afaqs! launches online video channel, afaqs! TV

The online video channel will have feature-based stories, the content of which promises to be entertaining, edgy and fun.

After expanding its footprint in the social media realm with The Podium last week, Banyan Netfaqs, the parent company of afaqs!, is now set to launch an online video channel.

Christened afaqs! TV, the channel promises to be entertaining, edgy and fun, with light content. It will continue to be in a beta stage in the near future and will keep evolving.

Banyan Netfaqs already has its presence in the digital and the print domain for the advertising and marketing community, with afaqs! and afaqs! Reporter, respectively. With afaqs! TV, the company aims to cash in on the increasing online video viewing habits of the audience. This is the fourth online property of Banyan Netfaqs, the other three being afaqs!, The Mobile Indian and The Podium.

Speaking on 'advantage afaqs! TV' in today's game, Sandeep Vij, co-founder and director, afaqs!, says, "Globally, four out of five people watch video online. In the near future, video will form a consequential share of online advertising. Already, You Tube is the largest TV channel in India. This is not only a technological change but a behavioural one, too."

Vij opines that in India, with the increase in bandwidth, individuals will move to a data rich environment. "Niche TV viewing, especially for professional communities, will move online. Sooner than later, a 20-minute niche show will be seen online as compared to watching it on CNBC or NDTV. Given this enormous opportunity, we believe that afaqs! TV does warrant special focus and a unique distinctive identity of its own," he adds.

afaqs! TV will evolve as the Indian bandwidth story progresses. According to Vij, the company is preparing itself and experimenting for tomorrow.

The content strategy of afaqs! TV will be vastly different from that of afaqs.com. "This difference will shine through and demonstrate itself in its ideology and personality," says Vij.

Currently, afaqs! TV has episodes on features such as 'When not @ Work', 'Last Day at Work', 'The Tough Question', 'News Nuggets', and 'Pick of The Week'. Each has its own unique flavour. 'When not @ Work' explores what an industry professional pursues as his or her hobby beyond work hours. 'Last Day at Work' is all about nostalgia and things that an individual will miss in his previous organisation. News Nuggets is a weekly round-up of the previous week's noteworthy events and happenings, whereas 'The Tough Question' is where the channel will make the industry expert explain his stand on a question pertaining to the industry. 'Pick of the week' is where two peers review an ad campaign.

Content will be created by the afaqs! TV team and there will be user-generated and social content as well.

Answering the question on direct competition to the business news channels, Vij says, "We are competing for the attention and time of the advertising, marketing and media community. And therefore, we certainly are competing for every moment of his time and attention across any media. We have recently launched The Podium, a professional micro networking website, to get a share of his social media time."

Banyan Netfaqs has enormous ambition for afaqs! TV. "We are determined to give it the attention and investment it warrants to fuel this ambition," concludes Vij.

afaqs! TV will be available to view from today at http://afaqs.tv.