Dressed casually, chatting informally and epitomizing ‘cool’, Amar Deb, head, CHannel [v] may come across as your stereotypical music channel honcho. But what sets him apart from that popular image is a disciplined attitude to work, that has seen the music channel brand emerge as a force to reckon with. Variety, innovation and, above all, more audiences characterise the channel, claims Deb in this freewheeling conversation with Viveat Susan Pinto of agencyfaqs!. He also talks about how the turnaround at [v] happened, the challenges and opportunities of targeting the youth, and what the channel intends doing in the near future…

Q. CHannel [v] has reinvented itself a number of times within a decade. It began with a focus on English music, moved to Hindi music, switched back to English, and is now predominantly Hindi once again. Does being in a constant state of flux and reinvention augur well for the brand? Has the channel found its niche?

A. Madonna and Kylie Minogue have had their albums at the No 1 spot for the last three decades, and they have been reinventing themselves all the time. They have never been the same. It really works well if you reinvent yourself, given the fact that it’s a ‘remote-control generation’ we have now, and there are so many choices at hand. The only route to survival is reinvention. Unless you reinvent, you die. And if you look at our ratings over the last three years, you will notice that reinvention has led to humongous growth in rating points. So reinvention is key.

With regard to a niche, I refuse to find something called a niche, simply because we are not a niche channel. We have found our ratings, and we are doing well. If you are asking me the definition of our target audience, it is SEC ABC, 15-34. Typically, though, it is the leader of the pack who watches us. It is the guy who sets the trend, as opposed to the ones who merely follow. In that sense, we attract the trend-setting audience upfront.

Q. Despite your best efforts, MTV is still quite generic to the category. Will CHannel [v] ever be able to occupy the mindspace that MTV does?

A. MTV is generic to the category because it was the first player in the market. Naturally, it has an advantage. We are not generic to the category, and we do not wish to be so. If you look back, we were the ones who set the trend with Indian English; programmes such as Mind It and We Are Like This Only were launched by us. Rather than being generic to the category, we stand head and shoulders above it.

Q. Music channels today are increasingly getting into non-music-based programmes ranging from reality shows to adventure to travel. Aren’t channels alienating the real music buff, who’s keen on watching good videos or listening to good music?

A. There is a fine line you have to tread. You can’t just be a back-to-back music station. You have to flank your core offering with various other elements such as humour, adventure and entertainment. These are elements that add on to the experience for the music buff. Hence, we don’t actually detract or move far away from music. In reality, we stay very close to it and flank it with allied offerings.

Q. What flexibility does the youth plank give CHannel [v]? Are you able to exploit it to the hilt?

A. We innovate in and around music and youth. Hence, shows such as [v] On The Run or Get Gorgeous flank our main offering, which is music. You have to bear in mind that a viewer doesn’t tune into CHannel [v] merely for the music. He comes for the entire experience – the look, the feel and coolness of the brand. In short, he comes for the environment.

The channel offers a lifestyle, a space, which a viewer can call his own. He feels one with the brand because it speaks his language. Time and again, when we do presentations to research agencies, they turn around and tell us that CHannel [v] never talks down. And one of the reasons behind our ‘not talking down’ is because we hire college students. They speak the language of the youth, which is why we can never really lecture from the pulpit.

Q. All music channels claim that they are not talking down and are speaking the language of the youth. Can you demonstrate how you are different?

A. The average age of the team at CHannel [v] is much younger when compared to those at other music channels. I happen to be the oldest employee here. However, if you observe the music channels that are around, you will notice that the top management is above 40. Here that is not the case.

Q. In a day and age where there are so many entertainment options for the youth, what could music channels do to keep up with the times? How does CHannel [v] ensure that it stays ‘current’?

A. It’s very tough. We constantly endeavour to keep up with the times and understand what’s happening around. What really helps is having young people straight out of college. We are current because we hire current people. We don’t hire fogies.

Q. While the youth happen to be your natural target audience, what are you doing to get in older audiences who are avid music buffs?

A. For older audiences, we have a late night show titled Luke’s After Hours, telecast on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Q. But the fact that it happens late in the night indicates that older audiences are not high on your agenda.

A. We sharply target our music at the 15 to 34 age group. We do not shift from them. We go in for the older guys later in the night.

Q. What is the role of research and training at CHannel [v]? Do you do research before launching shows or do you bank on gut feel?

A. Training and research have their place at CHannel [v]. But if you are asking about gut feel, it plays a huge role. We never use research to arrive at a conclusion about what we should be doing. That view is not coloured by research. What we should be doing is led by the collective wisdom of STAR, or led by our own gut feel. We do use research to sharpen focus and make our learnings better. But we never use it as a sounding board to figure out whether we should be doing something or not.

Q. Then how do you figure out what will work with audiences?

A. We are interacting with our audience on a daily basis. Apart from hiring college students, our shows are based in colleges. The vibes we get are not only daily, but also hourly. Kids walk into the office to see us. They come to our studios to see how we execute our projects. We are interacting with them all the time. Thus, we know what works with them.

Q. Tell us something about your programming initiatives for 2004. You had The Big Vote, specials during the India-Pakistan cricket tournament. There is [v] Get Gorgeous around June. Will you kick off Popstars III as well?

A. Popstars III might happen. But there is something much bigger that might happen with the new edition. You will get to know about it sooner rather than later. With regard to other programming initiatives, The Big Vote was huge. We launched Luke’s After Hours about two months ago. We did Phone Bhooth, which premiered on April 1. It is a show where a Bollywood star takes the mickey of another Bollywood star. On The Run was India’s biggest reality road trip. It is into its ninth episode right now. This show not only has fantastic viewership, it also seems to have won critical acclaim. We do not go to hackneyed locations. We go to new, off-the-map places. Above all, it is not a regular travelogue. Besides, there is Gaurav (Kapoor) and the Oomphmatis, which gives the remix phenomenon a closer look, and, of course, there is [v] Get Gorgeous.

Q. Popstars was undoubtedly a breakthrough for CHannel [v] two years ago. But do you think the property has lost its novelty value over time, especially considering there’s an overkill of ‘talent hunts’, as a genre and a concept? How will you ensure that Popstars III, if it happens, becomes as big a success as Popstars I and II?

A. When we did Popstars I, it created a sensation. When we did Popstars II, there were some people who turned around and asked what was unique about the property. Why were we doing it? However, we went ahead and created Aasma. And when we looked at the ratings of Popstars II, we found it to be higher than Popstars I. In other words, we had succeeded in bettering our performance over the previous year. No doubt, everybody is doing reality (programming). But the point is not who is doing a reality show, but how is it done. Coming from a channel that created Popstars, I am positive that if and when the third edition happens, it will be much bigger than the first and second chapters of the show.

Q. What about Viva and Aasma? Will they keep cutting albums?

A. Aasma is in talks for its second album. Both bands are on the road all the time. They are extremely successful in their own right. But what happens in the future is anybody’s guess. We are looking after them in any case.

Q. The general perception is that Viva was promoted more than Aasma, and that they were a bigger phenomenon and that top-of-mind recall for Viva is higher. Comment?

A. We have spent the same amount of time and effort on the two bands. It appears that Viva is bigger than Aasma because the former was the first of its kind. There was nothing like it earlier. Aasma is a big entity in its own right. There have a bigger hit (Chandu Ke Chaacha) than Viva ever had. And they are doing well.

Q. But it is easy for the band to cut an album, given the wherewithal of the STAR Group. Constant promotion could also help a number climb the music charts.

A. There is a lot of effort that goes into cutting an album, and band members are involved not only in terms of lending their voice, but also in writing lyrics and composition. These people are not dumb guys, who merely sing and leave. They are stars in their own right, and talented individuals above all, which means that they do have a say in matters.

Q. Fillers, interstitials, channel ID and characters are differentiators for a music channel. But is it as important as it is made out to be? At the end of the day, it is programming that counts, right?

A. Not really. Everybody has access to the same library of music. It’s what you do between the music that makes you a music channel. So, it is the spaces between the music that are critical to creating your environment. And that is where interstitials, fillers, channel ID, characters and icons really make you a force to reckon with. Simpoo, the existing channel character, was created four years ago. Apart from him, we have Santa Singh and Banta Singh. We have created a new character called Lola Kutty. Earlier, we had Quick-gun Murugan, Aunty 303 and Udham Singh. There is no research that can tell you whether a channel character will work or not. It is pure gut feel. With Simpoo, for instance, we have made over 100 films. We have invested in the character. We have spent time and effort pushing Simpoo into a zone where he can command his own. In short, we invest in our gut feel, which is why we know where we are going.

Q. What is the brand count-like on CHannel [v]? Are you happy with the advertiser response to your properties? Do you ensure that there is a connect between the property and the brand associating with it?

A. We are really doing well on all counts, brand count and otherwise. Advertisers are putting their faith in us. In fact, more and more advertisers are turning to us over the competition. With regard to your question on the connect between a brand and a property, sometimes the ideas are so big that sponsors are willing to support it regardless of a fit with the brand. There are numerous such instances on the channel. On other occasions, we customise ideas for the client. So there is a bit of both on the channel. What is important, though, is a good idea. Ideas are the only currency in the business.

Q. How has the channel been dayparted?

A. That’s a secret that I cannot share with you.

Q. Would you consider going offline with branded merchandise, fragrance and clothes? And what about an awards property? Would you consider looking at one seriously?

A. We will do branded merchandise if and when the fit is right. We will not do it just for the money.

With regard to awards, we were the pioneers. We started the CHannel [v] Music Awards way back in 1996, which continued for the next two years. We had performers such as Sting. The Spice Girls, in their heyday, flew down to perform at our awards. However, we had some issues with it, so we had to drop it eventually. At this point in time, we are happy with what we are doing. There is no gap in our programming that we need to fill with an award show. We are doing fine. As and when we feel the need to do an award show, we will do it.

Q. Finally, are there new plans for the future… some unique project in incubation stage?

A. There is a very big project in incubation stage. But I cannot tell you anything about it. Just wait and watch.

May 10, 2004
Mumbai
You can write to Amar Deb at
amard@in.startv.com