Everyone wants a slice of the British Asian pie
28th August, 2003
by Sunny Hundal
Things don't seem to be getting easier for the BBC these days. The Hutton enquiry aside, the long-term danger I refer to is the explosion of niche channels on satellite and cable TV, and that too specially for the British Asian audience.
The growth of digital TV is likely to worry not only the BBC, but even veteran Asian networks such as B4U and Sony, who were the first wave of channels to challenge the Beeb's dominance in Asian households.
At a launch party in London last Friday, a bouquet of 6 channels targeting the South Indian community in Europe were unveiled, going under the brand name of Dish Asia Network (DAN TV).
Khushal Khagram, the COO, says "DAN TV started in inception from 2 channels, Ceylon and TRT. We wanted to bring together a mix of locally (European) produced programming, CTV and TRT, with some home grown stations, SSMusic, Jaya and Raj. And an all new Cinema channel, DAN Cinema." The group has essentially brought together channels which already existed in India and Sri Lanka with their own offerings, and launched them on the Hotbird satellite.
The Hotbird satellite, which is essentially another platform like Sky, already features other Asian TV channels including Zee TV. The network is preferred by some because it offers them a cheaper way of accessing target markets in the whole of Europe and the Middle East, rather than tying up deals with different satellite broadcasters in different countries. Sky is legally allowed only to broadcast in the UK, although it has much more visibility here.
What DAN TV represents is not just more competition, but rather, the second wave.
THE SECOND WAVE
Sunrise Radio announced a few weeks back that it plans to launch a TV station next year, not for the Asian community but rather for "a more mainstream audience". Surprised? You're not the only one. Such announcements have to be taken with a pinch of salt nevertheless, only a few weeks back they said the station was to launch later this year.
DAN TV and Sunrise aren't the only ones to join the party though. There's a newcomer on the scene by the name of Vectone Entertainment Network, who have just launched 4 new channels in Bangla, Hindu, Urdu and Tamil.
Reportedly backed by a major group in Germany, Vectone quietly started broadcasting on Sky (you need to manually tune in) and Hotbird last week. The four channels will be free-to-air, making their money through advertising.
Another major Tamil channel in India, Sun TV, also launched in Europe over a week ago, vying for an audience very similar to DAN TV's. More will be arriving soon from India's burgeoning cable TV networks.
THE TWO FORCES
The second wave represents a bigger and more niche contingent of TV networks, all vying for the lucrative and wealthy worldwide South Asian population. Two related developments have made it easier for these new companies to enter the British industry - technology and access.
Cheaper technology has not only made it more cost effective to beam from a satellite, it has also increased their capabilities and coverage. Powerful computers and better DV cam technology has reduced the costs for production companies, making it easier to produce programming.
At the same time, companies have more distribution channels to reach their market rather than through terrestrial TV. Sky, the market leader is an obvious choice, but so are the cable companies such as NTL and Telewest and satellites such Astra-2 and Hotbird. Freeview, rising from the grave of ON digital currently going through an explosion of growth.
Although most consumers are unlikely to know the difference between these distribution channels, or what is required to receive them, that should only be a matter of time (or so the company execs pray). What matters more is the content, because that is what will drive growth.
CONTENT IS KING
Soon there will be nearly 25 Asian channels on the Hotbird satellite alone. Sky already has an impressive roster of TV and radio channels which is expanding almost daily. All this leads to such a bewildering range of choices for an Asian consumer, that terrestrial channels such as the BBC and Channel 4 might be tempted to write-off all of us already.
At this stage, the only strategy the established channels can employ is to 'wait and see'. If targeted niche channels keep splitting up their audiences, it will become harder to pull in the advertising and subscription. On the other hand, the free-to-air model is yet to be proven for the Asian market, and Simply Asian's demise a few months back doesn't provide much hope.
But the things aren't that simple. As the British Asian population becomes more UK focused and the 2nd and 3rd generation become dominant, beaming in cheap content from India might not be the best way to build and keep subscribers.
Eventually, changing tastes and demographics will also force a change in content. This is where the real battle lies. Not only are networks like Zee trying hard to produce more British Asian programming, so are the BBC and Channel 4. One has good links within the community, the other two have bigger budgets. But as yet, this war isn't being fought.
If a new channel manages to wow young British Asian audiences, its then that everyone from the terrestrials to the first wave would start getting worried. And quite rightly too, its the new generations that matter.
  
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The growth of digital TV is likely to worry not only the BBC, but even veteran Asian networks such as B4U and Sony, who were the first wave of channels to challenge the Beeb's dominance in Asian households.
At a launch party in London last Friday, a bouquet of 6 channels targeting the South Indian community in Europe were unveiled, going under the brand name of Dish Asia Network (DAN TV).
Khushal Khagram, the COO, says "DAN TV started in inception from 2 channels, Ceylon and TRT. We wanted to bring together a mix of locally (European) produced programming, CTV and TRT, with some home grown stations, SSMusic, Jaya and Raj. And an all new Cinema channel, DAN Cinema." The group has essentially brought together channels which already existed in India and Sri Lanka with their own offerings, and launched them on the Hotbird satellite.
The Hotbird satellite, which is essentially another platform like Sky, already features other Asian TV channels including Zee TV. The network is preferred by some because it offers them a cheaper way of accessing target markets in the whole of Europe and the Middle East, rather than tying up deals with different satellite broadcasters in different countries. Sky is legally allowed only to broadcast in the UK, although it has much more visibility here.
What DAN TV represents is not just more competition, but rather, the second wave.
THE SECOND WAVE
Sunrise Radio announced a few weeks back that it plans to launch a TV station next year, not for the Asian community but rather for "a more mainstream audience". Surprised? You're not the only one. Such announcements have to be taken with a pinch of salt nevertheless, only a few weeks back they said the station was to launch later this year.
DAN TV and Sunrise aren't the only ones to join the party though. There's a newcomer on the scene by the name of Vectone Entertainment Network, who have just launched 4 new channels in Bangla, Hindu, Urdu and Tamil.
Reportedly backed by a major group in Germany, Vectone quietly started broadcasting on Sky (you need to manually tune in) and Hotbird last week. The four channels will be free-to-air, making their money through advertising.
Another major Tamil channel in India, Sun TV, also launched in Europe over a week ago, vying for an audience very similar to DAN TV's. More will be arriving soon from India's burgeoning cable TV networks.
THE TWO FORCES
The second wave represents a bigger and more niche contingent of TV networks, all vying for the lucrative and wealthy worldwide South Asian population. Two related developments have made it easier for these new companies to enter the British industry - technology and access.
Cheaper technology has not only made it more cost effective to beam from a satellite, it has also increased their capabilities and coverage. Powerful computers and better DV cam technology has reduced the costs for production companies, making it easier to produce programming.
At the same time, companies have more distribution channels to reach their market rather than through terrestrial TV. Sky, the market leader is an obvious choice, but so are the cable companies such as NTL and Telewest and satellites such Astra-2 and Hotbird. Freeview, rising from the grave of ON digital currently going through an explosion of growth.
Although most consumers are unlikely to know the difference between these distribution channels, or what is required to receive them, that should only be a matter of time (or so the company execs pray). What matters more is the content, because that is what will drive growth.
CONTENT IS KING
Soon there will be nearly 25 Asian channels on the Hotbird satellite alone. Sky already has an impressive roster of TV and radio channels which is expanding almost daily. All this leads to such a bewildering range of choices for an Asian consumer, that terrestrial channels such as the BBC and Channel 4 might be tempted to write-off all of us already.
At this stage, the only strategy the established channels can employ is to 'wait and see'. If targeted niche channels keep splitting up their audiences, it will become harder to pull in the advertising and subscription. On the other hand, the free-to-air model is yet to be proven for the Asian market, and Simply Asian's demise a few months back doesn't provide much hope.
But the things aren't that simple. As the British Asian population becomes more UK focused and the 2nd and 3rd generation become dominant, beaming in cheap content from India might not be the best way to build and keep subscribers.
Eventually, changing tastes and demographics will also force a change in content. This is where the real battle lies. Not only are networks like Zee trying hard to produce more British Asian programming, so are the BBC and Channel 4. One has good links within the community, the other two have bigger budgets. But as yet, this war isn't being fought.
If a new channel manages to wow young British Asian audiences, its then that everyone from the terrestrials to the first wave would start getting worried. And quite rightly too, its the new generations that matter.
