Punjabi channels have been victimised by rating agencies: MD & President, PTC Network
Rabindra Narayan, MD & president, PTC Network, spoke about the rise of the PTC Network and the need for rating agencies to rethink their approach towards Punjabi channels.
The line between regional and mainstream has blurred. We are witnessing regional content become part of the so-called mainstream, taking the example of Punjabi influence on popular culture and culture industries like Bollywood. Even the major networks over the years have established regional presence and this has completely redefined the way we look at regional networks and regional content.
PTC Network has dominated Punjabi content for almost two decades now. Its reach far exceeds the local territory and has considerable viewership in countries like Canada, US, Australia, UK, UAE and New Zealand. Despite its reach and clout, the network has been at the receiving end of rating agencies. In an interview with exchange4media, Rabindra Narayan, MD & President, PTC Network, spoke about the rise of the PTC Network and the need for rating agencies to rethink their approach towards Punjabi channels.
Excerpts:
There have been conversations about regional vs mainstream. Now we witness mainstream channels going regional, how has this impacted this debate?
I think that is an old conversation in a time when channels were broadcast in pockets and were viewed in specific regions. When we started in 1998, the dream was that anybody could watch Gurbani from the Golden Temple, anywhere in the world. That is the mission we started with. Fortunately today it is so. So where is regional now? Where is the boundary now? There are not any.
Over a period of time, Punjabi music and Punjabi entertainment has specially proven that there are no boundaries. I have seen packed shows of Punjabi audiences in Spain, we were the only ones who did a show at Trafalgar Square, we have also had shows in Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto, UAE, Australia and New Zealand. The region for us is the globe now.
How would you define the contribution of PTC Network in building Punjabi entertainment?
It all started in 1998 when I started a channel called Punjabi World. That was the world’s first Punjabi channel. That was also the time when Punjab was emerging from economic and political challenges and rose like a phoenix. There was no entertainment industry, no films being made, no songs being released. You could just hear Gurdas Maan songs on Doordarshan or Malkit Singh in London only.
The new singers came in when they found that there was a Punjabi channel and they could use that platform. From then on we started patronising Punjabi artists. When PTC was established in Punjab, we had the luxury of having a full fledged music channel called PTC Chak De, and that helped build the platform on a global scale. In fact PTC Punjabi is the only Indian channel that is allowed inside the Canadian Parliament.
Can you tell us about the viewership trends of Punjabi channels?
I believe that is one aspect where Punjabi channels have been victimized by the rating agencies. All the rating agencies have been rating PHCHP and now Jammu & Kashmir has been added into it. Now tell me will a Marathi channel be rated on the basis of viewership in Gujarat? Will a Tamil channel be rated on the basis of viewership in Karnataka? So, why is this happening in the case of Punjabi channels? Punjabi viewership is measured on a collective basis with Haryana, Himachal, J&K, where the language is not even prevalent. As per BARC, only 9 or 10 people out of 100 in Punjab watch Punjabi channels. You really think that is the fact?
Zee, Star and Sony are number one channels here because you are getting Hindi viewership combined with Punjabi viewership. They may not be number one channels in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka or Maharashtra. But here in Punjab, why?
Now, I can’t compete with them despite the fact that we spend Rs 60 crore on original programming. Almost 80 per cent of the original Punjabi content produced in the world, if you take out movies and songs, is produced by PTC. Because of this victimisation, I cannot increase my ad rates. I have to compete with Hindi channels in Punjab and we are the only channel that is accepting ads for only 10 hours in a 24 hour cycle. Moreover as a policy, we have kept ourselves free-to-air since the beginning.
With digital platforms gaining popularity, how are you leveraging the scope and possibility of its reach?
Every five or ten years you see new technology and new platforms emerging for content consumption and there is a consumer for every kind of medium. We believe that if you want to ride the wave, you have be on the crest and you have to visualise what is next and be on top of it. We were the first Indian channel to have a virtual reality channel. Our recent launch of PTC Dhol TV - World’s First 24x7 TV Channel, exclusively on Facebook is an example of this thought process and it is getting a phenomenal response. So we are all geared to benefit, and in fact already benefiting from the possibility of what digital offers.
PTC Network has dominated Punjabi content for almost two decades now. Its reach far exceeds the local territory and has considerable viewership in countries like Canada, US, Australia, UK, UAE and New Zealand. Despite its reach and clout, the network has been at the receiving end of rating agencies. In an interview with exchange4media, Rabindra Narayan, MD & President, PTC Network, spoke about the rise of the PTC Network and the need for rating agencies to rethink their approach towards Punjabi channels.
Excerpts:
There have been conversations about regional vs mainstream. Now we witness mainstream channels going regional, how has this impacted this debate?
I think that is an old conversation in a time when channels were broadcast in pockets and were viewed in specific regions. When we started in 1998, the dream was that anybody could watch Gurbani from the Golden Temple, anywhere in the world. That is the mission we started with. Fortunately today it is so. So where is regional now? Where is the boundary now? There are not any.
Over a period of time, Punjabi music and Punjabi entertainment has specially proven that there are no boundaries. I have seen packed shows of Punjabi audiences in Spain, we were the only ones who did a show at Trafalgar Square, we have also had shows in Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto, UAE, Australia and New Zealand. The region for us is the globe now.
How would you define the contribution of PTC Network in building Punjabi entertainment?
It all started in 1998 when I started a channel called Punjabi World. That was the world’s first Punjabi channel. That was also the time when Punjab was emerging from economic and political challenges and rose like a phoenix. There was no entertainment industry, no films being made, no songs being released. You could just hear Gurdas Maan songs on Doordarshan or Malkit Singh in London only.
The new singers came in when they found that there was a Punjabi channel and they could use that platform. From then on we started patronising Punjabi artists. When PTC was established in Punjab, we had the luxury of having a full fledged music channel called PTC Chak De, and that helped build the platform on a global scale. In fact PTC Punjabi is the only Indian channel that is allowed inside the Canadian Parliament.
Can you tell us about the viewership trends of Punjabi channels?
I believe that is one aspect where Punjabi channels have been victimized by the rating agencies. All the rating agencies have been rating PHCHP and now Jammu & Kashmir has been added into it. Now tell me will a Marathi channel be rated on the basis of viewership in Gujarat? Will a Tamil channel be rated on the basis of viewership in Karnataka? So, why is this happening in the case of Punjabi channels? Punjabi viewership is measured on a collective basis with Haryana, Himachal, J&K, where the language is not even prevalent. As per BARC, only 9 or 10 people out of 100 in Punjab watch Punjabi channels. You really think that is the fact?
Zee, Star and Sony are number one channels here because you are getting Hindi viewership combined with Punjabi viewership. They may not be number one channels in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka or Maharashtra. But here in Punjab, why?
Now, I can’t compete with them despite the fact that we spend Rs 60 crore on original programming. Almost 80 per cent of the original Punjabi content produced in the world, if you take out movies and songs, is produced by PTC. Because of this victimisation, I cannot increase my ad rates. I have to compete with Hindi channels in Punjab and we are the only channel that is accepting ads for only 10 hours in a 24 hour cycle. Moreover as a policy, we have kept ourselves free-to-air since the beginning.
With digital platforms gaining popularity, how are you leveraging the scope and possibility of its reach?
Every five or ten years you see new technology and new platforms emerging for content consumption and there is a consumer for every kind of medium. We believe that if you want to ride the wave, you have be on the crest and you have to visualise what is next and be on top of it. We were the first Indian channel to have a virtual reality channel. Our recent launch of PTC Dhol TV - World’s First 24x7 TV Channel, exclusively on Facebook is an example of this thought process and it is getting a phenomenal response. So we are all geared to benefit, and in fact already benefiting from the possibility of what digital offers.
