Epic, the segmented entertainment channel helmed by Mahesh Samat, launches this Wednesday. Simran Sabherwal talks to its X-man and industry experts to know if the new channel has what it takes to change the rules of Indian TV viewership
In 2003, 13 years after BR Chopra’s televised version of Mahabharat had wound up after having awakened a generation to the Indian epic, author Ashok Banker published Prince of Ayodhya, the first volume of an eight-part series on another epic, Ramayan. His subsequent books may not have had the same impact as the Chopras’ TV series, but they set a trend in literature and other popular culture of revisiting our demigods and humanizing their stories.
In 2010, another author, Amish Tripathi, launched the first book of his Shiva Trilogy, which would go on to be an iconic bestseller and change the rules of Indian literature, besides making him a millionaire.
In 2012, Mahesh Samat, then Managing Director of Walt Disney India, quit to put into motion his plans of launching India’s first entertainment channel dedicated to mythology and history. As you read this, Samat’s venture, Epic Television Networks, backed by promoters such as Mukesh Ambani, Anand Mahindra and Rohit Khattar, prepares itself to launch Epic on November 19.
The Historical Differentiator
As MD of Epic Television Networks now, Samat says the upcoming channel stands for something he has long been trying to do. “Mythology and history-driven entertainment resonates with viewers, the name ‘Epic’ signifies what we are trying to do - tell big stories in different, interesting ways which will have longevity.” With the current crop of Hindi GECs banking on soaps, Samat feels Epic will provide a refreshing take on Indian culture and more importantly, provide alternative entertainment.
Epic’s shows, besides being woven around the history-mythology theme, will follow the global trend of airing weekly, with a limited number of episodes, thereby giving the opportunity for the channel to take the ‘seasons’ route based on the response. Samat explains, “We believe there is a consumer trend towards weeklies and with fragmentation of Television, that will become even more important.”
Starting with two-and-a-half hours of content (the rest being repeat telecasts), the channel will showcase fiction, non-fiction and even comedy genres and put up a wide range of sub-genres within history and mythology. Mohit Joshi, Managing Director, Havas Media India, comments on the channel’s mythology stance, saying, “Mythology has been a key part of all the channels’ philosophies in the past. Now, with a dedicated channel and new stories with a contemporary take, the content will become more compelling. Mythology has always fascinated us, there is a good chance of it connecting with consumers again.”
The focus is also not on ‘appointment viewing’ but ‘occasion-based viewing’, Samat feels. “We are trying to create a brand around history and mythology in Television. If you are interested, you would watch it and wait for the shows. That said, we don’t expect you to watch history and mythology all the time,” he says.
Of GECs, NECs and now SECs
Traditional positioning has slotted channels into buckets of General Entertainment Channels (GEC) or Niche Entertainment Channels (NEC), but Epic has since inception made its position clear as a ‘Segmented Entertainment Channel’ (SEC).
“If I give an index where GEC is 100 and Niche is at 1, we are probably going be somewhere between 30-40. We are not going to be a niche and we are not going to be as big as a GEC. That’s primarily because our distribution is limited to digital India and digitized India. We are used to either niches or GECs, but there is a huge opportunity in between those, which we feel we can cover,” Samat explains.
A contemporary take on history also means that the channel will primarily be targeted towards the 22 to 44-year-old urban Indian age group (with more of a male skew than most GECs) while catering to both genders.
Who is the real hero?
With detective, travel and even food shows in the pipeline in addition to the expected historical and mythological series, the variety in story-telling is what Samat is banking upon. “Our strategy is to drive the branding to get people to understand the differentiation between just another mythological or history driven show and us. It’s also the reason why we have not chosen a popular face as an ambassador for the launch phase, we’re not a GEC channel to do that! Our content is the hero,” Samat asserts.
While history shows are part of the programming mix of practically every GEC, Samat says that the Epic approach to mythology will be different from others’, as it will reveal hidden facets of Indian mythology and tell it in limited episodes to avoid an ‘endless approach’.
“Given the size of our Television market and the number of viewers, it’s time for alternatives and this is the alternative,” he adds.
Riding on Great Potential
Anupriya Acharya, Group CEO, ZenithOptimedia Group and someone who’s watched a few promo showreels, tells us that the channel has immense potential. “Their concepts are very interesting, there is a show about Indian spies, there are real stories set in the history of India, there is a show with a different take on Mahabharata. This is compelling stuff, and the production quality is very good,” she says.
On his part, Ashish Bhasin, Chairman & CEO South Asia - Dentsu Aegis Network & Chairman Posterscope & psLIVE - Asia Pacific, says, “The acid test for Epic will be if they maintain good quality content over a period of time. The channel has a very professional management team under Mahesh Samat. We will have to wait and see how it connects with the consumers, but the ingredients seem to be there.”
Powering this content are about 20 production houses, a mix of old and young talents experienced in the field. These include Balaji Telefilms, Green Light Productions, Bolt Media, A Bellyful of Dreams, Rose Audio, Face Entertainment and Rangrez Media. Epic is also collaborating with film-makers and has got on board film director Pankaj Parashar. Samat says, “We are looking at anyone who has an idea, is passionate about the idea and can fit it in the budget which Television has.”
Indian primetime viewing habits are now based on dailies and publicized finite shows, and they don't make the mark, Samat feels, but is wary of the viewer having the same expectations of Epic as of a GEC. “I want to be successful and get as large a number of people as possible, but I know in a fragmented world, with my digital distribution, I am going to have a certain level of success and that is what I want to be clear with everyone upfront.”
The Distribution Tangle
Arriving on digital cable and Direct-To-Home (DTH) platforms, Epic is targeting 50 million households in three to six months time. “A GEC reaches out to much more than that and we feel that 50 million households from a reach standpoint will get us to the business plan we want to achieve,” Samat surmises, doling out the figures.
On IndiaCast taking on the mantle of distribution, Samat feels it’s an ‘arm’s length’ relationship. “It’s an interesting exercise because our content and programming would work well with our distribution partners to enhance the offerings. The distribution platforms can make this a unique offering to consumers and thereby help increase ARPUs and impact businesses in a different way than most other new channels can,” he explains.
The price of history
Entering a Television industry the size of Rs 50,140 crore (2014 figures, according to industry reports), dozens of competitors in the segment and expensive stakes of production, it takes either shrewdness or stupidity for a new, ‘unique’ player. Samat believes he has a different business model in this game: “We are going to limited reach and are investing more in content. We have three legs of revenue – advertising, subscription and syndication. The initial response from advertisers has been positive and clients have understood the channel’s differentiated content, target consumers and the fact that Epic is not like a GEC.”
Says Divya Radhakrishnan, Managing Director, Helios Media, which handles the ad sales duties of the channel, “We have received encouraging response from senior media professionals to whom we have introduced Epic. Being India’s first segmented Hindi entertainment channel, it’s a viable alternative for urban metro audiences who are veering off linear TV consumption due to lack of choices. Epic’s content pull with its visual appeal in HD and 5.1 surround sound places it in a league of its own, comparable with international standards. We strongly believe that the channel will command a premium over standard entertainment fare that is presently available.”
On a cautious note, she adds, “In a competitive market such as ours, the rates get benchmarked post the performance of the channel. Performance need not just be TAM ratings. Today, social buzz is an equally convincing evaluation benchmark. Advertisers will open their purses once they see the viewership buzz around the channel.”
Meanwhile, Acharya again puts the onus on content that will be on show this Wednesday onwards, saying, “The question for the advertiser is, what kind of viewership will the channel garner? Viewership is not only a function of strong content, but also of distribution, promotion and how people take to it. Is there stickiness to the content? I feel ‘appointment viewing’ is going away from our habits bit by bit and for a fresh channel, it might be even tougher to achieve it.”
Bhasin believes premium brands will associate with the channel. “Advertisers will pay what they believe is a good rate depending on whether the channel delivers the eyeballs in the universe it occupies. The client will clearly not pay if it does not deliver,” he points out.
Beyond Indian frontiers
Betting big on syndication, Epic is not just looking at the regional space but also the international market. While the Indian diaspora is the primary target, Samat believes that the limited episodes format would also appeal to viewers interested in knowing more about India. “Our shows will have a global audience, that’s why we are looking at syndication very seriously and have already got huge interest from prospective buyers at MipCom. The whole concept of focusing on syndications is so unusual, it is difficult to gauge, but we think we will do better in syndication than expected,” he tells us.
For now, Samat and his team, having seen off a long period of preparations, remain confident about their channel creating a new creative ecosystem. “For the first time in many years, we are seeing an opportunity to talk about something different and we have embraced it fully,” sums up Samat. Now, it remains to be seen whether Epic stays true to its name, and counts among the landmarks in the past decade that have revived and held up India’s glorious past to its young ‘butterfly generation’.
Feedback: simran.sabherwal@exchange4media.com
