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Rina Chandran

Mick Jagger

MUMBAI, March 26

WHAT does it take to get TV audiences excited after the World Cup? How about a telecast of the Rolling Stones' Licks World Tour concert. If you cannot afford a ticket to the concerts, or care for the crush of screaming fans, you can catch it in the comfort of your home on SET-Max in May.

SET-Max, fresh off its success from the ICC World Cup, has the exclusive telecast rights to the concerts, and plans to air the show on primetime on May 10, according to Mr Rajat Jain, Vice-President & Business Head - MAX. Promos for the concert and the band are on air, and special programming will kick off closer to the telecast. "Max is about movies and events, and cricket is the biggest event for us, and the Rolling Stones is the next biggest event this year," he said. "It is English, it is rock music - but the name is so big, it'll go beyond barriers."

The Stones will hit Bangalore on April 11 and Mumbai on April 14; DNA Networks, which organised the Elton John and Roger Waters concerts last year, is also organising the Stones shows. This will be only the second of the worldwide Licks concerts to be telecast. Sponsors include McDowell's No.1, Pepsi, LG CDMA and HP.

The most expensive ticket to the concerts is priced at Rs 2,000, as compared to the $100-$150 tickets in the US, said Mr Venkat Vardhan, MD, DNA Networks. And, while gate sales are a critical part of the economics, so is the TV telecast: "It is key because we want to take it to a larger audience, beyond the 20-30,000 at the venue," Mr Vardhan said. "Because we also need a high interest level, which can be generated by TV. For the artistes, too, that's what makes India an attractive proposition."

Certainly, the Stones are a cult band, whose music appeals to the desirable younger generation as well as an older audience, but the last such telecast - of Elton John's concert in Bangalore on Channel V in December - barely got a rating of 0.01 in the top six metros, according to TAM Media Research. (Compare that to a rating of 22.0 for the India-Pakistan match on Max.) Even live entertainment shows, like the Femina Miss India (on SET), or the Academy Awards last year featuring Lagaan (on Star Movies) got an average rating of only 1.07 and 1.82, respectively.

However, the Stones show is exclusive, and will appeal to a niche audience, and that is not necessarily reflected in the ratings, defended Mr Rohit Gupta, Executive Vice-President - Sales, SET India. "Niche channels are sold on exclusivity, not on ratings," he said. "There is a very strong niche audience for the Stones, and the tour has had huge success." Rates for ad spots on the two-and-a-half hour telecast will be finalised soon, he added. TV telecast rights cost about Rs 20 lakh to Rs 1 crore, and the channel usually recovers that cost from the advertisers, industry experts said.

Certainly, international artistes seem to think India is a viable tour destination: between April '02 and April '03, three big acts will have performed here, Roger Waters, Elton John, and the Rolling Stones. "That's quite an achievement by any measure," Mr Vardhan said. Event organisers like DNA Networks are still experimenting with sponsorships, gate sales and telecast rights, and it is still a challenge to get sponsors on board, but a viable business model will soon be developed, he added.

As for SET-Max, the Stones show is a perfect fit for its maxim, Deewana bana de, Mr Jain said. "We are passionate about movies, music and cricket - and it doesn't have to be a 365-day, 24-hour passion," he said. "These events are like tent poles that will bring spikes in viewership." Come May, he will find out if viewers sing, `I know that it's only rock n' roll, but I like it.'

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