Focus on self-produced programmes

: The VICTERS channel in its initial years predominantly telecasted recorded content from organisations like National Film Development Corporation, C-DAC and others. But over the past year, it has taken a shift towards telecasting self-produced programmes.

According to the channel head Salin Manguzhi, 30 new programmes have been started this year, with 10 being live programmes. This shift, even with its limited studio equipment and skeleton staff strength, has brought in more viewers for the channel.

“We have 17 hours of programming everyday, compared to a few hours of borrowed content in other States. A majority of them are State syllabus curriculum-based programmes. We also have 20 general awareness-related series. A popular one is on scientists and another one on countries of the world. There is another interesting series on films based on literary works,” he says.

But the most popular are the phone-in programmes, especially the ones related to SSLC examinations. ‘Lighthouse,’ another phone-in programme is exclusively for parents, to talk on their children’s health, education and other issues.

The channel has not yet conducted a viewership survey. The calls that they get in phone-in programmes are one of the gauges for their viewership.

“Most of the calls are from rural areas and from the northern parts of the State. It could be because the ‘tuition’ culture is not as prevalent as in the cities and so children have spare time to watch the channel. The problem is we have only one phone to receive calls. So, many more people might be calling and not getting through,” says Salin.

Before the last Engineering-Medical Entrance Examination, the channel conducted coaching classes free-of-cost in 140 centres across the States. For this, a two-hour session was beamed live from the studio in Poojappura in Thiruvananthapuram. Next year, the plan is to increase the number of students per class to 60, from the existing 40.