AgTalk | 2013 been a year of many firsts for NGC India: Keertan Adyanthaya

If one has to shift focus from the habituated Hindi GEC space, the infotainment space on television has evolved itself over the years and the change is quite evident. National Geographic Channel (NGC) and FOX International Channels (FIC) have always been in the lime light for launching differentiated content with and over time. NGC has shows like The 80s, Buddh International Circuit: A Race Against Time, etc in its kitty. Along with these the changing face of ‘infotainment’ programming on NGC has shows such as Supercars, Emergency Room, Inside IPL among others. All these shows have not only proved the above stated fact but have stood upon the philosophy of being in infotainment genre - catchier and easier for the viewer to relate to, yet just as informative & relevant as shows telecast in the past, on the channel.

Additionally, the channel, despite a host of international shows, has actively been focusing on making its content more relevant for the Indian viewer, with India-special episodes, India-centric series and engaging with Indian brand ambassadors, such as John Abraham (as the face of the channel) & Irrfan Khan (brand ambassador of Emergency Room)

Adgully caught up with Keertan Adyanthaya, MD, National Geographic & FOX International Channels to understand the plans and know the strategies that lay ahead.

Adgully (AG): The year is nearing a closure, share 3 key high-points that happened at the channel.

Keertan Adyanthaya (KA): This year has been a year of many firsts for NGC India.  I shall talk about the significant 3! Firstly, it is Breakthrough in local production: for the first time ever, not just for the channel, but for Indian television overall, viewers got a glimpse of the challenges and struggles inside a real emergency room of a multi-specialty hospital, through our successful series ‘Emergency Room’. To give the Indian viewer a deeper understanding of the flash-floods of Uttarakhand, the NGC India team, in record turn-around time, put together ‘Trapped in Kedarnath’. NGC has also captured the many facets of one of world’s most dynamic sporting events- IPL. The series ‘Inside IPL’, to go on air, early 2014 deals with not just what the fans have seen till now, but also digs deeper into strategy, business and the entire running of the IPL machinery. Secondly, it is our growth in market share: this year, NGC has grown significantly in its primetime share, and has successfully upstaged leadership for many weeks in core markets. And thirdly, our brand ambassador: this year we welcomed John Abraham onboard- to represent the values of the channel and spread the channel philosophy.

AG: You head dual responsibilities - NGC and Fox Traveller, do you feel any challenges in heading both the brands?

KA: FIC has a wide repertoire of channels across the globe; hence we have a wide range of experience to borrow from. Whether its infotainment, lifestyle, general entertainment, movies, news or sports; we have best practices in place to create a versatile network that will give quality entertainment and multiple choices to the viewer, and great value to advertisers.

Here in India, more than challenging, I find it exciting to straddle across the infotainment genre and also lead the travel and lifestyle genre together. They have adequate similarities, in terms of the quality of entertainment the viewers expect, but have different triggers and barriers to demand customized attention.

AG: You have been a key stimulant in bringing in focus on local content along with the already available strong international content on both the channels. How feasible or gratifying is producing local content for the channels?

KA: There is no dearth of ideas or expertise when it comes to producing local content at FIC. The feasibility point, at times, arises due to rigorous quality filters we have. Our content is extremely well researched and produced at par with international standards. Which is why, it is very challenging to put together a show in quick turn-around time. Moreover, we deliver our content in 5 different languages, which itself takes up a good amount of time in the delivery chain. However, we are breaking new grounds each year. As mentioned earlier, ‘Trapped in Kedarnath’ was done in less than half the time a show of such calibre takes up. This year we have already produced three and four other local productions on NGC and Fox Traveller respectively. And the numbers are growing at a healthy pace each year.
On a gratification scale, creation of local content is very high. Not only does it allow us to deal with more relevant and topical subjects that interest India, but it also provides a great opportunity for our advertisers to seamlessly integrate their brand and propositions as deemed fit.

AG: Tell us how and why the choice of John Abraham as the face of NGC?

KA: There is a lot more to John Abraham than what is largely known of him. He is a wildlife enthusiast, a messiah of active and outdoorsy life, a sharp brain, and most importantly, a man who pushes boundaries, experiments and is always open to the new and varied. It is pretty much what NGC believes in. Which is why John is such a natural fit - reinforcing and embodying the channel philosophy ‘Unlock’.

AG: How has digitization affected the growth of your channel? Does this movement bring in more pressure for producing premium content? Also, how has it helped you widen your viewer base?

KA: Both NGC and Fox Traveller have enjoyed a good distribution strength even before digitization. But digitization has definitely ensured a quality delivery and to the entire gamut of viewers in these markets. We have seen an increased level of sampling of our channels. And since we have always invested in blue chip content, the sampling has also converted into retention, owing to substantial growth in NGC’s viewer base and leadership for Fox Traveller. Premium content and fresh formats have always been our focus, and continue to be so.

AG: How does the channel approach at creating customized content (AFP)?

KA: Infotainment and lifestyle genre allows two things to brands and their marketers: an intelligent and experimenting viewer with high disposable income, and many different sub genres, that can be utilized well to create content that reflect values and properties of a large number of categories, and their brands. We at NGC and Fox Traveller welcome such associations and value these partnerships, because two like-minded brands working together always creates interesting content.

AG: Channels in the genre of travel and infotainment are usually subscription-based channels. How do you work on the ad-rates then?

KA: Ad rates are directly proportionate to the channel strength in the market. Since both our channels enjoy a large share of their respective pies, our ad rates are healthy and have had the bandwidth to take periodical hikes

AG: Do you foresee the decreasing carriage fees influence revenues at NGC and Fox Traveller?

KA: Decreasing carriage fee will allow us to invest better in content and marketing of the channels.

AG: With the genre getting cluttered, how do you plan to communicate your 'new' offerings to the audience? In the marketing and promotional campaigns, what is the degree of focus on innovation and building a 360 degree campaign? 

KA: While creative campaigns need to be clutter breaking, and conventional media, will always have its point of strength, much earlier on; we understood the value of new media and targeted marketing and started investing in the same.  Today we are six million strong on Facebook and growing at a fast pace on Twitter, that allows us to directly interact with our fans. We also believe in experiential marketing. ‘India Bike Week’ is a strong on-ground experience of what the Fox Traveller philosophy is – ‘This journey is fun’!

AG: 2013 has been a turbulent one. How are both the channels dealing with it?

KA: Whatever turbulence the television industry has seen- whether it is about digitization phase, or switching to TVT reporting, both have worked out favourably for us.

AG: NGC is known to be involved in a lot of on-ground activities, for example National Geography Photography among others. What is next in store?

KA: As brand NGC, we look forward to taking our values and beliefs outside the television and touching people directly. ‘Unlock’ gives us few such opportunities. To name one - we are planning to create confidence and courage building camps for kids, when it comes to life outdoors, which will release their fear of such things and live a more holistic childhood.  For ‘Nat Geo Moment Awards’, the annual photography contest hosted on social media, we initiated an on-ground experience for the participants by starting the first ever ‘InstaWalks’ in 3 cities. We would like to take this forward in a big way in the upcoming year.

AG: Given the current market scenario, how are you looking at 2014?

KA: Boom of the HD bouquet, higher subscription revenues, great content line-up along with local production and differentiated marketing!