Untitled - socium.ge

414 Anshu ChatterjeePunjabi TV faced competition from other enterprises, the Lashkara channel,started by a non-Punjabi corporation, Reminiscent TV, based in England.Subsequently, Doordarshan’s Punjabi channel also expanded its programmingto become a primary player. The launching of two Punjabi channels, AlphaPunjabi (Zee) and TARA Punjabi (Star TV) in 2001 indicates a more differentiateddevelopment of competitive structures than in the south.Hindi television also forms considerable competition for Punjabi channels.Many Punjabis continue to be educated in Hindi as well as Punjabi. Channelssuch as Zee TV, Sony, and Star Plus operate successfully in the region,whereas in the southern states their presence is negligible. The presence of theBJP, with its primary support base in North India, contributes to the continuedassociation of Hindi with Hinduism in the region. The members of the oldergeneration who were educated in Urdu are also fluent in Hindi, as the twolanguages are verbally similar. Close proximity to the Pakistani border deliversPakistani TV (in Urdu) to many Punjabi homes.TRANSNATIONAL MEDIA: LOCALIZED RESPONSESInitially, several transnationals hoped to use pan-Asian, English-speakingaudiences, as a secondary market for the distribution of programs designed fortheir home audiences. Their expectations were based on a previous relationshipbetween state-operated television systems and First World mediaexporters. In India, productions such as I love Lucy, and Yes, Prime Ministerentertained large numbers of television audiences through the state televisionwhich focused its own productions on development and political issues.After 1995, transnational media sought to establish themselves as Indiancompanies with external links, focusing on communities with a higher potentialof consumption and success. For instance, Star TV (News Corporation)sought out Indian audiences using localized material produced by Indianproducers and companies. 13 It was unable to do so immediately because ofcontract stipulations with Zee Telefilms, which required it to stay away fromthe Hindi market. Along with its English channels, it therefore focused on anews channel that relied on an Indian production company for news and newsbroadcasts. When the contract ended in 2000, it immediately launched HindiStar Plus, followed by Tara Punjabi and Tara Bengali in regions were mediacompetition was less developed.An examination of Star’s content follows a pattern established by its localcompetition. The focus of Zee TV’s and Doordarshan’s Hindi channels onconservative traditions, themes, and religious programming is also apparent onStar. For instance, it recently aired Gurukul, a visual magazine that addressestopics related to Hinduism under the category of “ancient wisdom of India.”