TV time: Kids' channels galore

Parents be damned. Tele-vision companies are gearing up to woo children in India with a bouquet of channels. There already are four children-specific channels in Pogo, Cartoon Network, Nickel-odeon, and Splash. Now, UTV and Sony are months away from launching their own kiddie channels, and Disney has announced that it plans to put on air not one, but "a couple" of such channels. Purnendu Bose, coo of Hungama TV, explains the rush: "According to a Pester Power (influence of children on purchases) study, 30 per cent of FMCG purchase decisions are influenced by kids, even for non-kids products, which makes them an important audience to be reached."

That means, there's advertising money to be made on such channels. Indeed. Within 15 days of offering air time to advertisers, Cartoon Network's sister channel, Pogo, had leading brands from Perfetti to Samsung approaching it. "Although the ad rates on these channels are not very high right now, they are likely to go up soon, as they tend to drive revenues for a distribution bouquet," says Farokh Balsara, Head of Media and Entertainment Practice at Ernst & Young. Will there be room for all? Udeep B., Director of Splash, thinks so, but says segmenting the market will be important. It's not just a question of appealing to advertisers. Kids can be hellishly hard to please. Just ask any parent.

-Priyanka Sangani

Just Jassi
Sony Entertainment cashes in on Jassi.

Never underestimate the power of a plain Jane, especially on TV. Jassi, Sony Entertainment Television's (set) hit soap based on the fictional life of a plain-looking but intelligent and charming girl, has leapt out of television screen and taken a marketing life of its own. In the past, set has run SMS contests, inviting viewers to pick one of two potential beaus for Jassi; the bespectacled, braces-wearing girl has also gone out to shopping centres in Delhi and Kolkata to get eyeballs for the show. The channel has also held a contest where the winning prize was a Maruti Zen-the same model that Jassi gets from her employer. In the latest experiment, set has got Saif Ali Khan's reel life avatar, named Karan Kapoor in movie Hum Tum, to make a guest appearance on an episode. Jassi already has a nationwide fan club of 20,000, and could soon become merchandise. On the anvil are specially-branded Jassi notebooks for kids and an auction of Jassi clothes. Says Sunil Lulla, Executive Vice President, set: "The level of interest will be sustained, making her someone, everybody's keen to meet and know." No doubt a time will come when Jassi will run out of steam. But right now, set seems to firmly believe in the show's title: Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin.

-Abir Pal

Q&A
"Indian BPOs Think Global"

It's been in India for the last five years, but now SHL, a leading people assessment firm, wants to tap India's nascent ITES (read: BPO) industry. Tan Suee Chieh, President of SHL for Asia Pacific, spoke to BT's Amanpreet Singh on their plans. Excerpts:

What is the core for SHL in India?

We are looking at focussing on three businesses: The assessment business, the product business and packaging our products in an easy and attractive manner. The product offering should have mass appeal and not the level of customisation our blue-chip customer like, say, a Nokia would have.

What attracted you to India?

India has changed dramatically since I was here the first time in 1995. We first identified India in 1998. India is important to SHL Asia Pacific. We expect volumes from India. There is a tremendous amount of confidence now and, of course, intellectual capital has always been there. With the number of BPOs and call centres, the ability to use "objective assessment" during the selection process is tremendous.

What is Objective Assessment?

It is about assessing the "right person for the right job". It is about the right fit. Human beings with different competencies and personalities performing in different settings need to be judged differently. Our product enables you to scientifically assess people, the dependence on instinct is reduced. Hiring is less prone to errors.

What are the product packages for India?

At the moment, the packages are for hiring agents and internal promotions for team leaders. There are verbal reasoning, numerical reasoning and Quicksift for the agents. For the team leaders, the tools are more sophisticated with OPQ (Occupational Personality Questionnaire), psychometric testing, 360-degree feedback etc.

Are BPO firms receptive to SHL?

In India, the thinking of the management for the business is global. The propensity for western hr practices is high in India unlike China. Indians are aggressive and there is a high price/performance demand.

Can your package help reduce attrition?

Let's be realistic. We are not saying that a person will not change a job because of pay, less travel time or problems with their superior. We offer a good fit between the person and the job and we think that is more than half the problem solved.

FAITH
Standing By India

The new government at the Centre may be caught in all kinds of cross-currents-right, left and centre-and foreign institutional investors (FIIs) may be watching warily as the markets soar one day and crash the next, but there's one investment banker, which specialises in disinvestment deals, that seems unfazed by the roller coaster ride. BT learns that Lazard LLC has applied to FIPB to increase its stake in its Indian arm, where the old A-team left en masse last June, from around 65 per cent to 90 per cent. If approved, the hike will reduce Lazard India Chairman Udayan Bose's stake to 10 per cent. But with the government soft-pedalling privatisation, Lazard may have some waiting around to do.

-Arnab Mitra

Real 'Vote Catcher'

On television, nothing sells like political drama. And if you can package it with some nifty and compelling programming, the eyeballs are all yours. Consider Aaj Tak, the 24-hour Hindi news channel from the India Today Group, which also publishes BT. On May 13, the day of counting, Aaj Tak beat its rivals-NDTV India, Star News, and Zee News-hands down. Aaj Tak's viewership share that day was 37 per cent-more than three times that of Star News (See Bull's Eye). Says G. Krishnan, CEO, TV Today Network: "Aaj Tak is a very strong brand and, therefore, when it comes to breaking news or important events such as the election coverage, viewers just home in on us." The icing on the cake for Krishnan: Aaj Tak even beat general entertainment Hindi channel Sony more than three to one.

-Shailesh Dobha

IDEAS
Taj for Hoi Poloi

After stripped-down airlines, now come bare-basic hotels. indian Hotels, better known as the Taj group, says its first "unique value" hotel will be launched by the middle of the year in the Bangalore's KIADB software zone. Says Sheila Nair, coo (Special Projects), Indian Hotels: "These are unique value hotels that are designed to be very functional yet stylish, providing an extremely comfortable, clean and safe stay at a price that assures value." Room rates? Roughly estimated between Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,500 per night. Finally, a Taj for the common man.

-Abir Pal