Contributor

The rise (and rise) of

Indian television

Image: e Big Day © Shreya Sen Photography & Netflix.

despiTe a slow-sTarT, india has one of The fasTesT growing Television indusTries in asia. pacT’s managing direcTor of business developmenT and global sTraTegy, dawn mccarThy-simpson obe, charTs The rise of The small screen in india. Arriving in Mumbai is a complete sensory overload: the explosion of energy, colours and smells hits the second you step out of the airport and seeps deep into your every pore. I was late visiting India, only going for the first time in 2014. My mission for the trip was to sign an MOU agreement with Siddarth Roy Kupur, film producer and the president of the Indian TV & Film Guild. I was still relatively new to the Indian television market so was slightly surprised to find that a simple MoU signing between two television & film trade associations took place in a large conference room filled with journalists. No sooner had the ink dried on the agreement than we were whisked down a long corridor, going from room to room for television and press interviews. Still catching my breath from a morning of interviews, I was relieved when Siddarth suggested we leave the hotel and head for lunch. A few fans collared him for selfies on route but we finally managed to get away, leaving the last of the paparazzi behind. I was shocked at the interest our agreement had garnered and as we weaved in and out of the busy traffic I began to wonder about this unknown world that I had entered, which felt different to anywhere I have visited before. India was a relatively late starter where television is concerned. In 1950 the India Express first reported that an electrical engineer student, B Sivakumaran was to showcase a demonstration of television at an exhibition in the Teynampet locality of Madras (now Chennai). The apparatus he had created was built in the simplest of forms, and the India Express journalist, TN Seshadri described the contraption as being put together with ‘crude equipment’ but equally congratulated the student for his unique achievement and ingenuity.

As the contraption kicked into action, there were gasps from the crowds that had gathered to witness this historic moment. The demonstration was merely a scanned image of a letter that projected from a cathode ray tube screen. But no matter how basic this first introduction was, it was enough to encourage the government to invest in India’s first transmitter, which was installed in Jabalpur in October 1951. By comparison, three years before B Sivakumaran conducted his demonstration, the US already had 48 television channels active across 25 cities. The US became an obvious potential investor in the burgeoning Indian television market, but the thinkers and policy makers of the country – which had recently been liberated from centuries of colonial rule – rejected any ideas of foreign investment in its media. In fact, many politicians frowned upon television, looking on at it as a luxury for Indians. This negative attitude resulted in a Cabinet decision in 1955 disallowing any foreign investments in media.

However, it wasn’t long before the government was changing its mind, having seen the benefits television had brought to other nations. They realised this new medium could help them to reach, inform and educate their vast population. So in 1959 they launched an initiative with UNESCO to help the roll out of television across India’s capital territory, Delhi. They also received donations to help with their efforts, with the US supplying a range of equipment and Philips India providing a low cost transmitter. And so terrestrial television was at last introduced in Delhi, in the form of public broadcaster Doordarshan, more commonly known as DD.

DD’s broadcast began as an experimental telecast from a makeshift studio in Delhi. Each day’s transmission started with a five-minute news bulletin by female reporter, Pratima Puri, who was chosen for her simple look and engaging voice. Viewers quickly warmed to Puri and she went on to become a television icon in India. She passed away in 2007 but is still remembered for paving the way for other women wanting to follow the same path.

The UNESCO funding and additional donations resulted in a total of 180 ‘teleclubs’ launching across a 40 km radius of Delhi. The teleclubs began to broadcast a range of 20 minute programmes twice a week. The clubs proved to be very popular, with crowds of locals all squeezing around the small screen to watch programmes that had been produced with the aim of educating communities on topics such as health, citizens’ duties and rights.

By 1961, a UNESCO study on the impact of television programming in India showed that for many, television was the only source of education. Subsequently, the government decided to put

“even up To 1975 There were sTill only seven indian ciTies ThaT had Television services.”

by The mid-nineTies, india wenT from having Two governmenT-owned channels To more Than 100, serving over 70 million homes. television sets into schools, and teachers in Delhi were trained to help inform the topics of the programmes. Using television to teach subjects such as science particularly benefitted the most disadvantaged schools, where funding and facilities were limited.

Television viewership began to increase, and by the mid 1960’s individual television sets were being purchased for the home by affluent citizens, encouraged by the introduction of more entertaining programming to the schedule. Entertainment, popular farming and agricultural shows rated well, and the one hour per-day broadcast slot doubled to two hours per-day by 1967.

But India’s progress remained slow. Even up to 1975 there were still only seven Indian cities that had television services. The majority of the content remained restricted to subjects such as agriculture, health and family planning, and news, with entertainment – in the form dance, drama, folk and rural arts – weaved around the schedule. But despite expanding genres and increasing broadcasting hours, the sales of television sets in 1977 remained as low as 677,000 across the whole of India – a nation which at the time had a population of over 650 million.

However, in 1976, it was UNESCO who yet again proved to be a key driver for the progress of the television industry across India. They conducted an experiment on satellite communication, providing the Indian government with evidence that satellite television transmission would be possible, and would be of benefit to India.

Satellite television was launched as an experiment enabling the transportation of educational programmes via satellite links across India. In total it was able to reach more than 2,400 villages. These villages were in some of the most deprived areas of India and for many people it was their first experience of television. The programming was mostly based around education and social wellbeing, and the satellite experiment was deemed a success.

But it was the 1980s that would prove to be the television turning point for India, initially due to two coinciding events: the introduction of colour television and the 1982 Asian Games, which were hosted by India. As it was still illegal for private enterprise to set up television stations or to transmit television signals, it was the state-owned broadcaster DD that was able to take full advantage. India’s small screen programming was becoming more and more popular, even though there was little choice of viewing with only one main national channel operating. However, by the late 1980’s the Indian government finally recognised that one channel was not enough to satisfy their growing, diverse audience. So they set about launching another national terrestrial channel, DD2, later renamed DD Metro. DD2 operated as a national network but offered part-time regional services to help serve local communities.

The first television series which launched on DD2, Hum Long, looked at the lives of a large middleclass family and proved popular with the era’s aspirational audience. There followed a stream of equally popular series. Two in particular really paved the way in attracting a mass audience: The Ramayana and Mahabharata were both based on Indian epics and registered world record viewership at the time, attracting more than 100 million viewers. These series also boosted the sale of televisions, with more people purchasing their own sets.

As more citizens began to travel outside of India, they became exposed to what television programming in other parts of the World had to offer. In comparison, the domesticprogramming they had become accustomed to suddenly appeared dull, and didn’t offer the same levels of escapism and entertainment. But this was all about to change when the central government launched a series of economic and social reforms in 1991, under Prime Minister Narasimha Rao, which made it possible for private and foreign broadcasters to launch limited operations in India.

Suddenly the Indian population was exposed to radically new content, with channels such as Star TV, CNN, Zee TV and Sun television launching at great speed in a race to capture market share. Until this time viewers had little choice over what to watch as it had been dictated by DD’s chosen schedule. The popularity of DD fell rapidly, with many viewers shifting loyalty to more exciting channels. With the introduction of more channels, the local producers’ ambitions also heightened. As they entered the liberalisation of the 90’s it triggered an explosion of new productions and series.

By the mid-nineties, India went from having two government-owned channels to more than 100, serving over 70 million homes. The market quickly became saturated; it’s estimated that at one time there were more than 60,000 cable operators in India. For many of them, it was not a sustainable business model – having subscriber bases as low as 50 people. The battle for market share proved too much and a lot of the cable companies ceased trading. The dominant multi-system operators (MSO's) used their scale and weight and attempted to take over the local networks, but this only led to resistance from the smaller cable operators who joined forces and started functioning as MSOs themselves. This intense battle for market share resulted in 30,000 operators disappearing.

“india's Television indusTry is predicTed To be worTh ir882 billion (gbp8.5 billion) by 2022.”

“INDIA IS ONE OF THE FASTEST GROwING ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRIES IN ASIA. THANkS TO THE RISE OF STREAMING pLATFORMS, A REVOLUTION IN INDIAN TELEVISION IS UNDERwAy.”

Today India is one of the fastest growing entertainment industries in Asia. Thanks to the rise of streaming platforms, a revolution in Indian television is underway. Moving popular Bollywood films from cinema to the small screen has also been a significant form of soft power for India. Viewed now by global audiences, Bollywood films and series have helped influence and change perceptions of India.

The Indian television industry has continued to gain new momentum due to enhanced enthusiasm shown by broadcasters and advertisers on the back of the audiences it can deliver. It remains the most penetrated medium in the country, catering to over 100 million households, and rises year on year. India's television industry is predicted to be worth IR882 billion (GBP8.5 billion) by 2022.

Programming has radically changed from those early years, when shows such as Kyuki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu thi and Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki largely reflected traditional Indian values. Today India’s domestic output is much more gritty, with risqué topics reflecting some of the serious issues that contemporary society is tackling such as violence against women and child marriages. Balika Vadhu was a popular series which ran for eight years and charted the story of child bride Anandi, who was married into an affluent family.

Television has also tapped into to India’s aspirational population, reflected in ‘dreams come true’ style programming such as Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahi about Jassi, an average-looking girl who lands her dream job with Gulmohar, a leading fashion agency.

Looking back, it’s hard to believe that India managed to survive with only one broadcaster for so long, being one of the most diverse countries in the World. With more than half of all Indian households now owning a television, thousands of programmes are produced in many different languages, and even niche religions, languages or communities are able to access programming that relates directly to them.

And what became of the student – B Sivakumaran –who took that first step towards bringing television to India back in 1951? No one seems to know! But his name lives on in history, and I imagine he would be quite amazed by how that new and exciting technology has developed and helped to transform his nation and its people over the past seven decades. No doubt it will continue to do so going forward, too.

Dawn McCarthy-Simpson MBE is managing director of business development & global strategy at UK producers’ alliance Pact, where she is responsible for developing opportunities for international, IP exploitation and markets.

INDIA TELEVISION

ASpIRATIONAL