AAJ TAK's News Channel's Success Story

Abstract:

Aaj Tak, a 24 hours Hindi news channel in India, was launched in December 2000. Since then, the
channel has maintained its lead in viewership in the news segment. The case explores the reasons for
the success of Aaj Tak.

It examines the background of the channel and the circumstances that led to its launch. The case also
draws a comparison between Aaj Tak and its competitors such as Zee News, Sahara Samay National,
NDTV India (Hindi), Star News, and DD News.

It also takes a look at the news channels market in India and at the future outlook of Aaj Tak.

Issues:

» Strategies adopted by a news channel to differentiate itself in a cluttered market

» Role of programming for success in crowded market

» Role of branding for success in a cluttered news channel market

"Aaj Tak redefined the whole concept of news which was hitherto the prerogative of Star and Zee."

- Satyajit Sen, head, media buying, Grey Worldwide.1

"Aaj Tak in the past few months has achieved unqualified success and has also been able to carve a
distinct niche for itself in the world of news. All brands that have advertised on Aaj Tak have benefitted.
Apart from providing a reach that is significant, the channel has also been able to deliver quality
audiences."

- Rajul Kulshreshtha, VP, Universal McCann.2

Making News

Aaj Tak, the Hindi news channel run by TV Today Network (TVTN),3 has been in the news since its launch
on December 31, 2000. Just one year after its launch, Aaj Tak won two awards, the Indian Television
Academy (ITA)4 award for 'Best News Channel' and the 27th Radio and TV Advertising Practitioners'
Association of India (RAPA)5 award for 'Best Campaign of the Year (TV)'.

The advertising campaign was appreciated for its ability to convey attributes like fast paced delivery
style, objective coverage of the channel and the serious nature of news with an undertone of humor. In
2002, Aaj Tak won even more awards in various categories. Once again, it won the ITA award for 'Best
News Channel' and the award for 'Best Distribution', and the 28th RAPA awards for the 'Best Media
Campaign' and 'Best Soft Story'.6 The channel also won several Indian Telly Awards7 in the same year
(Refer Exhibit I for other awards won by Aaj Tak). Not only did Aaj Tak win many awards, but it was also
the only media brand in the Brand Derby of 2002.8 In this study, Aaj Tak was ranked the third most
successful brand based on various attributes like content, mass appeal, objective coverage, etc.
In the Brand Derby 2003, Aaj Tak was ranked the third most successful brand launch in the last seven
years.9 When Aaj Tak was launched, there were dedicated news channels like Star News,10 Zee
News,11 CNN 12 and BBC.13

In addition to these channels, Doordarshan,14 entertainment channels and regional channels were also
airing news and current affairs programs as part of their regular programs. Viewers had many sources to
choose from for their daily news. It seemed like Aaj Tak had the odds stacked against it as news
constituted less than 2 per cent of overall TV viewership in India and all the news channels were
competing for the limited time that viewers spent on news programs. In addition, Zee News & Star News
dominated the Hindi news segment and English news segment respectively. Nevertheless, Aaj Tak
entered a market which was already crowded with other players and within six months of its launch, Aaj
had become the most watched news channel in India.15

The India Today Group

Since the early 1970s, ITG has successfully started new businesses while developing the existing ones.
The group had interests in printing, publishing, radio, music, art, television and the Internet, which had
made it one of the most popular media companies in India.

LMI has been in the printing business for over 30 years with its subsidiary Thomson Press16 which has
printing and typesetting units in Delhi and Chennai. It has a domestic and international client base which
is supported by sales and customer services offices in Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai,
London, New York and Melbourne. In 1975, LMI started publishing a fortnightly English news-magazine,
India Today.17 The magazine covered a range of topics such as art, sports, books, music and films but a
major part of it was devoted to politics and current affairs. In 1982, LMI launched India Today
International to communicate news from India to Indians living abroad. It also published special editions
of India Today International for North America, UK and the Gulf.
In 1985, LMI started publishing Computers Today, a magazine that covered everything to do with the
Information Technology industry, enabling readers to stay informed about evolving trends and
technologies in the industry.18

It also marketed and distributed Time magazine and Harvard Business Review in India. In 1988, TVTN
was incorporated and soon made waves with India's first investigative video newsmagazine called
Newstrack. It was aired as a weekly 30-minute news and current affairs programme on Doordarshan
from 1990 to 1998. TVTN also produced a weekly one - hour news program for Starplus. In 1990, ITG
opened a school19 and launched a music label, Music Today. It produced and recorded Indian classical
and fusion music which it marketed in Australia, USA, Europe and the Middle East. Business Today
launched in 1992, is one of ITG's most successful magazines.20 The focus of the magazine is on reporting
and analyzing business events...
Excerpts

A Note on News Channels

In the early 1990s, the Government of India (GoI) allowed the entry of private channels into the
entertainment software industry. Since then, there has been a steady growth in the entertainment
genre. Gradually, niche genres like Music, Sports, Kids, Movies (English, Hindi and regional languages)
and News emerged.

In the early 2000s, there was growth in the news genre in terms of audience share and number of
channels. According to TAM, the overall television audience share of news channels increased from 1.5
per cent in 2001 to 3 per cent in 2002. Similarly, the corporate advertising spend in niche areas also
increased as companies could reach specific viewer segments through these channels...

Aaj Tak's Strategy

When Aaj Tak was launched, the television news market was already crowded, with Zee News and Star
News occupying the top positions. Analysts felt that entering a crowded market would be a
disadvantage for Aaj Tak.

According to Aaj Tak officials though, it was a major advantage, as they were able to observe what the
competitors did and what their weaknesses were, and use this knowledge to their advantage. Aaj Tak
also had the advantage of being part of a media group whose core competence was news gathering and
reporting. TVTN, which ran the channel, had extensive experience in production of news and current
affairs programs as it used to produce them for other channels, whereas STAR and ZEE had established
themselves as entertainment channels and then moved on to news. According to TVTN, market research
showed that there was scope for a 24-hour Hindi news channel...

Future Outlook

In the future when viewers have to pay for channels, they will choose only those they like the most. So,
it is important for a channel to promote channel loyalty rather than program loyalty. ORG-MARG
conducted a syndicated study on CAS and its impact on viewers, particularly how it would influence their
choice of channels within each genre...
Exhibits

Exhibit I: The Indian Telly Awards 2002 Won By Aaj Tak

Exhibit II: TAM Ratings

Exhibit III: TAM Ratings