MUMBAI: One has heard about the Stardusts, Filmfares and the Cine Blitzs of India, which extensively keep us abreast on the lives of the movie stars and all the other happenings of Bollywood. But until now, except for one magazine (Gr8), there were no niche magazines dedicated to the booming world of television.
A new player - Israni Networking - has entered this rather unexplored area in the print medium and has launched a monthly magazine - Tele Prime Time (TPT), entirely focused on television.
The brainchild of Raj Israni, TPT aims to cover the serious business of television and as a policy refrain from juicy gossip and scoops. The first issue went on stands today (10 January).
Speaking to indiantelevision.com about the new magazine and its inception, Israni says, "Before plunging into this, we did a research on what was available in print on the business of television. We found that except for one magazine, there were no other players in this space. Every sector needs coverage and hence we decided to roll out a magazine dedicated to the television industry."
Israni has made a conscious effort to make the magazine reader friendly by including interactive columns with Sony's Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahi protagonist - "Jassi" (Mona Singh) and Star Plus' Kyunkii Saas Bhi Kabhie Bahu Thi star - "Tulsi" (Smriti Z Iraani). These interactive columns will be a regular feature in the magazine. Readers can have their questions answered by these television icons, which will be published in the magazine. This, Israni informs, has been done in consent with the respective channels.
TPT has advertisers like NDTV, Provogue, Cartoon Network, Pogo, Sony Entertainment Television, Vijay Karnataka, Bright Advertising, Tata and Kores Kino.
Guest columns from Anil Dharkar and ad guru Jagdeep Kapoor will also feature regularly in the magazine, wherein the veterans will write touch upon various industry issues. A couple of other senior industry professionals will also be roped in to write similar columns for the magazine.
Talking about his target audience, Israni says, "Our magazine is going to informative and tell people about how television is affecting society. I am targeting this magazine to the television industry, the ad agencies and the common man, which also includes housewives and college student."
The core editorial team of TPT comprises Raj Israni (publisher and editor-in-chief), Sudipto Chattopadhyay and Ira Flynn (executive editor). The magazine also has a few freelance journalists who contribute to the content.
"Initial jitters are felt when any new product is launched. There are initial hiccups and pressures, but I'm sure it will be a smooth sailing," says Israni.
Almost 45,000 copies of TPT, which is priced at Rs 40, will be published every month. Readers can get their complimentary copies of the first edition by mailing their contact details to info@teleprimetime.com.
