Monday, July 16, 2007

Star challenge for the Sun?

The ‘star’ry saga is all set to take its K-mania down south with a JV between Star and Balaji Telefilms. This JV is poised to inject a new life into Star’s regional flavour by making available exclusive content for Star’s only southern offering (which is ostensibly floundering in the face of competition)–
Tamil channel Star Vijay.

Transfusing new energy into Star Vijay apart, the new JV would help Star plan a mega foray into other regional entertainment channels. On the cards is a Telugu channel that is expected to be launched later this year, followed by Kannada, Malayalam and more. Ask Ajay Vidyasagar, Executive VP, Star India, how the content distribution will be panned out and he does not rule out dubbing as a possible strategy. “We will try to have as much original content as possible. There might be some dubbing as was seen in the case of KBC, which was dubbed in Tamil for Star Vijay,” he explains.

With this, Star, which has conquered the hearts of the north Indian viewer, hopes to strengthen its presence in the south and become a pan-Indian player. Paul Aiello, CEO, Star surmises: “The announcement marks an important step in the acceleration of our expansion in the regional markets.” Even with the Ekta-brigade to assist them in completing this new journey down south, success may not come as easily for Star, as this is home ground for Sun TV, which leads the market with its bouquet of 20 channels. Guess, Star garu has braced itself for an interesting battle ahead. Wonder whom the ‘stars’ will favour?

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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