REAL

CHANNEL: REAL

COUNTRY: India

LAUNCH DATE: March 2, 2009

OWNERSHIP: REAL is operated by Real Global Broadcasting, a 50/50 joint venture of Turner International India and Alva Brothers Entertainment.

DISTRIBUTION: REAL is a digitally encrypted pay channel and is distributed through the Zee Turner bouquet. It is available across the country on cable systems and digital platforms, including DishTV, TATA Sky and SUN Direct.

DESCRIPTION: Targeting a demographic dubbed "Neo Indians," REAL is a Hindi-language general-entertainment channel offering reality entertainment and scripted fare.

SENIOR MANAGEMENT:
Director, Real Global Broadcasting: Sunil Lulla
President, Real Global Broadcasting: Sharada Sunder
Head, Marketing, Real Global Broadcasting: Vidyuth Bhandary
Head, Advertising Sales, Real Global Broadcasting: Anuradha Kini
Head, Finance and Administration, Real Global Broadcasting: Puruskar Gupta

PROGRAMMING STRATEGY: The general-entertainment category (GEC) is arguably the most lucrative segment of the Indian TV market, accounting for some 35 percent of the total TV viewing in the country. So it’s no wonder that this is also the most hotly contested area in the Indian landscape, populated by stalwarts STAR Plus, Zee and SET, and the upstarts Colors (a Viacom joint venture), NDTV Imagine and 9X, among others. REAL is Turner’s first attempt at targeting Hindi GEC viewers, after building a thriving kids’ business in India with Cartoon Network and Pogo. To embark on this venture, the company turned to Alva Brothers, the parent company of the successful production outfit Miditech, creating a 50/50 joint venture, Real Global Broadcasting, at the beginning of this year. REAL subsequently began rolling out across the country in March, distributed through the Zee Turner bouquet of channels.

Entering an already crowded market, REAL has honed in on a demographic that Sunil Lulla, an Asian cable and satellite TV veteran who now heads up Real Global Broadcasting, refers to as "Neo Indians. These are people who are more globally aware, outward looking and urban oriented and who are looking for a distinctive alternative in their entertainment needs. To that extent, REAL reaches out to both men and women equally," primarily in the 15-to-35 demo.

"REAL’s differentiation stems from its approach to building stories and creating entertainment that is more relatable and appeals to the sensibilities of the Neo Indian audiences," Lulla continues. "It draws on real people and real stories, which is why it has a very distinctive blend of reality and fiction."

At the heart of REAL’s programming strategy, Lulla adds, is "offering an alternative to the current stereotypical choices in the Hindi entertainment category. I am completely aware that this may take time to grow in popularity and affinity."

The results thus far, however, have been encouraging, Lulla notes, with more than 24 million people sampling the channel’s titles. Highlights have included the reality series Sarkaar Ki Duniya and Sitaron Ko Choona Hai.

All of the channel’s content, Lulla says, is being developed and produced locally. "Having said that, there are some fresh ideas going around the world. And if there are formats that resonate with our kind of audience, then we will go for them." REAL has already opted for a version of FremantleMedia’s Poker Face, produced locally by Miditech.

While unscripted fare has emerged as REAL’s strongest suit, the channel is featuring a slate of drama productions, which kick off its daily prime-time schedule from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Reality shows take center stage from 9:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. The grid also includes a weekday movie block, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., and another movie slot on weekend evenings. "The channel also has a weekend time slot for its young viewers, where we play kids’ content from the Turner library from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays," Lulla adds.

WHAT’S NEW: REAL currently features just three hours of original programming per day, but Lulla says that a new slate of ideas is currently in the works. "We are looking at doing both local development of programming as well as the acquisition of interesting international formats which work within the positioning brief, create excitement and add to the edginess of the channel."

WEBSITE: www.realtelevision.in