When Subroto Roy announced last year his commitment to infuse a whopping Rs 15 billion for a makeover of his entertainment and media business, he was on a quite a sticky wicket. His channel was low in ratings, the attempt to succeed with Bollywood star-led shows had flopped, and revenues were sinking ever lower.
Fast forward to the present and the situation has vastly improved with Sahara becoming a powerhouse in the motion pictures business. The general entertainment channel, SaharaOne, has still a long way to go but it is inching up the ratings. And a movie channel, Filmy, is set for launch to form a bouquet.
The organisation has undergone a change with Percept handling the management of the entertainment business. A new team has been put in place with former SET Discovery president Shantonu Aditya taking the reins as CEO of Sahara India Mass Communication Ltd.
Aditya's task is to leverage on the company's movie successes like Page 3 and Sarkar to build its television business. Motion Pictures, he says, will continue to deliver and drive the business. Television will also form a core part but he admits it is a "difficult business" and will grow gradually.
In this his first interview to the media after becoming CEO, Aditya spells out his growth plans to Indiantelevision.com's Sibabrata Das and Hetal Adesara, saying he remains confident that Sahara's entertainment business will turn around by April 2006.
Excerpts:
In just four months of your joining as Sahara India Mass Communications Ltd CEO, what have been the challenges that you have had to counter with? |
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After having several hits, is Sahara sensing a bigger opportunity in its movie business and scaling up its investments? |
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Will this be the right time for Sahara's entertainment business to turn around? |
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Does this mean that you have axed projects which were earlier thought of as viable? |
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Have multiple revenue streams opened up to cushion the risks? |
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Don't you feel that on the television business Sahara is on a sticky wicket? |
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Can't you use the big movies to drive the channel? We have a war chest of movies. But we won't use it up at one go. We will work up the ratings through our programmes. |
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What is your programming strategy going to be? |
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Will Sanjay Dutt play as the anchor for the game show? |
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Is SaharaOne, already available in the US, launching in UK? |
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What has led to the delay of the launch of Filmy, the movie channel? |
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How will you divide the movies between SaharaOne and Filmy? |
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Will Filmy channel telecast three movies a day? Is this because of the size of your library? |
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The promoters hold 96 per cent in Sahara India Mass Communication LTD, the listed company. How do you plan to increase the public shareholding as required by Sebi norms? |
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Are you also considering the merger of Sahara India TV Networks, which is the broadcasting company for the Group's entertainment and news channel operations, with the listed entity? |
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Sahara has been aiming at becoming an integrated media and entertainment company. Is it in anywhere near that? |