The recent diversification of Odisha’s only TV broadcast network into entertainment and devotional channels has once again brought the spotlight on the two women who rule the state’s airwaves: Jagi Mangat Panda and Monica Nayyar Patnaik.
Former international model Jagi Mangat Panda heads OTV, Odisha’s only broadcast network. “It’s been a long and successful journey. We have come a long way in nurturing Jay’s (her husband and MP Baijayant ‘Jay’ Panda) brainchild,” says the director of Ortel Communications Limited and Orissa Television Limited, better known as OTV, Odisha’s most popular regional TV channel.
Monica Nayyar Patnaik rules the non-visual part of the airwaves. The brain behind Odisha’s first “desi” FM 104 Radio Choklate, Monica dabbled in many things before settling down as joint managing director of Eastern Media Limited, one of the leading media groups in the state. Naturally, when she was offered an opportunity to station a FM radio for Odisha, Monica didn’t think twice. “It was the time when big names like 92.7 and 93.5 were trying to enter the market, since Odisha didn’t have its local radio network. So when Chairman of the Eastern Media Group, Soumya Ranjan Patnaik, (also my father-in-law’s younger brother), got the radio licence, he asked me if I was game for the challenge. Starting Odisha’s first privately-owned FM radio was certainly one,” says Monica.
There were no easy starts, neither for Jagi, nor for Monica. Jagi began with an initial investment of Rs 20 lakh and two employees. Soon after marriage, she quit modelling, trying her hand at the Panda family business of metals, but ended up at IIM Ahmedabad for an executive MBA. It was then that Jagi launched a broadcasting network called SkyView. The first six years were “nightmarish”. “There was a lot of resistance and people raised eyebrows about the viability and sustenance — SkyView being a local company. There were a lot of cultural issues and ego problems too. To prove my point, I even climbed electric poles,’’ says Jagi. By 2003 the company had started its own cable TV channel, OTV. In 2006, it went satellite. Today, it offers entertainment and devotional channels too. OTV has crossed boundaries like distribution network Ortel which has made inroads into neighbouring states like Chhatisgarh, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh.
Jagi has also focused on CSR. “Ortel runs a programme called Dayitwa, where we educate girls who drop out of school after Class X, mostly because they are unable to pay for Higher Secondary. It began two years ago. We have enrolled 90 girls from rural areas and the first batch of 30 girls graduated this year.”
Local worked for Monica too, from naming the station to putting up infrastructure, having the right kind of people and programming, and, most importantly, coming out with a catchline dhum mitha (too sweet) that is a household name today, Monica was everywhere. “It was pretty exciting; there was a lot of creativity involved, and though I had no technical knowledge, I went to places and read a lot of resource material to get a feel of it all.’’
Radio Choklate has been the market leader since it launched. “Our biggest advantage was we were local — our content had local flavour and our RJs spoke the local language,” says Monica.
According to a listenership survey, Radio Choklate now has a reach of close to 20 lakh in Odisha. “That gave us the real connect with listeners, and we established an edge over other players,” says she. This apart, the FM channel has a dedicated devotional slot that clicked with Odiyas.
Getting married in 1997 changed the course of Monica’s life. She followed her heart and came back to Orissa with her husband. “I started with my ad company Reflections. The rest is history,” she says. With Radio Choklate going great guns, the company is expanding to five more districts — Sambalpur, Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Puri and Ganjam. Last year, when Monica realised that Radio Choklate had reached a break even point, she decided to contribute to the growth of the group in general. Eastern Media, Odisha’s largest media conglomerate with a Rs 110 crore net worth, deals in print, TV, radio and film and has a separate vertical dedicated to jatra (folk opera), which contributes Rs 10 crore to its annual revenue. “We are a value-for-money advertising platform for advertisers,’’ Monica says, emphatically.