Chapter 313: Coming from behind
Sun TV had been officially launched for two weeks, and Ron was currently checking the ratings reports in the Zhuhu District office.
On paper alone, the number of users watching Sun TV is approximately 15 million.
Compared with the eight million users accumulated by ATN, the data has almost doubled.
There is no doubt that the three to four million users added later were either free users or half-price subscribers of Sur TV.
But even so, Sun TV's audience has almost caught up with Zee TV.
Before the show started, they were half the size behind, so this is definitely a case of latecomers taking the lead.
"How many users actually pay for subscriptions?" Ron asked Karuna.
"About five million."
"one third?"
"yes."
"But Sur TV has only shipped a total of 4 million units, and there are 5 million subscriptions to other brands, which adds up to 9 million. But we have 15 million viewers, so where are the remaining 6 million?" Ron was puzzled.
"Boss, those six million are from ATN's old users. They paid the entire year's fee in one lump sum," Karuna explained.
All right, Ron got it.
This is just like opening a membership card in a barber shop. The membership left by the previous owner still counts.
"Do the five million new users include half-price packages?"
“Yes, as you can see, most of our users choose package subscriptions, with Sun TV and Sun Video being the most popular.”
These two are high-quality channels created by Sun TV with great effort, and their Hindi audience is relatively wide.
Needless to say, the comprehensive channel is packed with news, variety shows, TV dramas, songs and dances 24 hours a day.
The recent "Celebrity Cooking Competition" has become popular throughout India and has become a hot topic of discussion on the streets.
This is the closest ordinary people get to Bollywood, as they have never seen the real life of the stars.
Sun TV's reality show has lifted the veil of mystery.
The impact created was sensational and the audience was eager to study every move of the Bollywood stars.
Especially when Shah Rukh Khan appeared on TV, it was said that many women fainted while watching it.
The show was undoubtedly a success. It not only attracted more subscribers, but also saw a surge in sales for the sponsor, Soul Electric Appliances. It was a win-win situation for both parties.
Tsk, no choice. I couldn't get any sponsors for my first show, so I had to do it myself.
After this is over, it will be easier to negotiate advertising business for the next show.
The film and television channel also performed well, with no shortage of movies and songs. Ron recently acquired a batch of film copyrights in Bollywood.
The main focus is on large quantities, with five movies, some commercials and musicals, and the daily schedule is full.
The combined subscription cost of these two channels is only Rs 30, which is not expensive for a family with a TV.
If the TV at home is a Soul brand, that's even better, you can get a 50% discount.
Five million subscribers, half of them full price and half price.
Counting only subscription fees, this revenue is about Rs 110 million, but of course Sun TV cannot take it all.
Some of it also needs to be distributed to cable TV operators, as their own cable TV network users are only around three million.
After deducting the channel share, Sun TV will eventually receive about 90 million rupees.
That's pretty good, and it's just one month's income.
Even if the number of users does not increase, they can still recover their initial investment costs after one year.
But in fact, the number of Sun TV users is growing rapidly at a rate of 500,000 to 600,000 per month, which is almost the monthly production capacity of Sur Electric.
After the six-month free period, there will definitely be a large number of users staying.
In addition, by next year, the six million old users will probably choose to renew their subscriptions.
They can tolerate the poor quality of ATN for a year, so there is no reason why they can't support the better Sun TV.
Next year, that is, 1996, will definitely be the year of Sun TV's big breakthrough.
Ron was looking forward to it. The momentum was good now and he should press on with the victory.
"Let's talk about our next plan," he said, looking at everyone in the conference room. "We're not just talking about the existing shows. We also want to produce more high-quality content. Sanjeev, you'll be responsible for producing a legal program, focusing on major social cases, such as the recent gang war."
"Yes, boss." Sanjeev was a journalist by profession, and this was exactly what he was good at.
"Mary, I'll leave the crime TV shows and movies to you."
"No problem, Sun Entertainment is already having someone write the script." She is responsible for connecting the TV stations and Bollywood content.
"In addition to these, it's time to add more channels." Ron was ambitious.
"Boss, what should we do for our next channel?" Karuna was now convinced by Ron.
"Please brainstorm, children's, animation, music, science and education, agriculture are all acceptable, the scope and subject matter are not limited.
If you have a good idea, write a plan, and convince me, you will be the person in charge of this channel."
Everyone was excited and started discussing it. Especially the young people, who were the most ambitious.
Finally, we tentatively decided on children's, music, and science and education channels. In a sense, they are all needed by society.
"I plan to open the science and education channel to the public for free." Ron expressed his plan.
"Free?" Everyone looked at each other.
"Yes, there is no private TV station that offers free channels yet. We can be the first one."
"This is very meaningful," said Sanjeev, who is in charge of press. "It will be very good for our public image."
"Yes, as a person working in the media industry, we should do something for society." Ron said righteously.
"I agree." Karuna raised his hand.
Many people expressed their opinions that it would not be a big problem to just create a free channel for show.
"In addition to launching more content channels, Sun TV will also accelerate its expansion next year."
Ron asked someone to find a map and pointed out several places.
"India has more than 20 states, and each state has a different language. So it's difficult to dominate the entire Indian television market with just one flagship channel, Sun TV.
Gujarat, Punjab, West Bengal, and Karnataka will all establish local television stations next year, and Mumbai will also open a Marathi TV station.”
"Boss, isn't it too fast?" Karuna was shocked by such a big move.
"No, with Sur TV as our backing, it's no problem to open a local TV station."
"That would require more manpower." Mary's first thought was that labor costs would increase significantly.
"Yes," Ron waved his hand. "It just so happens that our cable TV network can be expanded simultaneously."
"Boss, we can take advantage of this opportunity to develop radio." Karuna also had an idea.
"Broadcast?" Ron wondered.
“Yes, there are far fewer Indian households with televisions than with radios.”
Ron suddenly realized that India is predominantly a country with farmers as the majority of its one billion people live in rural areas.
There are at least hundreds of millions of radios in use, which represents a huge market.
Don't underestimate the radio. Many advertisers advertise on it, and it may even make more money than on television.
"Do we need to build a transmission tower? How much will it cost?" he asked.
"One AM signal tower can cover thousands of kilometers. You don't need too many. A few can cover the entire country of India."
All India Radio uses this model. The self-supporting steel structure tower has low cost and fast construction, making it very suitable for rural areas in India.
The coverage distance of FM advertising is too short, less than 100 kilometers, and is mostly suitable for urban radio stations.
"Make a plan. If appropriate, we can build the radio station simultaneously next year." Ron made the decision.
"Yes, boss." Karuna was excited.
This is going to be a big deal. The speed at which Sun TV's territory is expanding is ridiculously fast.
Sur TV is really a treasure. With its help, the media industry's business is booming.
After the meeting, Ron specifically asked Anand to stay.
He also attended today's meeting as a logistics staff member.
Anand was largely responsible for the expansion of the Sun Cable network.
“What is the situation like here in Mumbai, how many cable TV operators are there?”
"Ron Baba, there are too many, at least more than twenty."
"So many?" He was a little surprised.
"There are new entrants every month. However, these operators are small and usually only control a certain community."
“How can such a small number of people make a profit? Will anyone be willing to pay the subscription fee?”
"Of course, there are many." Anand suddenly became very excited.
"What do you mean?" Ron asked curiously.
"They show adult films, which are well-attended and very popular."
"This" This was a path Ron had never imagined.
Anand explained to him the chaos in Mumbai's cable TV industry, which was a riot of demons.
Usually, small operators will play adult videos every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
When Anand was walking around the streets, people asked him when Sun TV would also provide such a source of films.
It was usually female audiences who made such requests to him. When he went to the area near the Virgin Mary Girls College, the women there scolded him: "Brother Anand, you didn't take good care of us."
This is a secret code, and the small operators understand the secret.
Later that day, they would make good on their promise to "take good care of you" by marking an asterisk in the corner of the TV screen or scrolling a message across the bottom of the screen: "BBC Channel X has been rescheduled to X time slots. Please pay attention."
This is also a code, and those in the know understand it: a certain channel and a certain time will broadcast obscene programs, and this specific time must be when Mumbai people are getting drunk and having fun.
It won't be Tuesday, because Tuesday is the day for Ganesha. It won't be Thursday, because Thursday is the day for Sai Baba. It won't be Saturday, because many people observe Hanuman Puja on that day.
And certainly not on Mondays, because the weekend's drinking spree leaves people hungover. So in Mumbai, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays are drinking nights and adult film nights, with people embracing the former and enjoying the latter.
"Ron Baba, more and more people are asking me for this, and they're all clients."
"What do you want to say?" Ron squinted at him.
"Can we start an adult channel? I'm sure there will be plenty of business. The subscription fee is 50 rupees, and there will be a lot of people paying for it. Especially those women, housewives, oh my, they are so fierce in bed."
"Get lost!" Ron slapped him on the back of the head in anger.
Sun TV is a legitimate TV station, how could it do this kind of business?
“Something like ‘A Tribute to the Unapproachable Mother’ would also be fine.”
"That's something to consider."
"I'm responsible for reviewing the films, and my vision is absolutely flawless."
Ron ignored him and asked him to judge, which was a big problem.
Maybe in the end they will all be in their 50s or 60s. Wow, that’s an eyesore.
Sun TV is on the right track, and it’s almost the end of the year.
It was time to return to Uttar Pradesh. The state election would be held in a few months and he had to attend.
(End of this chapter)
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