Star India Private Ltd has made available four more channels in High Definition (HD) format in India. National Geographic was already available in HD, and now Star Plus (Hindi GEC), Star Gold (Hindi Movies), Star Movies (English Movies) and Star World (English GEC) are available to subscribers in HD.
The channels are currently available to subscribers on Tata Sky, for no extra cost, and the pricing of the HD channels for subscribers has not been announced yet. Star India is in negotiations with other DTH service providers to carry the HD channels, and hopes to get the deals done in ‘the next few weeks'.
Of the 33 channels that are part of the Star India bouquet, five are now available in HD. Branded Asli HD, all the content on these channels is shot, recorded and edited in HD, and mixed for 5.1 Dolby surround sound.
Rationale, future plans
Speaking to
Around 50 lakh HD Television sets have been sold already, and 30 lakh are being sold each year, noted Mr Gupta.
“We will invest a significant amount of money to educate consumers through television advertising. We will also be getting consumers to experience the HD format through experience zones at high-traffic locations like malls, besides DTH operator outlets,” he said.
The campaign will commence next week, and an annual budget has been provisioned for the same.
While the on-ground promotions will be metro-driven, the campaign will also reach out beyond the metros.
Ad-free HD TV — for now
The five channels will be available in both HD and secure digital (SD) formats. The feeds for both the formats are different, and for now, the HD content will remain advertising-free.
“To begin with, there are no ads. But the HD format will have ads in the future,” noted the Star India spokesperson.
On advertiser-readiness for the HD format, he added, “It will be an easier transition for the advertising world to HD. The larger challenge is to create a lot of content on HD, and build an ecosystem to deliver the HD experience,” surmised Mr Gupta.