Mr. Kartikeya Sharma - Founder and Promoter of Network, launched a new TV channel in Bhopal on June 3, 2012. The channel is named Madhya Pradesh/Chattisgarh. Madhya Pradesh/Chattisgarh will primarily focus at delivering news and information.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and Network Founder and Promoter - Kartikeya Sharma, were some of the eminent personalities amongst others present at the inauguration of the .
In four years, the Network group had launched Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, UP and Haryana channels. After Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, the plan is to launch in Himachal and Uttarakhand in mid-July. “With this, we will complete the Hindi heartland expansion,” said Kartikeya Sharma Founder and Promoter of Network. Regional is the way to go for . “We truly believe that regional channels not only compete with other regional channels in that region, but also with national channels. People’s expectations are high and they expect regional channels to be the same as national channels. So, it’s important to have same packaging, presentation, look and feel,” Kartikeya Sharma had said in an earlier interaction.
“I think we are on the right track and our goals have also been set right. We have taken a slow approach. We take time to establish a product and then launch another,” he observed. It was seven months ago that their last product Indian News UP was set up. The content mix would primarily be news and current affairs. There will be a segment on entertainment on weekends and non-news slots too. OOH, print, radio and below-the-line (BTL). He shared that for launching Bihar and UP, they had used outdoor and radio, which proved to be very effective.
As for the advertiser he said, “It’s a mix of corporate and regional. We cover the pan-Hindi heartland and it’s more viable for advertisers as they get penetration and reach that is higher than a large number of national channels.” He gave examples of the high viewership his channels garnered – In Haryana during the jaat uprising, Haryana had maximum viewership (24.36, wk 10, 2012 TAM data), and in Bihar and UP during the elections the channel had maximum viewership (, Bihar and Jharkhand – 29.26, wk 5, 2011 TAM data).
About the revenue model, he said, “We are expecting good revenues from retail, corporate and government ads. The future of entertainment and non-entertainment segments is in the regional front and would be aggressive in this area. By December 2012, the Network group will be covering eastern and western part of India as well. Thus, it plans to take network coverage to 65 per cent of the country. “We will have entertainment and news coverage in Bangla, Oriya, Marathi, Gujarati languages as well as foray into the north-eastern states by the year-end,” Kartikeya Sharma concluded.
informed, “We are pleased to share with you that (Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand) have attained the No. 1 position in TAM Week 12. This outstanding achievement says a lot about our dedication and commitment towards our viewers. The most important point which reflects this achievement is the age of our channel – it is only two-months young! The market was already flooded with numerous national and regional news makers and to leave our footprint in such a fierce marketplace was only possible because of our belief in impartial journalism.”
The channels are being promoted through extensive advertising, including radio spots, hoardings and TV channels. While remained tightlipped about media and ad spends, he said, “We are financing the channels through internal accruals. With this launch, we will be completing our circle of presence in HSM (Hindi-speaking markets).”
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