5 August 2005

Star India eyes bigger prize with Millionaire show
Reuters News
(c) 2005 Reuters Limited

By Rina Chandran

BOMBAY, Aug 5 (Reuters) - When it first launched five years ago it quickly became the biggest show on Indian television, catapulting Star India to the number one position and making the network the Star group's biggest revenue generator.

On Friday night, Star, a wholly owned subsidiary of News Corp. , launches "Kaun Banega Crorepati 2" (KBC 2) -- "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" --, with the aim of strengthening its position and driving its weekend viewing.

"It's shaping up to be the biggest TV franchise in India this year and it's significant because it's leading the new slate of shows and channels they're pushing," said Vivek Couto, executive director of Hong Kong- based research firm Media Partners Asia.

The Star group, which broadcasts across Asia, is estimated to have posted revenues of about $475 million in the past year that ended in June, with Star India contributing nearly 70 percent. The Indian operations also account for the bulk of its profits.

Star airs and distributes 18 channels in India and recently received approval for a $370-million direct-to-home satellite venture with the Tata group.

KBC, which also revived the fortunes of Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan, could earn advertising revenues of about $55-60 million, with profit margins of more than 65 percent, according to Media Partners Aaia.

But some media buyers are questioning the high advertising rates and are sceptical of the success of the show -- which ran 305 episodes last time and will air 85 episodes now. The prize money has been doubled to 20 million rupees ($460,000).

"We're not recommending it to our clients. We're telling them, unless you have lots of money to spend, don't bother'," said Ravi Kiran, managing director of Starcom Worldwide, the media buying agency of Publicis.

Advertising rates are as high as $20,000 for 30 seconds, nearly 50 percent higher than for Star's top soaps and three times more than when the show first launched in 2000.

"It was a novel concept when it was launched, but Indians are generally not very enthusiastic about sequels, and we've had our fill of game shows and quiz shows since then," Kiran said.

FINAL ANSWER

When Star India launched KBC, it was a distant No. 3 network, lagging Zee Telefilms Ltd. and Sony Entertainment Television. The show soon became the most highly watched on cable television, pushing Star to the No. 1 slot.

The show received more than 90 million calls from aspiring participants and host Bachchan's cryptic "lock kiya jaay?" -- "is that your final answer?" -- became part of the popular lexicon.

The Bollywood legend, who has said he took on the contract because he was in a financial crisis after a failed business enterprise, was besieged by film makers and advertisers after the show's success.

But media buyers like Kiran are wary of a Bachchan overkill.

"There was a novelty to seeing Bachchan in our living room then. It was a new role for him. But he's been in so many films and ads, there's no longer that much excitement," he said.

So the KBC team, more than 200-strong, have given Bachchan a makeover. The 63-year-old has discarded sober suits for a black leather jacket. Gone is the moral philosophy -- instead, he raps out a song, as he did in a recent Hindi hit film, "Bunty aur Babli" (Bunty and Babli), which also starred his son.

"Bachchan is cooler, hipper, has a point of view on Bluetooth, because the audience has changed," said Star India's Chief Operating Officer Sameer Nair, who was instrumental in bringing the show to India.

"Then, there were about 20 million cable TV homes. Today, there are 52 million. So there's a whole new audience that didn't even see it then, and the TV environment has changed," he said.

Elsewhere, the "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" franchise -- first launched in the UK in 1988 and aired in more than 100 countries from Kazakhstan to Kenya -- seems to be faltering.

But Star believes it can still draw audiences in India.

"The biggest reason people will watch KBC 2 is there's nothing else to watch on the weekend," said Nair. 
($1=43.5 Indian rupees)