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August, 2003 |
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Cover Story |
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Sky War Ground Reality Suddenly
two TV channels went on air in Nepal on July 13, 2003. That coincidence
was not much of a surprise to the ordinary viewers as well as the
advertisers as they were sort of tired waiting for these channels that
had promised to go on air way back in October 2003. However, they are
happy that they are now having wider choice when compared to the earlier
situation of only three channels broadcasting programs in Nepali - two
from Nepal itself (NTV & Channel Nepal) and one from abroad (Nepal
1). More important aspect of
the news was that it created a sudden stir in the business sector that
was otherwise sleepy in face of the ongoing slump. Though the estimated
Rs. 700 million invested by the new TV channels Kantipur TV (KTV) and
Image Metro is not a big amount from any normal standard, the present
situation is in no way a normal one. Any additional investment in any
form is welcome as it may trigger a multiplier effect. More important from that
angle is the fact that three more channels (NTV Metro, Shangrila TV and
Avenues TV) are expected to be operational within September itself or in
October and KTV is to increase investment to Rs. 1000 million. The
planned investment from all these push the investment figure beyond Rs.
2 billion. However, almost everybody
seems concerned at the sudden outgrowth of TV channels. One concern is
about their business viability. Secondly, there also is a fear that the
new channels will snatch away significant volume of business from the
other media. Though the TV Channel
companies recall the developments of mid-nineties when the new FM
stations had caused the business volume to grow without reducing the
business of the other existing media and they expect the same to be
repeated this time, some analysts point out (e.g. see Ajaya Mishra's
article later in this section) that the situation now is not comparable
with the mid-nineties. Then it was a growing economy, this time it is in
decline thus causing a general decline in the promotional budget of all
the businesses. If the new channels get some ad business, a significant
portion of that will come as diverted from the print media. Licensing Saga The story of licensing TV
channels in Nepal had taken bizarre turns till Kantipur and Image Metro
went on air, the future of the channels was shrouded in uncertainty. As
may be recalled, Channel Nepal had to wait years before it could
transmit its program from within the country. Though it had imported and
installed all the equipment with proper government approval, the
government refused to allow it to transmit its program from its station.
Then the company had to move the court which finally decided in favour
of the channel just a couple of months ago.
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