Date:28/08/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/08/28/stories/2005082801750100.htm

Back Desi spiritual channels offer `nirvana' to the West

Nithya Subramanian

New Delhi , Aug. 27

IN the swinging sixties, the West came to India searching for spirituality. But now, it's the age of instant nirvana. Riding on the rising popularity of yoga, meditation and karma, Indian spirituality channels are also expanding their footprint beyond the domestic boundaries.

CMM Broadcasting Network's Aastha channel recently launched a special feed for the UK market on Rupert Murdoch-owned BskyB direct-to-home (DTH) platform.

Similarly, it is available on another DTH platform, DirecTV, in the US. Besides this, it is also planning to foray into Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Fiji Islands.

The Zee Telefilms-promoted Jagran TV will be testing the international markets by initially offering paid content over the Web in countries such as Canada, the UK and the US. Meanwhile, Sanskar Channel is already present in some of these markets.

According to Mr Arvind Joshi, Head of Distribution and Marketing, CMM Broadcasting, "We have three different channels - one each for India, the UK and the US. And these are designed for those markets.

While for the first three months, the channel is being offered free in the UK, a subscriber has to pay a monthly subscription fee of $14.99 in the US." He, however, did not divulge the number of subscribers in these markets.

Even as Aastha is mainly targeting the first and second generation of the Indian Diaspora, Jagran plans to tap the non-English speaking markets as well. Mr Anil Anand, Head of Jagran, said, "We will customise the package by dubbing it in different languages. We feel that there will be a market for these channels, as the West normally looks towards the East for spirituality. And India is well-known for this."

Taking a cue from the general entertainment channels, these broadcasters are also focusing on slicker presentation and more appealing content. There is an attempt to widen the audience base and cater to the youth. Earlier, the channels used to appeal to audiences only above 55 years of age.

Officials claim that connectivity of the channels in India has also been growing with Jagran TV claiming that it reaches out to 12.5 million households. Also, the advertiser interest in these channels is on the rise. Companies such as MDH Masala, Rupa Frontline, Prakash Tubes and some others are also present on the channel.