Niche Nets for Auto Buffs and Muslim Americans Start Engines

Byline: SHIRLEY BRADY

In order to survive, cable networks must "target specific audiences with subject matter that people care about."

That recent comment to Cable World from John Swift, OMD USA's group director for national broadcast, could also be the rallying cry for two new networks vying for cable carriage.

Wheels TV, targeting consumer auto buffs, and Bridges TV, serving Muslim Americans, both intend to launch in the coming year.

Wheels plans to launch in the fourth quarter as a 24/7 digital network, featuring such shows now in development as Ultimate Garage and World's Fastest Wheels. Other original and acquired content will include lifestyle programs, news, how-to shows, travel, movies and series.

The network is being launched by Automotive Networks in cooperation with Global Television, a producer of automotive programming for networks including Discovery and Outdoor Life Network.

Wheels president Jim Barisano says his network will appeal to car, truck and motorcycle enthusiasts, while car manufacturers and related advertisers can sponsor long-form programs. "With 1,400 models and new ones coming out every day, we are getting a lot of interest in more efficient ways to reach consumers," he says.

Cable operators can also receive free video-on-demand content. "It's tied with distribution, so if we sign a deal today we can start giving you VOD next week," says Barisano, who declined to disclose the terms he is seeking for the new service.

Bridges TV, the first American Muslim network, is planning a summer 2004 launch. The channel will make its debut as a diginet with four to six hours a day - mostly original content including news, talk shows, sitcoms, advice shows, children's programming and movies about Muslim life in America - before ramping up to a 24/7 service.

The English-language service will target the approximately 8 million Muslims living in America. This community is expected to grow to 15 million within ten years.

Original research conducted on behalf of the network by Cornell University's school of business indicates that Muslim Americans would pay up to $10 a month to receive the service over cable or satellite. "We are now looking to get 10,000 paying members signed up at $10 a month for the first year as a show of support for this channel," says Muzzammil "Mo" Hassan, CEO of the new network, which signed up 1,000 paying charter subscribers on its website in the past month. The network's founders last year raised $1 million from investors for the planned service.

Hassan's goal is to launch in the top 20 DMAs for Muslim Americans, such as the Detroit area. "We are positioning this as a premium channel where customers would pay an incremental a la carte fee of around $10 per month," with the revenue split determined on a case-by-case basis, says Hassan, who has already had early talks with MSOs including Comcast.

He is also planning to pitch Cablevision, which last week introduced four services (targeting Russian, Chinese and South Asian viewers) costing $14.95 each to digital customers. Cablevision VP of digital product management Kristin Dolan was not available for comment by deadline.

Frank Hughes, SVP of programming for the NCTC, commented last week that Bridges TV "seems pretty narrow in its appeal to me. I'm not sure what the Muslim population is, but doubt it's very much in the majority of our members' rural communities."

Hughes sees a bigger demand among NCTC members for a service such as Wheels, which he is currently reviewing for a carriage deal. "Automotive is a huge untapped market for programming and advertising," said Hughes, whose organization represents operators that serve more than 14.5 million subscribers.

THE NEXT QUESTION:

*Will MSOs heed the message at last week's Horowitz Forum in New York that the multicultural market "is the new general market in America" and pick up more multicultural services?

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