(S.Ravi Seshu)
HM-TV of Kapil Group used to be one of the forerunners in the Telugu television industry but a series of imprudent managerial changes has almost crippled the channel. In the latest Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) ratings, HM-TV secured the last but one position (14 out of 15) even as TV-9 has zoomed past the rivals to sit pretty at the top.
HM-TV has hit the new low continuously though it is being headed by 10 TV’s former Chairman, Prof.K.Nageshwar, a clean politician and nice journalism educator. Surprisingly, 10 TV stands fourth after considerably improving its quality after TV-9, TV-5 and N-TV. This has led to a reasonable question: What is going wrong with HM-TV? Here are some key points.
1) Bad priorities: Launched in 2009 by a pure print journalist Dr.K.Ramachandra Murthy, HM-TV hogged the limelight with people-centric programmes within no time. Thanks to the non-interference of the proprietor Mr.Vamana Rao, the channel did extremely well thanks to the to-the-point news and democratic debates like ‘Dasha-Disha’ at the height of the movement for a separate Statehood for Telangana. At a point of time, it was no-2 and a market leader in the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh’s rural market.
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Dr.KRM’s decision to have an English newspaper to satiate his urge to become the editor of an English newspaper did cost a bomb for Mr.Vamana Rao, who in deed encourages new ventures. A spent force Viswanath Nayar was handpicked by Dr KRM and both of them carried out their experiments in The Hans India by operating away from market realities. Launching of The Hans India turned out to be the swan song of HM-TV. Instead of consolidating HM-TV, Dr.KRM spent time on writing lengthy edit page articles to be applauded by his cronies from Telugu journalism background.
2) Rudderless: Nobody imagined that Dr KRM and his efficient team would leave HM-TV so quickly. Succumbing under pressure created by the loss-making The Hans India, Mr.Vamana Rao had some differences with Dr KRM leading to the latter’s decision to call it quits. Till that point of time, HM-TV was a heaven for working journalists though some sycophants ruled the roost. Later, eagles and vultures dared to look for opportunities in HM-TV. A sensational television journalist, Mr.Rajasekhar impressed upon Mr.Vamana Rao, who was on a look out for a saviour. Mr.Rajasekhar bargained for a heavy package and filled HM-TV with his men and women. The smooth ride was a short-lived dream for Mr.Vamana Rao, who slowly realized the real market-driven operations of Mr.Rajasekhar. Both had to part ways soon. As Mr.Rajasekhar went back to N-TV fold to enjoy the same amount of treatment, the HM-TV witnessed another tall journalist, Mr.Venkata Krishna, who has worked with Ee-TV, TV-5 and 6 TV.
3) Third Krishna: Akin to street plays in our countryside, the third Krishna Venkata Krishna (after Dr KRM and Mr.Rajasekhar) swung into action and started building his own empire in HM-TV. He got rid of Rajasekhar’s men and women and imported his own people to run the show. Then started the downslide. Meanwhile, Mr.Vamana Rao engaged Prof.Nageshwar, a serious journalist with abundant knowledge, to take care of The Hans India. After watching the Professor’s insight and urge to excel, Mr.Vamana Rao requested him to set things right in HM-TV too. A well-known orator and expert in debating, Prof.Nageshwar merrily took up the task and started spending time on HM-TV. In way, he is doing what Dr.KRM had failed to do now.
4) Confusion: Thus HM-TV had fourth Krishna in the form of Prof.Nageshwar. The thumb rule in media is, every new boss would 1) remove the confidants of the old editor and 2) form his own team of journalists to ensure better coordination. But Prof.Nageshwar couldn’t implement this rule for unknown reasons. That is how, the third and fourth Krishnas are pulling things in their own direction much to the further losses of Mr.Vamana Rao. While Mr.Venkata Krishna is doing debates emulating Arnab Goswami, Prof.Nageshwar is reviewing the quality of programmes and trying to improvise them. In this process, HM-TV’s rating have come down drastically.
“I find fault with Prof.Nageswar for the present fiasco. He miserably failed to clear uncertainty in the channel. He should have formed his own team by now but he doesn’t trust anyone. Old team is in the grip of uncertainty as they don’t know when they would be asked to go,” a senior journalist, who was a member of the HM-TV’s first batch of journalists, said. He also spoke about Professor’s issues with his vision.
To run a channel, one has to shell out Rs.60-80 lakhs per month. If the soft-spoken Mr. Vamana Rao wants to burn his pockets further, he can ignore our analysis and suggestions.
