Television for the Expats
A glut of foreign channels is now available on cable and DTH platforms, targeting the expatriate community.
Not every channel that you get on cable or satellite is out there to make a profit. Makes no business sense? Maybe. But these channels, foreign ones in this case, have a two-point agenda—to popularise tourist hot spots and the culture of their country and to keep their fellow nationals working in India from feeling homesick.
The latest to join this bandwagon is the Germany broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW), which already runs DW-TV Asia in India. They have now launched a second channel DW-TV Asia+. The channel has structured its programming specifically for the Indian audience, with 18 hours of English language programmes and six hours of news and entertainment shows in German —targeted at the expat population.
DW-TV, however, is by no means the only foreign channel in India available on cable networks and DTH platforms. Others such as French channels TV5Monde and Trace TV, Australia Network (originally Australia Television), the Korean channel KBS World, Japan’s NHK World Premium, and Russia Today are some of the others in the fray.
All these channels are registered in India and have the necessary landing rights to be shown on cable networks and DTH platforms. A few others such as TV South Asia, RTPI (Portugal), RTR (Russia), and TVE (Spain) are available on some cable networks, though all of them are not yet registered in India.
But to go back to the key issue—if they do not make any profit—how are they being aired in India? Sudeep Malhotra, CEO, Deutsche Welle, says: “The channel is funded by the German government. The idea is to promote the country and its culture and tell Indians as well as nonresident Germans what the country is thinking and their stand on key issues.”
Most channels are similarly funded and pay minimal carriage fees to cable operators as they are public broadcasters.
Dinyar Contractor, Editor of Satellite & Cable TV magazine, says: “There is a huge expatriate community in India. Television programming in foreign languages can go a long way in making people who come from different countries feel at home in India.”
— Anusha Subramanian
The latest to join this bandwagon is the Germany broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW), which already runs DW-TV Asia in India. They have now launched a second channel DW-TV Asia+. The channel has structured its programming specifically for the Indian audience, with 18 hours of English language programmes and six hours of news and entertainment shows in German —targeted at the expat population.
DW-TV, however, is by no means the only foreign channel in India available on cable networks and DTH platforms. Others such as French channels TV5Monde and Trace TV, Australia Network (originally Australia Television), the Korean channel KBS World, Japan’s NHK World Premium, and Russia Today are some of the others in the fray.
The channel structure
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All these channels are registered in India and have the necessary landing rights to be shown on cable networks and DTH platforms. A few others such as TV South Asia, RTPI (Portugal), RTR (Russia), and TVE (Spain) are available on some cable networks, though all of them are not yet registered in India.
But to go back to the key issue—if they do not make any profit—how are they being aired in India? Sudeep Malhotra, CEO, Deutsche Welle, says: “The channel is funded by the German government. The idea is to promote the country and its culture and tell Indians as well as nonresident Germans what the country is thinking and their stand on key issues.”
Most channels are similarly funded and pay minimal carriage fees to cable operators as they are public broadcasters.
Dinyar Contractor, Editor of Satellite & Cable TV magazine, says: “There is a huge expatriate community in India. Television programming in foreign languages can go a long way in making people who come from different countries feel at home in India.”
— Anusha Subramanian
