Come February 2 and the new merged entity called CNBC Asia Business News will beam on television screens across Asia. The service will be available in India too; both CNBC and ABNi will be discontinued. CNBC Asia Business News will beam off both Asiasat-2 and PAS-4, the two satellites off which the respective channels are currently available.The new channel will have some personalities from both ABN and CNBC. Dow Jones has fired about 10 staffers to allow for induction of some CNBC talent. Among those expected to be on the new channel are: three Hong Kong-based anchors and correspondents - Andrew Stevens (correspondent), Geoff Cutmore (anchor/correspondent) and Rico Hizon (anchor). Stevens and Cutmore will be based in Hong Kong, while Hizon moves to Singapore.
The producers moving over to the new operation are Don Spain and James Farley. Executive producer Chris Blackman will stay on for another six months. Other staffers, who are not being considered for the new entity, are said to be mulling offersfrom CNN International which is poised to unveil a package of new programmes, reveals FT Media & Telecoms industry newsletter eAsia.
Meanwhile, it looks unlikely that anchor Anish Trivedi will be on air anymore as CNBC Asia Business News has dropped CNBC's production partner IGE India and has retained TV18 which was a programme provider and an equity holder in ABNi as its India franchisee for both marketing and programming. The Indian Investor, a daily show, has also been jettisoned while two shows - India Business Day and India Talks - will continue.
At least 30-35 people will be laid off by TV18 on account of the reduced programming while some local CNBC staff are to be absorbed. TV18 will use the multimillion-dollar studio facilities that IGE India was setting up in Mumbai for CNBC.
The management expects CNBC Asia Business News' distribution in India to go up to 5 million in the near future. Cable operators will have to pick up digital receivers for Rs 36,000 to be able to receive the digitaltransmission off Asiasat-2. Star TV will be looking after the distribution of the channel.
The key question is: will a merged entity be in a better position to survive and thrive? The obvious answer is yes as the money that was distributed amongst two channels will be channelled into one now. However, it won't turn out be so simple. With interest costs again going up, advertisers are going to become even more cautious.
They will also become more selective with the glut of election and current affairs programming being offered by all the channels. CNBC Asia Business News' short-term fortunes will depend on whether it can get on the shortlist being favoured by advertisers. It's going to be a hardsell time ahead.
Star Sports may be encrypted
It has long been expected. Star Sports is likely to be encrypted in the next couple of months - indications are that it could be April - or so following in the footsteps of ESPN. Will it run into flak a la ESPN is the question on several industryprofessionals' lips? Singapore-based ESPN-Star Sports Asia chief Alexander `Sandy' Brown is not worried.
"We may lose two-thirds of our subscriber base initially," he says. "So what? Subscribers and cable operators will finally come back."
Brown says the focus will be on developing an identity for Star Sports, probably making it more domestic in its coverage of events. "We are considering options for both brands (ESPN and Star Sports, respectively)," he says. "There will be more customisation... more localisation."ESPN-Star Sports has, in recent times, set up offices in Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta and Bangalore to communicate with cable operators.
ESPN is distributed in India by the Lalit Modi-owned Modi Entertainment Network. Brown says it will take a lot to make ESPN-Star Sports close shop in India. He is very bullish about prospects in the country and in Asia. "Cable TV penetration in the region is just 15 per cent whereas in the US it is about 75 per cent. There is a great opportunity. We hope tomake the right decisions."
Brown is not disturbed by the economic and political turmoil that's come into play in Asia. "We are willing to be patient as long as progress is being seen. The timeframe for success has probably changed in Asia now: 15-20 years now as against the 5-10 years everyone was predicting earlier."
A mid-price stitch in time
After having stolen the shirt off competitors' backs in the premium end of the shirt market, Madura Garments is hoping to repeat that act in the medium-price segment too. The Coats Viyella India division is continuing with its rollout of its Peter England brand nationally. Priced between Rs 345 and Rs 495, Peter England shirts are being targeted at Indian men aged between 22 and 35 years residing in towns with 5-lakh-plus population.
The brand is already available in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh and was launched last week in Mumbai. Madura Garments general manager (marketing) FA Naqvi points out that the marketfor readymade shirts is about 60 million per annum with the premium end accounting for 5.5 million of that and mid-priced shirts accounting for about 20 million units. Madura Garments hopes to capture about 25 per cent of that share and become the market leader within a year of launch in every market, says Naqvi. "We are already number one with our brands Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, Allen Solly, Elysee and Byford," he says. "The mid-priced segment has no national brand... the players are mainly regional.
Hence, there is a phenomenal market open for us." Peter England is being backed by a Rs 4-crore ad budget with Mudra looking after the account. It is being promoted as a `no-frills' value brand through TV, outdoor, press and cinema advertising. The baseline of the advertising: `The Honest Shirt' (as though all other shirts - including those from the Madura Garments stable - in the market are "dishonest"). Going by Madura Garments' track record, the company may well achieve its ambitions.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
