Channel V is looking to make a dent in the lucrative Japanese market.To this end, the joint venture between Star and EMI Music will work in tandem with Space Shower Networks, Japan‘s dominant music network, to develop a new music television channel.

Currently, V‘s international channel is available in Japan on the SkyPerfecTV! platform. Space Shower network started in 1989 as the first Japanese music specialty network. Channel V will take a 10 per cent stake in Space Shower Networks. Only the Itochu Corporation has a larger stake in the Japanese network as of now. The alliance will take advantage of the exciting range of programming fare that Channel V dishes out, as well as Space Shower Networks‘ strength in the local music scene.

The new channel will be built on the existing Space Shower TV. Space Shower TV which reaches 3.8 million households, has set itself the target of increasing the figure to four million by the end of the current fiscal.

Channel V sees value in the relationship because the Space Shower channel raps with the Jap youth who groove to pop music. Channel V claims to reach over 46 million homes in the pan Asian region. In India, the channel is rejigging its programming structure to counter the stiff competition from MTV. It also has channels in Greater China, Thailand, Australia and Korea.

The mutually beneficial alliance will help Space Shower to broaden the reach of its content in the Asian region.

When English movie channel Hallmark launched in Asia, not many industry watchers were confident that it would last out the long haul. The Asian viewer had enough of local fare to watch, apart from the mega blockbuster Hollywood movies on leading movie channels Star Movies and HBO. The viewer would not really get swayed by the ‘made for television‘ movies on Hallmark, went the view.
But a global relaunch last year, better programme packaging, better on-air branding has seen Hallmark gradually making a mark. The Crown Media-owned channel has become an option that viewers are increasingly beginning to snack on.

In a press release, Hallmark claims that the relaunch has also worked in increasing its penetration by 50 per cent in the Asia Pacific region. The channel claims to be available in 18 million homes, up from 12 million last year.

Crown Media International managing director & chief executive (Asia) Terence Yau says this figure includes viewers from "India to Japan, and from China to Australia and New Zealand -- who are currently able to watch the service on seven different feeds and branded blocks."

Yau adds that during the course of the year, the channel worked hard at transforming its scope and feel. It identified viewer segments like children and the mature adult and went after them with innovative programming blocks. All this meant that the whole family could stay glued to the channel during primetime.

Besides subscribers, the Channel is working hard at building on its advertising database through a strong combo of on-air and on-ground packages. To this end, it has taken advantage of its Hallmark Cards chain of retail stores. This is something other C&S channels find hard to match.

40 per cent of the channel‘s product is exclusive and the programming is an interesting mix of family flicks and mini series. People looking to add spice to their lives tuned into the imaginative science fiction themed series Sliders. The dramatic series Touched by an Angel and Brooklyn South kept the thinking viewer engrossed, while kids had their share of Sesame Street, Clifford, and Calliou.

Hallmark recently bought the seventh season of Touched by an Angel from CBS, a total of 27 new episodes. The channel has also held promotional events in a bid to imprint its unique identity on the viewers‘ psyche. In February, Bai Ling and Russell Wong who starred in The Monkey King visited Asia for the film‘s premiere. Hallmark also connected with the crucial women‘s segment in May by keeping aside a week where films appealing to women were shown. The channel claims that this had an impact in India, Singapore, Philippines and Malalysia.

Hallmark is also forging stronger relationships with cable operators. It invited some of them to South Australia to see how the mini-series McLeod‘s Daughters was being made. The series is expected to debut on the channel in March 2002.

It rewrote Indian TV rules, catapulted Star to the number one slot before losing steam and dwindling down to a mere two nights a week show.

Kaun Banega Crorepati will now take a breather from January 2002. 1 January, to be precise, will be the last we see of Amitabh Bachchan and the now famous line Lock kiya jaaye? till Star decides to revive the show. According to official estimates, the series can afford a respite at this juncture - it has had a run of 300 episodes, nearly 3000 contestants, over 500 on the hot seat, more than 60,000 studio audiences, over 90 million phone calls and more than Rs 260 million given away as prize money.

A temporary respite, in fact, is the international norm. Even the original Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? takes a break after running for six weeks. In India, it was the immense popularity that sustained the show for such a long run.

The channel has promised to bring the show back around July 2002, and is also scheduled to launch a slew of new programmes, beginning January. KBC, points out Star, brought glamour into Indian homes - with film stars Aamir Khan, Shahrukh Khan, Rani Mukherjee, television stars from hit serials and cricketers too.
Says Star executive VP Sameer Nair: "We‘ve enjoyed every moment of the show, shooting with Amitabh Bachchan, guests stars, interacting with audiences, and basking in the unprecedented success of the show. Every, such show needs a small break and now it‘s time for Kaun Banega Crorepati too. Come, July-August, and watch out? we‘ll be back with Amitabh Bachchan and a big, brighter and bigger show."