An F1 fan’s open letter to the sports ministry

Indian motorsports has never had it this good. Formula One is now staple weekend entertainment in homes across the country, with millions of Indian fans tuning in to watch the action live on their television sets, come raceday. Adding to the patriotic fervor and giving them reason to cheer is an Indian team and an upcoming Indian Grand Prix slated for 2011. Inspired performances by India’s top racing drivers have been instrumental in raising the domestic profile of the sport. Promising young talent is now making its presence felt at international racing championships, as more youngsters turn towards the sport as a serious career prospect.

Indifferent attitude

Despite its steady increase in popularity, the government’s attitude towards motorsport has been rather indifferent. The very fact that it refuses to accept racing as a sport, speaks volumes about the biased treatment meted out to our racing drivers. While lesser known sportsmen have been presented the Arjuna award for excellence in sports, internationally reputed Indian racing drivers like Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandok have missed the bus, since theirs is neither an Olympic sport, nor is it cricket. The government needs to have a much needed relook at its definition of a “sport” if it fails to recognize the only Indian to have driven in Formula One, win races in A1GP, Formula Three and to have participated in the popular Le Mans series.
It was with much fanfare that the sports minister announced plans for an F1 Grand Prix in 2007, prompting followers of the sport to finally believe that the government’s perception about racing was on the mend. Sadly, its biased attitude towards anything related with the sport resurfaced yet again in 2009 when it denied the promoters of the event, the approval to remit $36.6 million to the Formula One Administration. When asked for reasons, the Sports Ministry refused to oblige, bluntly stating that neither does it consider Formula One a sport nor does it believe the race would do any good to Indian sports as such.

Sports like hockey and football, despite receiving huge financial and infrastructural grants by the government are yet to prove themselves in the international arena. Indian racers, on the other hand have done their country proud by winning races around the world, with little support from the government. Racing is no easy task; add to that the constant search for sponsorship and the driver has an extremely tough job on his hands. I mean no disrespect to other sports which are great in their own right. I only question the logic of according special status to a sport, just because it features at the Olympics. Formula One is regarded as a major championship worldwide, with most countries vying for the honour of getting a spot on the F1 calendar. An F1 race automatically raises the host nation’s prestige and translates into millions of dollars of revenue in tourism and ticket sales. That apart, it also helps in nurturing new talent, with a world class circuit to fall back upon.

International Perspective

Countries around the world have shed their inhibitions on motorsports and have accepted their racers into the sporting fraternity with open arms. Lewis Hamilton managed to break all shackles of race and poverty to emerge as 2008 Formula One world champion. The reason for his triumph? A supportive government which never hesitated to recognize and promote genuine sporting talent, no matter what discipline. His stellar championship winning performance during the 2008 F1 season was promptly rewarded by bestowing upon him the coveted “PRIDE OF BRITAIN - Most Inspiring Public Figure Award”. Seven time world champion, Michael Schumacher was twice conferred upon with the prestigious “Laureus World Sports Award for sportsman of the year” in 2002 and 2004 by a selection panel of the world's leading sports editors, writers, broadcasters from over 80 countries and the members of the Laureus World Sports Academy.
As we strive to become a superpower of the 21st century, it is only appropriate for us to shed our misconceptions and embrace our heroes. A motorsport enthusiast and diehard F1 fan, I sincerely hope for the best.

Viewf@ctory - The next wave of newspapers

Introduction

The newspaper industry today faces enormous challenges, with the internet, dull content and needless advertising leading to declining sales figures and loss in revenue. A complete overhaul is the need of the hour which will need to focus on

1. Minimizing costs
2. Improving content
3. Increasing reader interactivity
4. Customization
5. Effective ad-space utilization
6. Easier subscription methods
7. Provision for recycling and most importantly,
8. Efficient and cost effective distribution

After putting in some thought, we came up with a radical new idea that would shift newspaper technology to the next level. We pondered over the drawbacks of a modern day newspaper and tried coming up with effective and practical alternatives to the methods being currently employed.
Our research led us to one significant conclusion. Much of the resources of the print media are spent on journalism and staff salaries. This leads to a lack of resources for innovation and improvisation in other key areas like printing and distribution which play a key role in newspaper logistics.


Company Summary

The viewspaper, a term we came up with is a newspaper which lays emphasis on the views and opinions of individuals and organizations around the world. The news market, we feel has reached the point of saturation with 24*7 televison news channels breaking the news as soon as it happens. People today want to know how the world views the events that make news daily. People want a platform to interact, discuss and express their opinions and make sure they get heard. Say, a person in Beijing would want to hear what a person in Mumbai had to say on the Olympics opening ceremony. The viewf@ctory aims to be the world’s first free and fully customizable viewspaper and intends to bring about the much needed revolution in the newspaper industry. The objective of the viewf@ctory is to encourage the world to freely express their views and ensure that they are heard across borders, far beyond the scope of the internet.








The figure below tries to explain how the viewf@ctory works:




1. Subscription
• The reader subscribes to the service using a cell phone.
• The subscription request is texted in a prescribed format, mentioning the reader’s location.
• The reader is assigned a 16 digit computer generated identification number which describes his exact location.
• The code is stored in a central database.

2. Online Content Generation
A news Wikipedia. This will be a revolutionary change in the way the world writes news.
• The viewf@ctory website will have provisions for creating, editing and uploading articles in a real time.
• Any registered user can create/edit/upload articles.
• A dedicated news database called “the reservoir” is created by the millions of users on the site everyday.
• The concept would unite journalists, photo journalists, bloggers and enthusiasts from around the world and encourage authentic news generation.
• The concept removes the concept of paid for journalism, greatly decreasing the staff and journalism expense.

4. Customization
This is where our viewspaper scores over traditional newspapers. Each newspaper is customizable. Here the reader gets to decide what he wants to read. Suppose Mr. A is interested in business and formula one, and Mr. B in politics and soccer, they could set their preferences such that their interests get a higher priority over other content. Your neighbour’s copy could be completely different from yours!
• Customization is done through cell phone
• Once the reader is registered, he texts his 16 digit identification number followed by the content choice required.
• The database stores the required user content type.
• Customized advertising would now be possible where advertisers would be able to advertise only in those copies that reach their target market!
Note that Customizable Viewspapers will be paid for, while the free copies are default ones.

5. Variable Digital Printing
• The copies are printed in a variable digital offset.
• The required material is sourced from “the reservoir” depending on the reader’s customization.
• The front page includes the reader identification code.

6. Distribution
It is absolutely necessary to have the right logistics to achieve the distribution. Distribution in this case is much tougher, as each home receives a different copy.
• Each delivery location is pinpointed on a GPS compatible digital map of the area using the identification numbers.
• The routes are charted.
• Delivery is done using vans fitted with GPS navigation consoles.
• Delivery teams are stationed at different locations.
• The correct papers, in this way are delivered to the right homes.

7. Recycling
The viewf@ctory will use recycled paper for its viewspapers. Each copy distributed will be collected the next day, and recycled.


Market Analysis
We aim to target the US and UK markets for their sheer size and the Indian market for its amazing growth potential.
Newspaper readership in India went up from 59 million in 2001 to 79 million in 2005, making it the fastest growing newspaper market. The largest daily, The Times of India has a circulation of 4 million. The viewf@ctory is expected to become an online craze, with bloggers and regular readers flocking to its website, a net circulation of 500,000 can be expected in its first two years.
In the US and the UK, the viewf@ctory would have immense scope as an e-paper. Close to 39 million users flock to the Guardian’s website every month. A modest target of 5 million regular users could be achieved in the first two years.

Intellectual Idea Status
Currently the viewf@ctory is just an idea. We have not applied for patents yet.


Competitive Differentiation
As of now, there exists no free customizable printed newspaper, though free newspapers do exist, and customizable ones are available on the internet. Another point to be noted is that there exists no printed newspaper which can be edited by its readers online.


Financial Highlights

Startup Capital

Fixed Costs = Rs 35, 00,000 = $70,000
Variable costs = Rs 25, 00,000 = $50,000

Total Cost = Rs 60, 00,000 = $120,000

Expected time to break even = 18 months.

Investment sought = 75% of initial cost = $90,000


The Future
• For a fully customizable newspaper, the future holds many possibilities
• The newspaper could find use as a social network, with the reader’s e-mail, personal messages finding their way to a special personal page for the reader!
• It could be used as the next big retail idea, with sms shopping and home delivery finally turning into a reality.


The viewf@ctory objective is to turn the internet, long considered as a foe of the newspaper industry into a trusted ally and help individuals to broadcast their views and opinions far beyond the scope of the internet.