In the last couple of years, Indian television industry, like the film industry, has flourished a lot. Television has remained one of the major sources of information, education and entertainment in India for more than forty years. During the eighties, there were no private channels. There was only one channel owned by the Indian government; Doordarshan. The break came in the nineties, when foreign channels like CNN and STAR television broadcast their programs. After some time, domestic channels like Zee television and Sun television joined the team. These channels were very successful and within the next five years, Indian viewers were exposed to more than fifty channels. At present, there are more than 300 private channels in India. In Wikipedia, there is an incomplete list that gives name of seventy private television channels.
Some important facts about the cable television industry of India:
- According to a report published in newswatch.in, new technology and rising economy will double the size of the Indian television Industry. By 2010, it would become the third largest television market and within 2015, it will become the most promising television market.
- Within the next ten years, revenue from multi-channel video, satellite, and Internet protocol television will reach $ 7.2 billion from 3.6 billion.
- Last year, 53% of the Indian households had television and within these 53%, 65,000,000 homes were connected to cable television.
- In 2005, revenue collected from cable television was $1.02 billion and it would become $1.8 billion by 2010.
- Until now, STAR, Zee Telefilms, Sony Entertainment had controlled the lion’s share of the satellite television market of India. Now they are losing their share as more channels have started to show up.
- Analog would remain the dominant technology for the next ten years.
- India has the cheapest cable subscription rate in the world; $ 3. It is rarely more than $10.
Some of the most popular Indian Channels:
Star Plus: The first thing that comes into my mind with the name Star Plus is its family serials. Produced By Balaji Telefilms Limited, serials like Kahani Ghar Ghar ki, Kyunki Saans vi Kavi Bahu thi, Kasauti Zindegi ki, Kashish made Star Plus one of the most viewed channels in South Asia. Ektaa Kapoor, who introduced this concept, has become a legendary woman in India. She started her career as a Producer and creative director when she was only 19. Within a short time she achieved great success. Asia Week Magazine has selected her as Asia’s most powerful communicators.
ESPNSTAR sports: This organization includes thirteen television channels: ESPN Asia, ESPN India, ESPN Taiwan, ESPN Philippines, ESPN Hong Kong, STAR Sports Hong Kong, STAR Sports Asia, STAR Sports India, STAR Sports Taiwan, and STAR Sports Singapore.
Sony Entertainment Television: One of the popular Hindi channels. This is a subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment, USA. It has been operating in India since 1995. The channel’s target audience is people between 25 and 34. It broadcasts dramas, reality shows, comedies, thrillers, Hindi movies and so on. Many of its popular programs are based on Western programs: Indian Idol (inspired from American Idol), Jassi Jaisi koi Nehi (based on a Columbian soap opera).
Zee TV: One of the oldest and most popular channels in India. It is basically a channel of Zee network. This channel broadcasts programs in Hindi and Urdu. It approaches a wide audience in South Asia, Europe, Middle East, Africa, East Asia, Australasia and North America.
The drama serials of these channels are very popular in India. They are: Kasamh Se, Mamta, Saat Phere, Sinndoor, Tumhari Disha. Aside from drama serials, the channel also has game show, reality show, kids show and so on.
Here in the Philippines, there're barely any local tv channels on air. It's hard for a new local network to get some attention except if it's foreign or in cable since the airwaves are dominated mostly by two competing giant networks.
Posted by: nepspeed82 | August 15, 2006 2:06 PM | Permalink to Comment