A glance thru FICCI-KPMG Indian Media and Entertainment Industry – 2015 viewership’s reports of the Regional channels will throw interesting figures. The figures exemplify, that despite the overwhelming dominance of frontline TV Channels viz Zee, Colors ,Star Plus and others in markets that follow Hindi, the viewership figures thrown by Regional language networks with locally made content cannot be underestimated.
It has been observed that, when you make programmes on a Regional Television Channel, be it Entertainment, Music or News ,the programs has to be built based on the local insights. It is only then that there is bound to be an immediate connect with the viewers, to something he calls his/her own. The bonds are established at the first sight… The contents, therefore when customized especially for the viewer ensures a connect that is inseparable. The key drivers of growth in the Regional space are, therefore good quality program that offers the viewer a strong cultural and Regional affinity and a direct engagement with viewers of that region and not just in the living room. Taking these attributes into cognizance and with BARC’s rural rating only adding to the scope to Regional channels, it is no surprise that there is a beeline of Regional broadcasters wanting to jump the bandwagon.
Dr Achyuta Samanta, a proud son of Odisha, needs no introduction. Known for his philanthropy and dedication towards providing world class education to 25,000 poor tribal children with completely free of cost boarding and lodging facility through his prestigious institutions Kalinga Institute of Social Science (KISS) and Kalinga Institute of Industrial technology (KIIT University).
The well known social entrepreneur is also the founder of Kalinga News Channel and he understands Odisha Market like nobody else, as he guided Kalinga News Channel to become the second most watched News channel within few months of inception; here he speaks to tvnews4u.com:
1) Could you give us a brief background of Kalinga TV?
Kalinga Media and Entertainment Pvt Ltd, Bhubaneswar, is a company incorporated under the Companies Act that launched its 24×7 News Channel, Kalinga TV on April 18th 2015 by the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Odisha, Shri Naveen Pattnaik. The company was founded by me (Dr. Achyuta Samanta) and it is managed by an independent Board of Directors comprising of people of great substance from different walks of life. It is dedicated to work in a suggestive, positive and constructive way for the betterment of the society.
2) It has been close to 8 months now since Kalinga News Channel was born, how has the been the journey so far?
Kalinga TV is surging ahead; we are the second highly viewed TV News channel in Odisha, according to TAM Ratings. We are overwhelmingly delighted to have scaled the journey so far and nothing will stop us further as we surge ahead. When we started nobody expected to come this far in terms of acceptance. Yes, I can say the journey has been good and are equipped to brave the storm, if any.
3) In a fragmented Market place like Orissa, you have already 5 news channels and what will be your positioning as against the rivals?
As a channel based out of Orissa, we understand the pulse of Orissa. No wonder there has been an unanimous approval from the viewers. We have been nominated for the Channel of the year award for 2015 and this only goes to prove the faith reposed on us. Kalinga TV will continue to strive to give the viewers a channel with news that they can identify with.
To be a successful Odiya TV channel, the key drivers are the richness in the look and contents with strong cultural and Regional identity.
“To give the Viewers what he identifies” is our motto and if we are accepted, that will obviously reflect in our numbers as well.
4) Successful Programming, Distribution and the Marketing/Sales are the key attributes that make a channel what it needs to be, how are you addressing this issue?. Are you there on the DTH space?
Yes, we have already covered almost with all DTH platforms and distributed ourselves through the largest cable operators ( Ortel). The Independent Editorial team that comprises veterans and eminent personalities are doing their part in structuring our programs and news analysis. We managed to put up a high standard of content which is accepted and appreciated by the audience.
5) Now that you have subscribed to BARC, which has the viewership data from Urban and Rural homes covered, how are you equipped to ensure good ratings?
BARC Ratings services has recently come to Odisha, We have already released the PO for watermarking as per the BARC standards and we will be featuring in BARC ratings within a fortnight. We hope our numbers in BARC data will be much better than the existing levels.
6) Unlike most of the other parts of the country, the local retails advertiser markets are not formidable in Orissa, so in a way you will be depended on the National Advertising Revenues?
Yes and a no. The local retail Advertisers never had an opportunity to advertise their brands in a platform. However, with the advent of Channels like Kalinga TV along with an integrated viewership data(Urban+Rural) of Odisha, emanating from BARC, Many new retail Advertisers likely to emerge and explore the benefit of TV media as an advertising Platform and the markets are also expected to grow further.
According to the latest report from BARC India Odisha market also enjoy 65% of Rural audience and this factor is also expected to drive the ad-spend from retailers in Odisha towards TV Media.
We have a very strong Sales team focusing on the local markets and a formidable outsourcing partner in M/S Affinity Media Services under the leadership of Romi Bidichandani to shoulder the selling responsibilities in National Market.
7) How has your rivals in the same space taken you?
Our competitors tried to write us off. They expected us to struggle to remain relevant. We proved them wrong. In a short span we have positioned ourselves as a formidable force to reckon with. We are extremely optimistic about our performance under the BARC regime. We are working towards achieving the leadership in Odisha News space and days are not far away for us to stage the supremacy.
8) Where do you find Kalinga TV heading five years from now?
We will take each day as it comes. Our first priority is to assure good content, wherein, the good content will translate into loyal viewership and with that comes our ultimate goal, i.e to achieve our neumer-uno position among the News channels in Odisha.
The following Video gives a small Introduction about Dr Achyuta Samanta and his contribution towards humanity:
