Prajjal Saha
Media

ZEE presents India's first personal finance channel

ZEE Business will be catering to the interest of common viewers at metros, smaller towns, district headquarters and the tehsil level

Conventional business channels only cater to hardcore finance professionals or stock market players. ZEE Telefilms is all set to change this notion, as it launches a Hindi business news channel, ZEE Business, targeted at the masses. The channel makes its debut on November 30.

Laxmi Goel, director, ZEE News says, "Unlike other business news channels, we will not talk about only hardcore financial news. We will even cover general business news and commodity markets, which incidentally has a much higher turnover than that of the stock bourses. Essentially, we will be catering to the interest of common viewers."

Goel adds, "Our business new channel is in Hindi and we are targeting investors at the district headquarters and the tehsil level, apart from the common man, who could either be from metros or smaller towns."

Channel executives claim that ZEE Business will be a very useful source of information for the general viewers including women. Even hardcore finance news will be covered in a common man's language. Samir Ahluwalia, business editor, ZEE News, says, "This is why the channel's tagline reads - Aap Ka Faida."

For instance, in the morning slot, the new channel will have a game show where four persons will be given a virtual kitty of Rs 10,000, which they will be investing in different scrips. In the evenings, the show will again focus on the investments and on how much each person has gained/lost. The channel will also talk about the factors that contributed to the gains and losses in a common man's language.

The channel will also give tips on investments. Ahluwalia says, "We can't advise viewers to invest on the stock options of a particular company, but we can certainly provide tips on the industries and sectors that are set to grow."

Apart from this particular programme, the channel will also have a few more game shows. "We plan to make ZEE business very interactive," says Ahluwalia.

Ahluwalia says, "During the morning and the late afternoon slots, we will have news on the stock market and the commodity market. During the other parts of the day, we will telecast different programmes, which are traditionally not part of a regular business news channel."

In the afternoon time band, for example, the channel will have shows targeted at women. During this slot, the channel will invite a doctor, or an astrologer, or a vaastu consultant, and even a career consultant, who will give tips on their respective subjects.

To attract the young metro viewers to the channel, ZEE Business has planned a programme called 'Just Married'. Ahluwalia says, "In this programme, we will talk about the different products available in the market for married couples along with the best deals in electronics, furnitures, consumer durables etc."

ZEE Business has lined up a few more programmes that may be of great interest of young viewers. One such programme is 101 Business Ideas, which will provide information and advise on various aspects of starting a small business with an investment between Rs 5-10 lakh.

Ahluwalia says, "A person who has Rs 500 crore to invest in a project doesn't need business ideas and advise on projects. But a person, who wants to start a small business like a gym or a bakery, will certainly find this show very helpful."

Apart from these initiatives, the channel will also have programmes giving tips on tax planning and investments.

The channel will also cover different local industries such as the towel industry in Pulkhawa (Uttranchal) or the knife factories in Rampur (Uttar Pradesh) or the brass industry of Moradabad. Ahluwalia says, "At ZEE Business, we plan to cover the local industry, which has traditionally shunned by business news channels."

"Our viewers might not be always interested in India's fiscal deficit, or the happenings on Dalal Street, but they will be certainly interested in business news happening in his little world," he concludes.

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