MUMBAI: The factual entertainment space in India is witnessing waves of developments. Information Television (iTV) Network has joined hands with international feature entertainment content provider TERN TV and Trilogic Digital Media Limited to launch Insight TV in India.
The strategic alliance between iTV and TDML will see iTV parking its non-news channels with Trilogic as well as the launch of a multi genre entertainment broadcasting network. The first channel to emerge from this merger is Insight, which is one of India’s first 4K channels, which aspires to revolutionize TV viewing in India.
“We decided on launching a channel in the feature entertainment genre six months ago and worked on the content in two phases. The first phase is already underway. The second phase will have local content shot in 4K. We are launching now with only international content, eventually we will have a mix of both, ” iTV Network chairman and MD Kartikeya Sharma tells Indiantelevision.com.
Insight is a global factual entertainment channel, which will take viewers on an adventurous journey to explore and interact with stories like never before. It will feature entertainment in genres like drama, natural history, science, technology, adventure, sports, wildlife and survival.
The channel will be available on both 4K and HD. 4K in India was started during the ICC 2015 Australia World Cup, but somehow failed to propel and the major reason behind it was lack of content and bandwidth. Sharma though feels that bandwidth is not a constraint for good quality, he says, "The 4k content has to be shot fresh. One cannot upgrade HD content to 4K. We are not yet clear on what 4K is, the global interpretation is anything shot at 50 frames per second is 4K and I think we have the bandwidth to provide that.”
In the initial stages the channel will concentrate on the top 10 urban cities of the country and later escalate to the rest of the areas. Insight will also have dubbed audio feeds to cater to vernacular markets. “The content that we have has the potential to travel pan India. So anyone who has a 4K TV and a set top box (STB) in any part of the country is our target audience,” says Sharma.
Emphasising on the importance of ratings and its relevance on ad sales, Sharma adds, “The English genre is facing a crisis when it comes to ratings. We are aggressively looking towards subscription revenue. Moreover, the advertising on Insight or the entire genre for that matter is more on the basis of perception not ratings.”
The channel will aggressively focus on original programming, innovative documentaries, accessible reality series and cutting-edge factual infotainment. “Trillogic already runs successful channels and we wanted to start an international channel with content from India and the Indian sub-continent and that’s where Insight comes in,” said TDML managing director Vishal Gurnani.
4K in India can also be a technology jargon where a new STB and special packages need to be installed. “The audience chases content and not technology. Indian audience is ready to pay for good content. They look forward to opening their pockets for a great audio visual experience. The multiplex revolution is a classic case. The cinema exhibition industry has managed to turn around to change the pricing patterns, then why can’t television do the same?” questions Gurnani.
“We look forward to working closely with ITV and to jointly create India’s fastest growing entertainment broadcast network. We will be launching four channels over the next 12 months, which include Phulwaa - India’s first Bhojpuri GEC, a soon to be announced interactive travel channel and many other varied entertainment channels,” adds Gurnani.
The new channel will also see localised content on a different tangent in the next financial year.
