'Media is going through a convergence phase, and technology plays a vital role here'

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BAG Films has witnessed the transformation of the Indian broadcast industry over the years, and has tried to match up with the pace. With a bouquet of new offerings, the company is geared up to set new trends again. A postgraduate in political science and a journalist by profession, Anurradha Prasad, promoter and MD, BAG Films, shares the company's vision and outlook of the industry.

What were your plans when you started BAG Films and did you expect the kind of growth BAG Films witnessed over the years?
Whenever you start something, you don't think too much about the future. It's a kind of present-future scenario and not a future-future scenario. I always believed that it has to grow. Once things get started, they go through a phase of ups and downs and then you re-engineer the whole process based on the prevalent situation at that time.

What was the market situation when you entered the market?
We started in 1994. At that time there was hardly any player in the segment, except Doordarshan. We started with a video magazine, but there was no scope for such things in the market at that time. So, we had to create a market and then make it acceptable. There was a lot of struggle involved. It was tough. Then I moved to Mumbai and things started happening. Also, we always had the first mover advantage.

Why did it take you so long to come up with a full-fledged 24x7 news channel?
We have been a content company. Our philosophy is to provide all forms of content. It ranges from news to reality drama, daily soaps, radio, and films. If you know, we were working very closely with Star News all these days. So, it is not something unexpected. We were planning to come up with a news channel. It was just about the timing. There is so much competition in the market and we thought this is the right time to make an entry. Competition will always be there. So, why not jump into the fray and face it? If we deliver quality, we will survive.

Anurradha Prasad, Promoter and MD, BAG Films

What milestones have BAG Films achieved throughout its long journey?
The response to our programs has always been great. There are several milestones in the journey of BAG Films. We have given some very good programs to viewers. Our news and views programs like Rozana and Rubaru have been trendsetters in the space. Sansani, a crime-based program on Star News, is still going great. We started the concept of afternoon soaps with Kumkum. The show is receiving excellent TRPs even now. For Haqueekat, we have won several awards. We also started a food show called Zayeka ka Safar.

So, all our programs have been trendsetters in their space. It is just that when you move on with newer things, the earlier achievements take a backseat. But our biggest achievement is our people. There are people who are with the company since its inception. They are as passionate about the company as I am.

What is the USP of the newly launched news channel 'News 24'?
If you notice, the Hindi news channels today are doing everything other than news. I strongly feel that it has daunted the credibility of Hindi news and has given its space to English channels. There is a clear rise in English news viewership.

I will try to bring back the glory of Hindi news channels through my venture. The news will have credibility and information catering to the masses. We are not going to show fairy tales and things like Bhoot-Pret, Jadu-Tona, etc. We will focus on news and the treatment might be different from what others are doing. That's why the tagline 'News is back'.

What technology initiatives have you taken?
We are very aggressive and tech-savvy. Our entire library is digitized and there is nothing called tape. Everything works on chip. So ours is a tape-less newsroom. We have a full-fledged IT team, which develops solutions for us. We are working on developing an IPTV platform. Very soon, our website will go live with news. Simultaneously, we will provide news on mobile in the form of mobile TV, SMS alerts. We have our own SMS gateway for that. The video streaming of news would continue.

How has the media industry transformed over the years?
Media is a dynamic industry. Today, people have various sources of information and to be in the competition, you have to be present in every form. You create content and it can be put on the website, mobile and other platforms with a different outlook and treatment. Media is going through a convergence phase and technology plays a vital role here. Content without technology is nothing.

We do a lot of work with cellular players like Vodafone, Bharti, and Idea to offer content. We also have our radio station, Radio Dhamal. In a nutshell, we are everywhere and moving ahead with the right mix of technology.

What challenges do you face in setting up a new platform?
India offers different opportunities in the form of challenges. At present, every industry is facing the challenge of talent crunch, and media is no exception. We still lack technically qualified people who can be guided editorially. But, like everyone else, we are coping with this. We have set up 30 bureaus across the country and the workforce of around 300 people provides a little comfort.

What are your plans for expansion?
This year we are coming up with two more channels-E 24 and Bliss 24. E 24 will be glamour, lifestyle, celebrity and Bollywood mixed content base channel, while Bliss 24, a mind, body, soul theme channel, will especially target the viewers abroad. We are always open to any collaboration with foreign media houses.

Kumar Anshuman
anshumank@cybermedia.co.in