Indian Television Industry

The media industry in India has undergone through a massive change in the last five years as compared to perhaps previous decades. In spite of its ubiquitous presence the Broadcasting Industry is still in its infancy in the country. There are a number of similarities between the development of electronic media in India with that of Europe wherein the control of airwaves was in the hands of the government for most of the 20th century and the winds of change were ushered in by the cable and satellite industry.

Television in Europe is too is pretty complex and is a picture of constant change. Europe is an amalgamation of different countries, cultures, languages and different media economics. This picture has emerged over the last ten, twenty years. Up to early 1980’s the public broadcasting system dominated in the 17 countries of Western Europe. Against some 40 public channels in 1980 there were only four commercial channels, in only three countries(Luxembourg, Finland and the UK). At the end of the 20th century the balance has shifted. As per European Audio Visual observatory there are about 3000 television channels in 2003. Similarly India too had a monopolistic public boradcasting system till early 90's.

The advent of cable and satellite television viz. "Invasion form the sky" that Indians were initiated into 24 hours of news and entertainment in 1991 -92. A small start of 4 odd channels has mashroomed into 400 plus channels today.

Indian Television Industry - A Brief History

Television was introduced experimentally in India in 1959 under the aegis of state run radio company, Akashvani (All India Radio) after much debate about whether the country needed television or not. Programming consisted of two hours of programming per week and gradually expanded to include folk dancing and music, an occasional play and programs directed towards women. Regular broadcasts did not commence till 1965.

The 1982 Asian Games held in New Delhi provided opportunities for innovative programming and live national broadcasts, as well as new opportunities for advertising. The Games also prompted the induction of colour Television broadcast, albeit after an intense debate about the requirement of such a luxury.

In 1984, serial madness took hold with Hum Log (We the People) a soap about the struggles and triumphs of a middle class family and Buniyaad (foundation) about partition became national craze. This was the first exposure that the entertainment poor Indians had with daily soaps and they were an instant hit. This was followed by serialization of mythical stories that bought entire nation to a standstill during their telecast. Ramayan and Mahabharat ensured that streets wore a deserted look on Sunday mornings across the country. Cricket was always a popular sport in the country and this further popularized TV through 1980’s. The turning point was the live broadcast of Benson and Hedges Cup from Australia.

In 1991 CNN started beaming the first gulf war live to Indian homes. CNN’s 24 hour availability was a novelty in the country dominated by Doordarshan and used to 9:00 PM evening news mostly toeing the state line. Rough and ready entrepreneurs wired up entire housing complexes and localities and started distributing the signal captured by a dish antenna. The same year saw the launch of STAR TV and in 1992 Subhash Chandra launched ZEE TV, the first general entertainment channel exclusively targeted at the Indian audience.Zee TV ruled the Indian cable industry till 1999.

The year 2003 saw a glimpse of the third ignition- A revamp of the distribution infrastructure- that could revolutionize the television viewing experience and usher the television industry on the path of future sustainable growth. Technological advancements, once again will be the key enabler, the one driver that will facilitate the “how” of delivering television content efficiently and effectively.

The industry that was started in 1992 with 5 channels has grown to 436 channels in 2009 and in 2009 itself 35 New channels have already been launched, as compared to 65 odd new launches last year. It simply does not look like a slowdown by any standard for the Television Broadcasting Industry in India!!