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UTV to supply programming for CNN’s South Asia feed
Satellite
news channel CNN International, has appointed Mumbai-based United Television
to produce programmes for its South Asia feed. Talks are also on with
several other software production houses and content providers for sourcing
local content for the television channel and Internet, CNN International
president Chris Cramer said. CNN is in the process of localising its Website
CNN.com to complement the regionalisation effort on television. Addressing
media-persons in New Delhi, Cramer said that the South Asia channel is
the first sub-regional feed for CNN.
The new-look channel will have a South Asian identity with specific focus
on India. The channel will be sourcing local programmes relating to life-style,
current affairs, discussions and information technology, Cramer said.
Without giving investment details pertaining to India, Cramer said that
in the last three years CNN had put in around $40 million for its regionalisation
effort across the world.
According to CNN International, managing editor Bill Baggitt, Europe and
Asia had been on the forefront of the channel’s regionalisation programme
in the last two years.
To carry the regionalisation programme forward, Cramer said CNN was open
to having vernacular language feeds at a later date. Talks were on with
several software production houses in this regard, he added. CNN currently
does programmes in local language, in Spain and Turkey. "However,
we will continue to provide international news through regional eyes,"
Cramer said.
The new region-specific schedule will feature a five hour prime-time block,
comprising of international and regional news bulletins. There will be
new series of the Q&A programme for South Asia, to presented by Riz
Khan. CNN International will reschedule some of its popular programmes
for daily prime-time television viewing in South Asia. On the distribution
front, India is the only market in the world, where the channel is behind
its competitor BBC Worldwide. "However in the next one year we want
to change all that," Cramer said.
The new South Asia feed will be free-to-air and digitally encrypted. According
to Turner International India managing director Anshuman Misra, the channel
is presently available in over four million cable and satellite households
in the country. The localisation effort is expected to pep up the channel’s
advertising and marketing revenue in the country, Misra said.
Turner India, which is responsible for the sales and marketing of Time
Warner Inc’s news and entertainment channels in India and South Asia,
was in the process of doubling its staff strength in the country, to over
100 by the year-end from the present level of around 50, Misra added.
On the channel’s interactive strategy, Cramer said CNN was planning
to leverage advantages offered by the convergence of technologies. "We
are looking at ways to drive traffic from our channel to the Website and
vice-versa," he added. As a precursor to launching the South Asia
feed, in May last year the network doubled its Hong Kong based production
staff, and expanded its Asian programming roster from 14 hours to 30 hours
per week.
With CNN becoming aggressive on India, how is market leader BBC planning
to protect its turf? According to BBC World commissioning editor Narendra
Morar "We are going to strengthen our existing base of India programming."
On CNN’s new initiatives, Morar has just this to say, "We will
just wait and watch what they are up to."
Sudipto Dey