content that can be played in other countries as well.
What kind of advertisers would like to associate with History? Are you open to advertiser-funded programming like other channels in this space?
Not being our focus area, we did not struggle for advertisers pre-launch. We have a few advertisers right now such as Sony and LG. Also, mass-premium FMCG brands such as Cadbury’s and Nivea have shown interest. Though the channel is available in six languages, we will not necessarily focus on bundling as this will lead to discounting. Also, we will consider AFP only if we see the right value in terms of quality standards and scale.