Hello DD: Director finds right channel for his dream

From the Archives................

Mohammed Wajihuddin

Mumbai, October 8: IT’S Dassera. But live television has no scope for holidays. Which is why Mukesh Sharma, director of Sahyadri, Doordarshan, is sitting in his office, flicking on the TV, while in a studio many flights up film-maker Prakash Jha is being flooded with questions. ‘‘It’s a holiday, but I came to work because Hello DD, our weekly phone-in programme, is being beamed live,’’ he says. ‘‘It’s an immensely popular, interactive show which features interesting people,’’ says Sharma, before switching off the TV and coming back to the business at hand—rediscovering Sahyadri— Doordarshan’s regional centre at Worli. Sharma, its director since 2000, has given Mumbai Doordarshan ‘‘a new direction’’ with several shows like Hello DD, Hello Sakhi (women’s programme), Antakshri and Ayaka Vayaka (discussion). DD Mumbai turned 31 this October 2. ‘‘Before I took over, DD Mumbai was a mess. I wanted to get rid of its sarkari culture,’’ says 47-year-old Sharma, the ‘‘youngest director of a DD kendra.’’ I have extricated it from the rut it was in and repositioned it, he says. The repositioning came much later. Years ago, in the backwaters of Lucknow, Sharma saw a potential in TV. ‘‘I would act in plays and read news too on DD Lucknow,’’ he remembers. Sharma might have ended up being the male Salma Sultana (news reader), but ‘‘the actor in me wanted to get wings and scale new territories.’’ The Children Film’s Society called him to Mumbai and V Shantaram selected him within minutes of their meeting. Once, then president of Children Film Society Jaya Bachchan asked him to direct a short film Anokha Aspatal because the director didn’t turn up. ‘‘I became a director by default,’’ says Sharma, who has also acted in some children’s films. DD Mumbai, which had generated a lot of hope and impressionable revenue initially, started flagging toward the end of 1990s. ‘‘I loved its corridor, was familiar with its nooks. I wanted to turn things around,’’ says Sharma, who had for long nursed a dream to find a place for himself there. Sharma went on to join DD Mumbai as Deputy Director and then became its Director. Soon, some mandarins in Mandi House thought it was time to give the national channel a facelift. And they turned to Mumbai, the Mecca of entertainment. ‘‘Bollywood and the music industry were here. Mumbai Kendra became crucial for DD’s image makeover,’’ reasons Sharma. The makeover continues, though competing with private channels is like chasing a mirage. ‘‘You can’t compare us with them. They have to make money to survive while we have to keep India’s culture alive,’’ he reasons. Standing at the foot of the 300-metre tall TV tower (the tallest free steel structure in Asia), Sharma looks down at the campus gate, smiling. Years ago, he had walked through it anonymously. Today, he does have reason to smile. mohammedwajihuddin@expressindia.com SOURCE: http://www.screenindia.com/gsearch.php?cof=FORID:10&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=+Mukesh+sharma+sahyadri&sa=Search&siteur

The year was 1989 when Mukesh sharma received his first National Award from the President of India for his debut ant film children feature film Anokha Aspatal. The film was also show cased at the Frankfurt, Cairo , Chicago, Iran and Mauritius film festivals.

In 1990 Mukesh Sharma once again received the National Film award for the film Operation pink pigeon or Ankur Maina aur kabootar as the co producer along with the Mr Bijoy Madhou the MD of Mauritius film development corporation. The following video footage was captured in 1990 at Vigyan Bhawan New Delhi .

http://www.tvmaurice.com/mukesh-sharma-receives-37th-national-film-award-for-children-film/

Sir Roger Moore with Mukesh Sharma

In the year 2006 UNICEF and TV Mumbai (doordarshan), joined hands to produce a unique TV Event called Nav Jyoti or New light. It celebrated the Girl child education.

Nine girls from the poorest of the poor families from Maharashtra were selected by UNICEF. Mukesh Sharma Director Doordarshan then created an event around it. The event was seen by Sir Roger Moore online at US. He was the Brand ambassador of UNICEF. So when he visited India for the promotion of UNICEF schemes, he made it a point to come to Mumbai and meet the Director DD Mukesh Sharma and personally congratulate him for the innovative Event promoting Girl Child education.

One World Fellows from India

ONE WORLD BROADCAST TRUST FELLOWSHIPS.

The British Council and the One World Broadcasting Trust have been collaborating since 1998 on this annual programme, which is aimed at senior broadcasters in the developing world.

Each year 5-6 broadcasters come to the UK for an intensive two-week programme. During this time they meet various people - from programme makers and journalists to regulators and government officials - to learn about the media scene in the UK, and to share ideas, problems, frustrations and hopes. Both sides benefit, and the Fellows go back refreshed and enthusiastic about possible changes and developments at home.

As well as funding and supporting participants from their respective countries, local British Council offices around the world play a key role in identifying participants who might be interested in applying. Additional funding for the programme is provided by the Elizabeth R Fund. Managed by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, (BAFTA), the fund consists of money and royalties donated by HM The Queen, who takes a close personal interest in this particular project.

Previous participants from India are:

Mukesh Sharma, Doordarshan TV 2002

Jayashree Balasubramanian,Aaj Tak 2002

Deepa Chandra, Doordarshan TV2003

Anuradha Sengupta, CNBC TV18 2004

Narendra Puppala, Eenadu Television 2005

Jaya Mahajan, UTV Software Communications 2006

NOTE: NO BROADCASTER HAS BEEN SELECTED BEFORE 2002 AND AFTER 2006 FROM INDIA. OWBT FELLOWSHIP COMMENCED IN THE YEAR 1997

Pleasant tongue does the trick Bella Jaisinghani, Nov 11, 2009, 01.10am IST

MUMBAI: A pleasant tongue would do the trick, say observers who take exception to the MNS' campaign of force. They point out that before the season of signboards and political fatwas began, several non-Maharashtrians in Mumbai had already taken Marathi to their hearts. Not always for the mercenary reason of getting doors to open, rather simply drawn by the beauty of the `bhavgeet' or the power of Marathi literature.

From Hemant Kumar to Mohammed Rafi, Shailendra Singh to Shreya Ghoshal, artistes at the peak of their mainstream Hindi career have volunteered time and effort to Marathi.

"In fact, Mohammed Rafi's first film song in Marathi, `Arre he dukhi jeeva', was composed by Raj Thackeray's father Shrikant,'' laughs lyricist Vinayak Rahatekar, recalling the sittings that took place at the singer's Bandra residence. "It was such a wonderful confluence of cultures. Rafi sahab had a genuine problem pronouncing the fluid Marathi `cha' so I wrote the entire song without using that syllable. He could not read Marathi very well so Shrikant Thackeray who was adept at Urdu wrote the lyrics in that language to help him.''

The list of faithfuls spans as far as London, with a BBC television newsreader some years ago doing a commendable `Tsavan' when referring to S B Chavan, the father of the current chief minister.

Which is why Gandhian thinker Vasant Pradhan believes that the correct strategy to win people over to the cause would be to display the best of what the language has to offer - rather than harsh words, especially if they are in Marathi.

"I think all those who come to earn a living in Mumbai do respect the local culture. The right way to make more people warm to the language is to dispense with the politics and show them what a wonderful legacy we have,'' agrees Shahir Vithal Umap, a cultural icon whose songs mirror the plight of all downtrodden communities.

In fact, common Mumbaikars who do not speak the language at home have received a warm introduction from their housemaids - one Bandra housewife asked for a lesson in Marathi after her servant referred to her husband back in the village as `malak' or master, and then addressed her mistress as `bai' (which means `lady' apart from `maidservant').

Others are grateful to the state-run media for having familiarised them with legends like Balgandharva and P L Deshpande. "In the 70s and 80s there was Chimanrao and then Shwetambara on Bombay Doordarshan, who ensured you got your daily dose of informal instruction,'' says Veena Shivdasani, an elderly Sindhi who may not pick up the Marathi dictionary but loves listening to `Naach re mora' on radio.

In fact All India Radio with its steady broadcast of bhavgeet and natyasangeet, and Mumbai Doordarshan under its former head, the non-Maharashtrian Mukesh Sharma, have indeed extended the reach of Marathi as seen from the calls their shows receive from other linguistic communities.

"One inevitably picks up the local language by virtue of domicile,'' says a government servant of non-Marathi origin. "In any case, the two presiding deities of the state, Ganpati and Lata Mangeshkar, have all of us spellbound,'' he adds.
SOURCE:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Pleasant-tongue-does-the-trick/articleshow/5217037.cms

'Amend CrPc to include care of aged parents'

mumbai: police commissioner m.n. singh on monday urged the government to make amendments to the code of criminal procedure (crpc) saying that it was high time grown-up children were made legally bound to look after their aging parents.
speaking at a function organised by the maharashtra state women's council on the occasion of world elders' day, mr singh also called upon the government to come to the rescue of senior citizens who have become soft targets of criminals.
``at present, section 125 of the crpc provides merely for maintenance which means food, shelter and clothing. but in a city like mumbai, economic compulsions compel grown-up children to leave their parents making them the soft targets of criminals,'' he said.
``in many western countries, the public exchequer spends money for the welfare of senior citizens. in india, we have some old-age homes and in some cases, they too are found to be run by some fraud elements,'' he said. ``here, even the national policy for protection of senior citizens formulated by the centre in 1999 has not percolated to the state level.''
urging the senior citizens to come forward and register themselves with the local police station, he lamented only 10,000 out of an estimated 10 lakh senior citizens had done so.
``every year, around 20 senior citizens are murdered and in most cases the motive is robbery and the killer is the domestic help or a relative. we have detected 13 of the 17 such murders last year which is a detection rate of 76 per cent. if people come forward to co-operate, we can be detect the rest. despite violence against senior citizens many housing societies had still not installed any kind of security gadgets, he said.
mukesh sharma, director, mumbai doordarshan, also made an impassioned speech asking the youth to go back to the age-old values of shravan kumar, the epic character, who carried his blind parents on a pilgrimage. ``the intrinsic value of an aged human being itself has decreased in these days of nuclear families,'' mr sharma lamented.
the youth today must realise that they should not leave their parents in old-age homes, added mr sharma. he urged mr singh and the ngos to organise a phone-in talk show on doordarshan for highlighting this appeal.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1144809577.cms

Straight Answers Oct 24, 2002, 09.40pm IST

Mukesh Sharma, director, Doordarshan Kendra, Mumbai, on Doordarshan Kendra, Mumbai, completing 30 years.
Doordarshan Kendra, Mumbai, has completed 30 years. What’s the journey been like?
The kendra used to be number one in the early and mid-’80s with programmes like Chitrahaar, Chhayageet, Phool Khile Hai Gulshan Gulshan. After that, there was a downslide for 12 to 15 years, till we got back again from 2000 onwards when the kendra revived itself and gained its lost glory. In fact, Mumbai Kendra got the best kendra award last year.
DD clearly has not been able to withstand competition from private channels.
DD per se has no competition with private channels. The reach of DD is around 85 per cent in the country, whereas private channels can be viewed by only 15 to 20 per cent. Basically, DD is a public service broadcaster where it can’t think in terms of earning revenue because it has a social responsibiltity towards the citizens. Private channels have a responsibility towards consumers and shareholders.
In these saas-bahu and game-show days, where does DD’s programming stand?
DD’s programming has to be different from private channels. If everyone shows saas-bahu dramas, who will focus on programming that’s information-oriented and educational. DD, however, does have entertainment programmes. These are during prime time.
Isn’t DD’s bureaucratic style of functioning an impediment?
Now, with Prasar Bharati, DD is changing its work culture. It’s getting to be like a corporate. Will DD’s annual awards instituted last year be held in Mumbai this time? Yes. This is a major function for us, costing 50 lakh. The awards function is on November 23 at Goregaon Sports Club. Information and Broadcasting Minister Sushma Swaraj is the chief guest.
What’s the response to DD’s Marathi channel Sahyadri?
Sahyadri is the number one channel today compared to all other Marathi channels. We have feature films, Chhayageet and other phone-in helpline programmes like Hello Sakhi and Hello Doctor which have a good viewership.
Roshni Olivera roshni.olivera@timesgroup.com

SOURCE:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/26190207.cms

Mukesh Sharma, director, Mumbai Doordarshan Kendra (Sahyadri Channel), being felicitated at the hands of Aamir Khan on the occasion of it being declared the best Doordarshan Kendra in 2001. The event was held on June 26, 2002, at the MIG Club, Juhu, Mumbai. Also present were former Sherrif of Mumbai Nana Chudasama and MIG Club chairman, Praveen Barve and other dignitaries.
Source:http://www.screenindia.com/old/20020705/fhap.html

Book Strategizes South Asian Satellite Broadcasting Policies

In conjunction with the release of the book "Satellites over South Asia: Broadcasting Culture and the Public Interest," the British Council organized a discussion with the authors and various Indian television specialists, in addition to screening the documentary "South Asian Media," directed by Napur Basu.

Mukesh Sharma, chief producer of Indian government TV Doordarshan (Prasar Bharati Corporation), Mumbai, joined most of the private channels like Sony TV and B4U cable channels on the panel to debate the role of government in broadcast. Most of the cable providers and independent producers questioned which role the government should take, taking into account the 60 percent of the Indian population who only watch Doordarshan.

The Prasar Bharati Corporation has recently allocated its CEO Rajiv Shah (TBS interview 2000) to another position, and the Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Sushma Swaraj said she is setting out a "cost-effective strategy to extend coverage to all parts of India, including remote and sparsely populated areas."

Almost in response to the book's conclusion, Swaraj also addressed the Seventh International Conference and Exhibition on Terrestrial and Satellite Broadcasting organized by the Broadcast Engineering Society in New Delhi, emphasizing that "the role of Prasar Bharati becomes more vital for informing people about socially relevant issues, developmental efforts, and policies of the government and issues which are vital for the country. Prasar Bharati needs to exploit the unique advantage of terrestrial broadcasting for generating and transmitting local content."

Mukesh Sharma echoed this concern over a government channel's responsibility in response to the book's conclusion around satellite globalization and its impact on public interest. The following is an excerpt of his comments advocating a stronger role as a public broadcaster for Doordarshan.

"With the advent of digital TV and an explosion in the number of satellite channels, many argue that there is no need for public service broadcasting. A recent article in the Economist went straight to the point: 'increasingly public service broadcasters will have to compete with hundreds of new television channels. The world which has allowed public service broadcasting to flourish is disappearing'.

"We are now part of a new worldwide multi-billion-dollar industry, and the marketplace is vibrant with video merchants and mega-video merchants, creating and selling all kinds of values, principles, and programs. And as fast as they make it, TV will take it. Here quantity competes with quality.

"India is no different, and the television here is going through an identity crisis. The private channels here are aping the West and Doordarshan is aping the private channels. The announcement of Prasar Bharati brings a ray of hope to the uncontrolled, directionless television growth in the country as that of a public service broadcaster.

"At a conservative estimate, India has around 50 million TV sets. A license fee of Rs 300 (approximately $6.20) per set, per annum would general a revenue of around 1,500 crore (about $300 million) annually, which is double the advertising revenue collected by Doordarshan in the year l996. This does not mean that we should do away with the advertising on Doordarshan; the license fee gives us the freedom to be more selective and discerning as a public service broadcaster.

"The easiest way to collect the license fee in a huge country like India is to follow the method used in Singapore. The authorities, by the stroke of an ordinance, decided to implement a license fee on all TV owning households. In case one did not own a TV set, merely an affidavit was required. The fee could be collected through the electric bill, either twice yearly or annually as is practiced in Mauritius. One or two percent service charges could be paid to the electricity department so as to do away with a new generation of manpower and paperwork.

"I am of the opinion that over the coming decades, public service broadcasting (in our case Prasar Bharati) will become more, not less, important. First, it will not be replaced by dozens of viable minority interest services, and it will remain a major engine of providing budgets for new rather than recycled or imported programs.

"The duty of public service television is to put quality first, and to promote pluralism because it increases the quality of programming." TBS

SOURCE:http://www.tbsjournal.com/Archives/Spring01/fine.html

WELL DONE KENDRA'S

Kendras grow, but DD Metro flounders
New delhi: doordarshan’s flagship metro channel continues to flounder from one disaster to another. ever since the auction of its prime time slots came a cropper, the prasar bharati mandarins have tried every trick of the trade to wean the major producers back to their network but with little success. anil baijal, chairperson of the prasar bharati corporation, admitted as much when he said, ‘‘we had to remove the floor price in the earlier round as it was too low. we are now inviting proposals directly from producers and have already received several offers.’’ the sponsorship fee from the new rate card for the 8-10 pm slot comes to rs 18.50 crore — which works out to rs 1.5 lakh per half-an-hour slot. earlier, doordarshan had fixed a floor price of rs 75 crore for this same time slot. last year, dd metro succeeded in almost doubling its revenue with most of the moolah coming in from its tie-up with hfcl-nine gold. officials admit that this year they foresee a sharp decline in revenue for the same channel. by contrast, doordarshan’s regional kendras seem to be putting their act together. despite the proliferation of private regional channels, doordarshan’s viewership and revenues in the regional kendras are showing an upward incline. viewership of doordarshan’s marathi channel rose by 300 per cent in 2000-2001. viewership in the bangla channel has risen in an equally spectacular manner with it continuing to trump eenadu bangla, alpha bangla and tara bengali in this state. the story is being repeated in their bangalore, thiruvanthapuram, hyderabad and jalandhar kendras where the last year has seen a surge in terrestrial and satellite viewership as confirmed by the latest television audience measurement (tam) surveys. ‘mumbai is the most hotly contested territory in india and we are presently competing with six private marathi networks. yet, our viewership in c&s homes has gone up from one million to 4.8 million homes,” declares mukesh sharma, director of dd’s mumbai kendra. how does he explain this turn around? “we worked on our strength. we showed 20 hours of live telecast and beefed up our concentration on interactive programming,” is sharma’s confident reply. in 1999-2000, the calcutta kendra viewership had plummeted down to three per cent. however, the tam reports for june 3-9 2001 show dd bangla is being watched in 80 per cent of individual homes and 77 per cent of c&s homes. its closest rival, eenadu bangla is trailing with 33 per cent and 72 per cent in individual and c&s homes respectively. dd bangla went a step ahead of dd marathi and showed 100 hours of live telecasting. the widely watched, hour-long, debate amongst political leaders has been extended, by popular demand, to one-and-a-half hours,” said bishwanath das, director of dd’s bangla kendra. why has metro failed to put its act together? tlang thanga, deputy director general, metro, is reticent to talk about metro’s lackadaisical performance. “we need sponsored programmes. we cannot run this channel without the help of private producers,” says thanga. by saying this, thanga could well be letting the cat out of the bag. one of the key reasons for the turnaround of the kendras has been to pump in more inhouse programming. ashok jailkhani, director for dd jalandhar maintains, “during the last year, we deliberately moved away from showing punjabi pop music repeats and started focusing on programmes rooted in the village ethos. let me tell you village-related programmes pay because advertisers are flocking to take up slots.” radha namboodiri, director of dd thiruvanthapuram kendra confirms this.”our biggest strength is our diversity. the fact that the kendras earnings have risen substantially means advertisers are interested in us,” namboodiri said.
SOURCE:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Kendras-grow-but-DD-Metro-flounders/articleshow/1320725351.cms

Sahyadri Navratna Awards

Sahyadri Navratna Awards announced

Ashish Mitra
Posted online: Friday, April 28, 2006 at 0000 hours IST

The Sahaydri Channel has, for the last five years, been giving away awards of excellence to eminent Maharashtrians for their good work in a particular field of interest
This year the ’Godrej No.1 5th Sahayadri Awards 2006 will be presented to eleven well-known personalities in their field of interest namely music, films, drama, sports, social work, journalism, women, industrialist and literature. Nine jury members comprising the likes of Chandrashekhar Dharmadhikari, Kiran Shantaram, Prabhakar Panshikar, Dr Prabha Atre, Madhukar Bhave, Ms Rupa Shah, V.V. Karmarkar, Vijaya Rajadhyaksha and Chandrakant Salunkhe put their heads together and came out with a list of awardees.The names of the nine awardees were announced recently.

Mukesh Sharma, Director, Doordarshan Kendra, Mumbai said, “Going by the reach of the Sahyadri Channel, it was our endeavour to salute and honour eminent personalities from various fields. To our good luck Godrej agreed to lend a helping hand to us by sponsoring the event. We are soon going to bring out a coffee table book at will comprise the names of all our awardees for all these five years. This will be not just a souvenir, but will be something to treasure.” Said Chandrakant Salunkhe, “Though it wasn’t an easy task to select awardees, we never at any moment had any friction in choosing any of the personalities. Their names came out according to merit and it was good that all the others approved of the same. Kiran Shantaram was also of the same view and said, “this time we unanimously chose all the awardees according to their merit’s worth.”

This year the Godrej No.1 Sahyadri Awards would be presented to Ulhas Kashalkar for music, Amol Palekar for films, Mohan Wagh for drama, Sachin Tendulkar for sports, Ms Madakini and Prakash Amte for social work, Pratapsingh Jadhav for journalism. Ms Nasima Hurzul in the woman’s category. Ajit Gulabchand for industrialist and Mangesh Padgaonkar for literature.

It may be recalled that the Godrej No. Sahyadri Awards for 2005 were awarded to Snehal Bhatkar in the music category, Rajdutt for films, Vijay Tendulkar for drama, Dr Abhay Rani Bang for social work, Dinu Randive for journalism, Mrinal Gore as woman of substance, Dilip-Subhash Dandekar for the industrialist category, Dr Vishwanath Karad in education and Namdeo Dhasal for literature.
SOURCE:http://www.screenindia.com/old/fullstory.php?content_id=12488

DD-DW co-production 'Mumbai'

Indiantelevision.com's Breaking News

DD-DW co-production 'Mumbai' takes close look at India's city of gold

Indiantelevision.com Team
(31 July 2004 8:00 pm)

MUMBAI: A documentary on the city of Mumbai co-produced by pubcaster Prasar Bharati and German television channel Deutsche Welle (DW) is soon to be telecast on national broadcaster Doordarshan.



The documentary titled (no prizes for guessing) Mumbai, which was co-produced for DW's Transtel series Connecting Cultures, was presented to the media today at Mumbai's Doorshan Kendra at an official screening precided over by Prasar Bharati CEO KS Sarma.
Mumbai was shot entirely in India's commercial capital. The production of the documentary was jointly managed by Dr Stephan Kaemph of DW and Mumbai Doordarshan Kendra director Mukesh Sharma. Post production was completed at DW's studios in Berlin.

DW will be dubbing the documentary in German, Arabic, English, Russian and some other languages. Prasar Bharati will be telecasting the documentary in English and Hindi and dubbing it into other regional languages as well.

Speaking about his experiences in making the hour-long film, Sharma said, "The USP of the documentary is that the world over broadcasting is getting very expensive and for a pubic broadcaster, it is not commercially feasible unless there is secured funding. I thought it was a good idea to capitalise on a co-production with the public broadcaster in Germany. Also, it is a very good way of showcasing Mumbai on a global platform. One also had to be very careful not to dwell on the not so attractive side of Mumbai. Although we have managed to weave in the uniqueness and the culture of Mumbai and also encompasses the city in a snapshot. For me, personally it was an excellent way of interacting with another culture and truly a learning experience."

The shooting of the documentary took place in Mumbai, while the post production took place in Germany.

The MoU to co-produce the show was signed by DW Television MD Cristoph Lanz and Sarma last year.

Sharma said another co-production that was under consideration was to showcase Einstein's theory of relativity as in 2005 the theory completes 100 years. Here, the show will be shot in Germany and post produced in Mumbai. An excellent way of collaborating crossover resources. Tentatively, the show will be funded by the Planetary Society of India. The format is still unclear and in the process of discussion.
Source ;indiantelevision.com

DD scripts a success story

DD-Mumbai, Sahyadri, has scripted its own path to success with revamped programming, in-house production and a Marketing division that has brought more advertisers on the channel. Its viewership and ad revenues are up significantly, and it could stand to make more gains in a post-CAS environment.

ON May 1, when all Government establishments were closed, the Doordarshan Kendra in Mumbai — Sahyadri — was abuzz with activity. The day was also Maharashtra Day, and the Kendra was hosting the Sahyadri Navratan Awards to felicitate Marathi achievers in fields such as cinema, theatre, music and art. The two-and-a-half hour function, which was attended by a host of eminent personalities, was held on the premises, telecast on DD-10 (Sahyadri), and earned the Kendra a cool profit of Rs 12 lakh. "We lit up the tower, put up a set and invited a lot of important people," says Mukesh Sharma, Director — DD, Mumbai, of the effort. Sounds simple all right, but Sharma left no detail to chance: the persons who received the awards were chosen with care, as were the person who presented the awards. Every detail was debated, every move rehearsed — with a meticulousness seldom associated with a Government body, let alone DD. Yet, it is just one example of the many things Sahyadri has got right in the last couple of years.

While other terrestrial channels have struggled to retain viewers and advertisers in the face of the slick cable & satellite channels, DD-Mumbai has actually gained in both: its share of the overall TV advertising pie, estimated at Rs 4,600 crore, grew from 0.6 per cent to 1.1 per cent last year. And the top categories of advertisers are all FMCGs, and comparable to those on any general entertainment C&S channel: toilet soaps, tea, hair oil and baby lotions/creams. Its share of viewership has also grown, from 2 per cent to 2.9 per cent last year, according to TAM Media Research. More significantly, of the Top 60 Marathi programmes in all TV homes, 30 are on Sahyadri. Its reach has grown significantly, and it has a channel share of 42.5 per cent in non-Prime Time and 14 per cent Prime Time, way above competitors Zee Alpha and ETV Marathi, in all TV Homes. Even in C&S homes, its share is 7.3 per cent in non-Prime Time, which is higher than its rivals. In Mumbai, the average time spent viewing Sahyadri is 61 minutes, and in Rest of Maharashtra it is 181 minutes, which is much higher than its rivals.

"Traditionally, DD-10 has been strong in non-C&S homes because of its reach in the non-metros, but now, it is giving even C&S channels a run for their money," says Atul Phadnis, Director, S-Group, TAM Media Research. "And this, in a region (besides the South) where audiences are very evolved, and very hard to please." Revenues are also on an uptick: while DD-Malayalam and DD-Bangla are the top earners, DD-Sahyadri is right behind.

Much of this can be attributed to the new, viewer-friendly programming, slicker presentation and savvy marketing of DD-10 since Sharma took over as Director in May 2000. A one-time actor, filmmaker and journalist, Sharma had worked in DD Delhi, Mumbai and Lucknow before, and had also spent a dozen years in the Children's Film Society. He set about his new job systematically: from insisting on cleaner premises to daily briefing sessions with the staff to greater interactions with the media to doing a SWOT analysis of the channel. The verdict was that while the channel had some good content and the advantage of reach, much of its programming was not packaged well, and was marketed badly. Sharma quickly set up some basic tenets: no tape would be played before it was checked for its technical quality, he would be more involved in the production of out-sourced content, and young personnel would be hired to anchor and present programmes.
"Sahyadri was like the River Saraswati — it was not seen. But to be seen, you need good programming and presentation," he says. "With the streamlining of operations, our viewership and TRPs grew phenomenally in just six months."

Fortunately for Sahyadri — even the name came after Sharma took over, otherwise it was simply DD-10 — the competitive landscape also changed. Of the four other Marathi channels — Tara Marathi, Prabhat, Alpha and ETV — Tara and Prabhat folded up, and Sahyadri raced ahead of the others quickly on the strength of its programming. Several interactive and call-in programmes were introduced, besides game shows, children's shows and news-based shows. Its dial-in shows, Hello Doctor, Hello Sakhi, Hello DD and Saad Pratisaad became very popular, as did the news-based shows, Ghatna Chakra and Maha Charcha. Games shows such as Saap Seedi, Aaj Atta Tabadtob and Chala Banuya Roadpati (a spoof on Kaun Banega Crorepati) were launched, besides two news bulletins. The top soaps, Damini, Gharkal and Bandhini are big drivers, as are regular favourites like Chitrahaar and Sahyadri Antakshari, a relaunched Chhayageet, and the Marathi feature film on Saturday afternoon. The programming mix is an even balance of entertainment, information and education, with a greater focus on packaging and presentation, Sharma says.

And the results are there to see: "Sahyadri is the best option to reach out to the Maharashtrian viewers in Bombay and the Rest of Maharashtra, as its channel share is higher than the other options, Alpha and ETV, in the Rest of Maharashtra," says Manish Porwal, General Manager — Investment & New Initiatives, Starcom Worldwide. Besides targeting more eyeballs, Sahyadri has also worked closely with major advertisers to offer greater branding opportunities, as with Fair & Lovely Bharari — a career guidance programme for women, and Sapat Parivar Mahacharcha — a current affairs programme for Sapat Chai. "The Fair & Lovely brand is about empowerment of women, so the career guidance format is a perfect fit," says Madhusudan Narayanan, Planning Director, Mindshare Fulcrum. "Maharashtra is one of the biggest markets for fairness creams and skincare products, and because DD is a public broadcaster, it is a better vehicle for edutainment programmes." Other top advertisers, besides HLL, include Johnson & Johnson and Godrej Consumer Products.
Many advertisers have come on the channel after the Marketing division, headed by Vijaylakshmi Chabra, was set up. Chabra's team of 16 undertook a study of the channel and of competition before drawing up an action plan to market the channel. Chabra and Sharma work as a team — a rare feat — and clearly respect each other's ability. The challenge was that DD had traditionally marketed its programming through private agents, and so did not have complete control over its inventory. So every time a programme came up for a re-bid, DD-Mumbai simply took it on, produced it, and sold it directly; programmes such as Chhayageet, Jasoos Vijay, Chitrahaar and Rangoli are all produced in-house now, and sold by the marketing team. Even the news and current affairs programmes, that are marketed directly, are completely sold out, Chabra says. The marketing team also keeps a close watch on TRPs, and revamps or pulls programmes that are not doing well. "Since we produce it ourselves, we have greater control over our programming, and we can package the strong programmes with the weak ones, and the terrestrial (2.30-8 pm) with the satellite (8 pm onwards), and sell it as a complete channel rather than as separate programmes," says Chabra, who previously headed the AIR Bombay office. "A programme like Chayageet now delivers twice the amount of revenues that it used to through a private producer."

Besides customising programmes for bigger clients like HLL, Sahyadri has also gone after smaller advertisers and involved them in making the channel more marketer-friendly, Chabra says. Big-ticket items, like the India-West Indies series was also marketed directly, rather than through a third party, with the result that DD earned Rs 48 crore. The upcoming India-Australia-New Zealand series will also be marketed directly. Following Sahyadri's example, the Kendras in Delhi, Chennai and Bangalore also have marketing divisions now, and there is a move to produce more programmes in-house. The ultimate goal is to sell DD as a channel, rather than just sell individual programmes, and sell a bouquet of DD channels — DD1, DD2, DD Sports — along with the 250-odd AIR stations across the country to advertisers as an integrated package, Chabra says.

The greatest advantage the Marketing division has brought to the table is greater transparency, Chabra says. "Because it is a Government set-up, there is accountability, and now DD also has a face," she says. "Clients can call me directly, and so we have the support of the industry." In the case of the India-West Indies series, for instance, the entire inventory was sold out in less than three days, as clients knew DD was not holding back any slots to sell for a higher price later. If DD can get its act together across Kendras, it stands to benefit in the post-Conditional Access System environment, Chabra says.

Media planners agree: unbeatable already as far as reach is concerned, the marketing division has also ensured that the channel is more accessible to advertisers, and "more hungry for business," says Starcom's Porwal, who has put clients like Heinz (Glucon D and Complan), Balsara's Babool and VVF (Doy soap and Mast soap) on the channel. "There are constant follow-ups and deal construction processes, much like in private channels, and many more sponsorship options now." However, stringent rules and regulations can sometimes make innovation difficult, and the channel is also not open for rate negotiations, unlike C&S channels, he adds.

Sharma also knows he cannot rest on his laurels: there is always an issue of funding, as DD does not make enough money nationally to be self-sufficient. Besides, its mandate of a public broadcaster means that the channel is limited in terms of programming innovations and advertising options. Still, he is optimistic: "We have shown that it is possible to do it differently, that it is possible to sell a DD channel as a brand," he says.
SOURCE:http://www.blonnet.com/catalyst/2003/06/05/stories/2003060500040100.htm