June 12, 2003	Thursday	Rabi-us-Sani 11, 1424

LONDON: As British parliamentarians were debating a new law that would allow Rupert Murdoch to buy the UK’s Channel Five last week, across town another Murdoch-backed invasion was under way.

Star TV, the Asian cable and satellite broadcaster owned by News Corporation, was holding a bash in central London for advertisers that had done business with its UK Hindi-language channels Star Plus and Star News. The guest list included the names you’d expect, such as rice manufacturer Tilda. But the presence of more mainstream brands — such as British Telecom, Kellogg’s and Jaguar — suggested that advertisers see Star TV as an effective way to reach British Asians.

There is much hand-wringing among broadcasters about how best to serve a potential audience of 2.3 million, who are turning away from terrestrial TV to cable and satellite channels such as Star TV and its rivals, Zee TV and Sony Entertainment TV Asia.

Since arriving in the UK two-and-a-half years ago, Star TV has attracted 90,000 customers, who pay Pounds sterling 12.99 a month for its two channels on top of a basic subscription. Now, Star TV is looking for a “great leap forward”, says Star India chief operating officer Sameer Nair.

“Star TV is the dominant player in the Indian market, with 87 of the top 100 shows, but for some reason the Asian viewer in the UK is not aware of how good we are. They think Zee is good, which is bad,” he says drily.

Nair wants Star Plus in the UK to replicate the success of its sister service in India, where, with 42 million subscribers, it is the top cable channel. The reason for its success is simple, says Star TV chief executive Peter Mukerjea: “What’s got us there is Hindi entertainment: family drama, soaps. Programming that appeals to Indian Hindus and is in the right language.”

Mukerjea and Nair will also be having negotiations with executives from BSkyB about restructuring Star TV’s UK distribution deal.—Dawn/The Guardian News Service.