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National Geographic holding parleys for local print runs

BS Corporate Bureau in New Delhi

The National Geographic Society is planning to bring its hugely popular magazine National Geographic to India, and is in negotiations with several Indian publishing houses for the purpose.

Besides the magazine, books, CD-ROMs and maps of the society are also likely to make an entry in the Indian market. The society also brings out the National Geographic television channel.

However, it is not clear if the society is making any investment under the country's foreign direct investment policy, which was relaxed by the government recently.

"The society is considering whether or not to launch the National Geographic magazine in India. I believe negotiations are on with many Indian publishing houses, but no decision has been taken so far," a company source said.

The National Geographic magazine is the official journal of the society, and is published in several languages including English, Japanese, Spanish, Italian and Greek. It provides in-depth coverage of cultures, nature, science and technology.

Besides the magazine, the society also publishes other periodicals like the Traveler, Adventure and World magazines. Also included in the society's repertoire is publishing reference maps, globes and destination maps.

The National Geographic Channel has been airing programmes in India since July 1998, and is eyeing a 35 per cent increase in viewership over the next three years.

The channel has announced tie-ups with two Indian societies - The Indian Mountaineering Foundation and the Bombay National History Society - as part of its efforts to increase its presence in the country.

The channel is pay-per-view channel, and is likely to remain a pay channel even if the proposed conditional access system is implemented in the future. It is distributed as part of the Star bouquet of channels.

The channel is also launching an India-specific three-pronged strategy called "NGC way of life," aimed at making the channel popular amongst Indian viewers. The three-pronged strategy entails new on-air, on ground and online initiatives.

The NGC has also created four genres of programmes on science and technology, wild, people and places, and exploration and adventure. The channel will actively look for and promote people across its various programme genres.

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