Anant’s blog: The Real TV launch

Why on earth would a new entrant even attempt to enter an overcrowded GEC space at a time like this?

It’s already a blood-bath for the existing players. STAR Plus and Colors jostle for the top spot with strategies changing by the hour. STAR Plus, for example, has been running some movies without ad breaks, gaining just enough GRPs to stay ahead of Colors.

Colors, meanwhile, has announced a slew of new programs which will, they hope, get them to the psychologically all-important number one slot.

STAR Plus, meanwhile, has just shot a pilot for what, they hope, will be the block-buster that allows them to pull away from Colors once again.

Zee seems almost fated to remain in a lonely third place.

As for the others, bunched between 30 and 100 GRPs  per week, they soldier on.

The rises in GRPs help no one. With the slowdown, there is little or no hope in being able to monetize any GRP gains in the foreseeable future.

Why, then, is Real TV obstinately launching on schedule?

Overtly, it looks like a ridiculous decision.

Pondered over this over the weekend.

Perhaps it’s not stupid, perhaps it’s very clever.

Consider this. During the IPL, no GEC (going by last year’s experience) will be able to write money. Not many of them will get significant eyeballs either.
 
Real TV will be just one of many channels not writing much money and not attracting too many eyeballs.
 
And we have the elections as well, when a significant piece of the ad revenue pie will go to the news channels. And we have the slowdown.

Then we have the monsoons, traditionally a lean period for GECs as far as revenues are concerned. It will be lean for all the channels, Real TV included.

And then, conventional wisdom says, the worst (on the economic front) would be past us; Diwali and Dusserah and the Christmas holidays will beckon.

And by then, Real TV would, hopefully, have sorted out their distribution issues, fine-tuned their programming, met all the players in the market, got audiences to sample their fare, conducted their focus group studies, got consumers to tune in and have a blockbuster ready and waiting – with no great pressure on their team.

Far, far better than postponing their launch and salivating as they watch other channels rake in the moolah while they run around trying to start a business.

Tough times could be great times for starting businesses. The going is tough – and Real has got going.