When she started Bhagwan Allah God Films, a television content production company, many thought she was out of her mind. The company (known better by the acronym B.A.G Films) has moved far above what it had initially stepped out to achieve. Today, it is a full-blown media house and a public limited company, with stakes in content production, TV broadcasting, radio channels and mobile content development.
In an interview with Sujit Chakraborty, B.A.G Films & Media Ltd managing director Anurradha Prasad talks about the steps the company is taking to emerge as an integrated media company.
Excerpts:
Now that you have got FDI (foreign direct investment) clearance, how much does it ease your investment plans? |
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With the funding in place, what are your launch plans?
Our next launch will be Bliss24, a wellness channel, after 4-5 months. Life24, the fourth channel, will come up after a similar time lag, and we are firming up the content for that.
Once we are over with the channel launches, we will look at the film production business more seriously as it is an area of expansion. |
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What has been the progress of the Hindi news channel which was launched over a month back?
The encouraging thing, though, is that audience stickiness to the channel is high when big news like the Narendra Modi (Gujarat chief minister ) issue breaks. Our stickiness has been as high as the top three Hindi news channels. This strengthens our belief that credibility is valued. Even as one realises that we are operating in a cluttered market, we are also convinced that our stance towards news coverage pays. Otherwise, the credibility of Hindi TV news has eroded. |
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Trends show that you might get lower ratings than the rival news channels that have a preponderance of sex, violence and the supernatural. Would you say people in the Hindi belt prefer nonsense to news? |
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The government has a problem with repetitive shots of violence and abuse - the mainstay of Hindi news. Are you doing the same? |
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There has been a demand that such channels be termed 'tabloid channels' and not news channels. But if people want to see these things, they will. Does any change in definition make any difference?
Let them. It is for the government to decide what goes on air - whether people are becoming more superstitious or not. I am saying that I shall not go for that kind of news content. Besides, there is a span of time that certain things sell. The same old thing does not last long. Proper news has lasted and will last. |
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You created the Hindi news crime show Sansani but are now doing away with sensationalism in your own news channel? |
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Are you planning something on those lines for News24? |
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Good method of increasing penetration? |
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Which economic or social segments does your news channel target?
Ultimately as a content person, I must do what I believe is the need and that has to be based on scientific studies. My analysis shows that news was losing credibility. Secondly, a whole lot of channels were not reinventing themselves. There was a strong need for a young, vibrant and credible brand… that's why News24. |
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There is a concern that with tabloid news channels getting more TRPs, advertisers might swing their way. Does that worry you? |
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In the FM radio business, you were talking of leading a consortium of smaller operators. Since that has not taken place, how has it affected your revenue flows?
Our revenues are not affected as it was not based on consortium selling. Besides, we now have a network to sell across TV channels and radio. |
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Does it make better business sense going to the smaller towns? |
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Don't you think metros offer bigger opportunities? |
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How are you differentiating your content from the others? |
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But isn't every radio operator doing that? |
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What are the regulatory issues that concern radio operators? |
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When you first forayed into the Film City and started your venture, a lot of newspaper circuit people said it was crazy to shift to media production. So, what was the idea then? |
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What would you say were some of the landmarks in that phase? |
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What, according to you, had been the most important step from the government to boost the industry over the years? |
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You mean Cas (conditional access system) as one of them?
Cas is one, and then there are various DTH (direct-to-home) players coming in. But there seems to be no desire to push digitisation forward in a big way. |