Category: Specialised and Niche

Tirupati’s SVBC to launch Tamil spiritual channel

MUMBAI: This one is for Tamil speaking devotees of Tirupati. From time to time over the past few years, The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) which administers the Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple – the richest temple of its type in the world – has been making announcements about launching its Telugu channel in Tamil. But so far it has only provided Tamil and Kannada audio feeds for its Telugu service.

Now, the TTD once again announced last week that it would be taking a stab at a full-fledged Tamil version of SVBC to start with, followed by an exclusive spiritual channel in Kannada. Dates were not given, but the management said it would happen soon.

The Tirumala Venkateswara Temple attracts close to 75,000 pilgrims everyday and has an estimated budget of Rs 2.530 core for 2015-2016 and it generated close to Rs 1,000 crore in donations in 2008; that figure has probably gone up manifold since then.

TTD administrators behind it laid the foundation stone of the SVBC Studio and Office at the Replica Temple near Alipiri in Andhra Pradesh to help it achieve that ambition. And the trust board’s chairman Chadalawada Krishnamurthy stated that it was investing Rs 14.50 crore behind the new facility.

Krishnamurthy added that “the SVBC Channel was initiated with an aim to spread Hindu Sanatana Dharma across the globe through innovative spiritual and dharmic programmes. To supplement such efforts, a state-of-art studio with the latest technology will soon be established in the temple city. The works will be completed within a year and the facility will have a live studio apart from two more studios with all the advanced technical equipment.”

SVBC Telugu airs an FPC consisting of the daily sevas (rituals and worship) , special pujas (prayers), processions, the annual brahmotsavams and other events in which devotees from all over the globe participate in all round the year in the temple’s premises. It also telecast spiritual songs by famed classical musicians and devotional performances by classical dancers, classical mythological films, yoga training shows, amongs many others. Advertisers too have been coming on board to tap into its viewers and the channel charges anywhere between Rs 1,500 to Rs 3,000 per 10 second TVC.

The channel is being beamed off Insat 4a located at 83 degrees east. It is available on channel 702 on Sun Direct, on Channel 842 on Reliance Digital, on Channel 915 on Dish TV, on Channel 530 on Airtel, and Channel 769 on Tata Sky.

August 7, 2016
Aastha, Swami Ramdev’s HD TV plans

MUMBAI: Most spiritual and devotional channels operating in India have a bagful of problems: limited revenues, low production budgets, which have led to very poor production values for their shows. Programmes and shows are shot with standard definition cameras with cheap sets as backdrops.

This, at a time, when most of television land is moving to high definition and a select few towards 4k high dynamic range productions – both of which give better quality video – which can play out better on HD and 4K sets, making for a near realistic viewing experience.

Swami Ramdev and Acharaya Balkrishna’s Patanjali Ayurveda has been giving FMCG multinationals in India a bit of a headache by eating away at their market shares in several product categories.

Now the yoga guru-turned-entrepreneur is hoping to capture global audiences with his brand of yoga keeping in mind prime minister Narendra Modi’s penchant for it.

Aastha – as is known to many – is among the leaders in the spiritual television space in India. And it is a channel that is part of Swami Ramdev’s empire.

Over the past year or so, an HD revolution has been taking place silently in Noida where Aastha TV’s studios, playout and uplinking hub are located. Swami Ramdev has pumped in more than Rs 50 lakh into infrastructure – including 10-12 Sony PMW 200 cameras and post production facilities – which has helped facilitate production of programmes featuring him in high definition.

Two multi-camera teams have been trailing the yoga guru filming him at gatherings, camps and seminars where he has led his disciples in asanas. Almost 700 hours of Yoga have been filmed in HD so far.

“We wanted to upgrade and keep pace with technology,” says Aastha Broadcasting Network CEO Pramod Joshi. “We were producing and transmitting in SD which has limited demand in international markets.”

Joshi acknowledges that the shift to HD came at the urging of Reed Midem’s India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka representative Anil Wanvari (also the founder of the indiantelevision.com group) when the company exhibited at annual trade show MipCom in Cannes, France.

He points out that there here are no plans to roll out a HD channel for now, since the focus is on building a library first with Swami Ramdev’s yoga practice. Simultaneously, the channel’s programmers have been giving a nudge to other prime gurus who have taken slots on Aastha to upgrade their productions.

“We know there is a lot of demand for Indian spirituality and yoga worldwide,” points out Joshi. “With this step up in quality, we believe many more networks will want our programming. We are also open to dubbing the content in other local languages.”

Currently, Zee International airs programmes featuring Swami Ramdev practising and teaching yoga at his camps. Enquiries from other overseas networks have been coming in.

In addition to yogic exercise and spiritual TV shows, Joshi says that Aastha is also looking at filming spiritual tourism documentaries by partnering with different state tourism boards. “There is a lot of India interest and these documentaries will go a long way in helping both Indian and international visitors understand India’s diverse belief systems and places of spiritual worship better and from a regional perspective.”

Finally, Aastha, like other Indian networks which are looking at licensing and syndication revenues, is hopeful that its HD production will find cachet with international buyers. “Swamiji is known worldwide,” he says. “That’s to our advantage. We hope in the next year or so, licensing and syndication of our content will scale up. “

When it does, Astha’s investment in HD will start paying off.

July 18, 2016
Aastha, Swami Ramdev’s HD TV plans

MUMBAI: Most spiritual and devotional channels operating in India have a bagful of problems: limited revenues, low production budgets, which have led to very poor production values for their shows. Programmes and shows are shot with standard definition cameras with cheap sets as backdrops.

This, at a time, when most of television land is moving to high definition and a select few towards 4k high dynamic range productions – both of which give better quality video – which can play out better on HD and 4K sets, making for a near realistic viewing experience.

Swami Ramdev and Acharaya Balkrishna’s Patanjali Ayurveda has been giving FMCG multinationals in India a bit of a headache by eating away at their market shares in several product categories.

Now the yoga guru-turned-entrepreneur is hoping to capture global audiences with his brand of yoga keeping in mind prime minister Narendra Modi’s penchant for it.

Aastha – as is known to many – is among the leaders in the spiritual television space in India. And it is a channel that is part of Swami Ramdev’s empire.

Over the past year or so, an HD revolution has been taking place silently in Noida where Aastha TV’s studios, playout and uplinking hub are located. Swami Ramdev has pumped in more than Rs 50 lakh into infrastructure – including 10-12 Sony PMW 200 cameras and post production facilities – which has helped facilitate production of programmes featuring him in high definition.

Two multi-camera teams have been trailing the yoga guru filming him at gatherings, camps and seminars where he has led his disciples in asanas. Almost 700 hours of Yoga have been filmed in HD so far.

“We wanted to upgrade and keep pace with technology,” says Aastha Broadcasting Network CEO Pramod Joshi. “We were producing and transmitting in SD which has limited demand in international markets.”

Joshi acknowledges that the shift to HD came at the urging of Reed Midem’s India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka representative Anil Wanvari (also the founder of the indiantelevision.com group) when the company exhibited at annual trade show MipCom in Cannes, France.

He points out that there here are no plans to roll out a HD channel for now, since the focus is on building a library first with Swami Ramdev’s yoga practice. Simultaneously, the channel’s programmers have been giving a nudge to other prime gurus who have taken slots on Aastha to upgrade their productions.

“We know there is a lot of demand for Indian spirituality and yoga worldwide,” points out Joshi. “With this step up in quality, we believe many more networks will want our programming. We are also open to dubbing the content in other local languages.”

Currently, Zee International airs programmes featuring Swami Ramdev practising and teaching yoga at his camps. Enquiries from other overseas networks have been coming in.

In addition to yogic exercise and spiritual TV shows, Joshi says that Aastha is also looking at filming spiritual tourism documentaries by partnering with different state tourism boards. “There is a lot of India interest and these documentaries will go a long way in helping both Indian and international visitors understand India’s diverse belief systems and places of spiritual worship better and from a regional perspective.”

Finally, Aastha, like other Indian networks which are looking at licensing and syndication revenues, is hopeful that its HD production will find cachet with international buyers. “Swamiji is known worldwide,” he says. “That’s to our advantage. We hope in the next year or so, licensing and syndication of our content will scale up. “

When it does, Astha’s investment in HD will start paying off.

July 18, 2016
Shop CJ’s regional space initiatives for revenue boost

MUMBAI: One of the conveniences of modern times is that everything we need or want is available on our television screens and/or is just a call for a click of a button away. The market of television shopping has grown over the years. A study in 2015 stated that the cable and satellite market consists of 140 million (14 crore) households or 650 million (65 crore) people as of December, 2014. In comparison, the number of internet users was estimated at 302 million (30.2 crore).

Even when everything is switching to mobile, the 24 hour tele-shopping channels still manage to grab a fair share of the market, albeit just a fraction in terms of sales by the eCommerce players, due to television’s humongous reach. The business was estimated to reach revenues of around Rs 5,000 crore by the closure of fiscal 2014.15.

So far, teleshopping’s bastions were largely limited to late night teleshopping on various channels and a few pure teleshopping channels. But, there was an opportunity to service rural markets that were not being catered to by eCommerce players as yet. The Akshay Kumar – Raj Kundra led teleshopping channel Best Deal TV launched Best Deal TV especially for the Tamil market.

Among the major players in the teleshopping space, Shop CJ (previously known as Star CJ Alive), has also rolled out regional shopping channels in Telugu and Tamil. The Telugu channel was launched about six months ago and the Tamil entity came to be about two months ago.

In 2015, Shop CJ held 20 percent of the market share and aimed to increase market share in the future. According to Shop CJ COO Dhruva Chandrie, sales have doubled in 2016. Shop CJ had a turnover of Rs1,200 crore in 2015 Sales have already hiked by 40 percent with orders having grown 52 per cent in 2016. The Shop CJ management team had announced a target of Rs 250 crore by October 2016 from the Telangana and Andhra Pradhesh regions alone. The brand believes that it is on the way to meet the targets since the response as of now has been positive.

Chandrie revealed that there were high expectations from the venture and around the time of India’s major festival of Diwali, there were plans to bring out a Kannada teleshopping channel as well. He further revealed that setting up a regional channel required completely new production backup facilities to be setup altogether. The production of a regional channel was to done separately in the local language. A new regional channel would cost around Rs 35-40 crores, while setting up a warehouse would cost almost the same.

The Shop CJ teleshopping network has included regional brands like Butterfly and Preeti among others, along with other many national and international brands in its offerings. Its regional channels have products catering to regional demands and products are sourced from all over the country. Chandrie also revealed that his company was in the process of finalising deals with many television channel distributors in the region and that his network’s products are already available on major DTH and local cable operators. Since the carriage deals are still work-in-progress, Chandrie said that he was not in a position to reveal further details.

Teleshopping’s largest selling products remain kitchen appliances, followed by IT products, cameras, saris and kurtas. “The channels are on 24×7 and have a wide viewership” said Chandrie.

In conclusion, Chandirk said that although the channels were at a very initial, a highly nascent stage, his network believed that a higher growth in the regional markets would boost the overall growth of his company and help it gain a higher market share.

June 3, 2016
Shop CJ’s regional space initiatives for revenue boost

MUMBAI: One of the conveniences of modern times is that everything we need or want is available on our television screens and/or is just a call for a click of a button away. The market of television shopping has grown over the years. A study in 2015 stated that the cable and satellite market consists of 140 million (14 crore) households or 650 million (65 crore) people as of December, 2014. In comparison, the number of internet users was estimated at 302 million (30.2 crore).

Even when everything is switching to mobile, the 24 hour tele-shopping channels still manage to grab a fair share of the market, albeit just a fraction in terms of sales by the eCommerce players, due to television’s humongous reach. The business was estimated to reach revenues of around Rs 5,000 crore by the closure of fiscal 2014.15.

So far, teleshopping’s bastions were largely limited to late night teleshopping on various channels and a few pure teleshopping channels. But, there was an opportunity to service rural markets that were not being catered to by eCommerce players as yet. The Akshay Kumar – Raj Kundra led teleshopping channel Best Deal TV launched Best Deal TV especially for the Tamil market.

Among the major players in the teleshopping space, Shop CJ (previously known as Star CJ Alive), has also rolled out regional shopping channels in Telugu and Tamil. The Telugu channel was launched about six months ago and the Tamil entity came to be about two months ago.

In 2015, Shop CJ held 20 percent of the market share and aimed to increase market share in the future. According to Shop CJ COO Dhruva Chandrie, sales have doubled in 2016. Shop CJ had a turnover of Rs1,200 crore in 2015 Sales have already hiked by 40 percent with orders having grown 52 per cent in 2016. The Shop CJ management team had announced a target of Rs 250 crore by October 2016 from the Telangana and Andhra Pradhesh regions alone. The brand believes that it is on the way to meet the targets since the response as of now has been positive.

Chandrie revealed that there were high expectations from the venture and around the time of India’s major festival of Diwali, there were plans to bring out a Kannada teleshopping channel as well. He further revealed that setting up a regional channel required completely new production backup facilities to be setup altogether. The production of a regional channel was to done separately in the local language. A new regional channel would cost around Rs 35-40 crores, while setting up a warehouse would cost almost the same.

The Shop CJ teleshopping network has included regional brands like Butterfly and Preeti among others, along with other many national and international brands in its offerings. Its regional channels have products catering to regional demands and products are sourced from all over the country. Chandrie also revealed that his company was in the process of finalising deals with many television channel distributors in the region and that his network’s products are already available on major DTH and local cable operators. Since the carriage deals are still work-in-progress, Chandrie said that he was not in a position to reveal further details.

Teleshopping’s largest selling products remain kitchen appliances, followed by IT products, cameras, saris and kurtas. “The channels are on 24×7 and have a wide viewership” said Chandrie.

In conclusion, Chandirk said that although the channels were at a very initial, a highly nascent stage, his network believed that a higher growth in the regional markets would boost the overall growth of his company and help it gain a higher market share.

June 3, 2016
Fashion One to air season1 & 2 of ‘Art, Fashion & Design’ & ‘Top 5 Must-Haves for Summer’

MUMBAI: Do you want to learn the techniques behind the world of art and design? Ever wondered what is the process behind constructing sculptures, creating paintings, and capturing your emotions through photography? Join talented and creative artists in showcasing their amazing work at exhibitions around the world as Fashion One, the premier global fashion, entertainment and lifestyle broadcaster, explores the world of art, fashion and design from every perspective in the second season. Enter the world of self-expression and be prepared to be inspired!

Art, Fashion and Design is a 2 episode special feature that displays incredible works from talented artist from New York, Hong Kong and other parts of the world. From sculptures to photography, learn what inspires artists and designers and be inspired by the dedication they have to their crafts. Meet talented artists such as Larry Kagan, Chow Yun Fai and others from all different disciplines. This series is more than a show; it is a way of living!

Art, Fashion & Design season 2, premieres on 16 May and 30 May at 8:30 pm for episode 1 and 2 respectively.

Kick start the summer with the right attitude and a fashionable new wardrobe as Fashion One, the premiere international fashion, entertainment and lifestyle broadcaster, reveals its top 5 must-haves for summer. In this second installment, we review the best of the Spring/Summer 2016 season to bring you the top 5 items you need to sizzle all summer long.

As the temperature starts to rise from the runway to the red carpet, we’re getting inspired by this season’s hottest trends. We’ve narrowed down all of this season’s trends into five essential must-haves: a white dress, bell bottoms, prints, loose fits and the color red. Beat the heat and shine all summer long with our essential guide to this summer’s most stylish pieces from brands like Jil Sander, Lacoste, Herve Leger and more.

Clear out your closets and get ready for the hottest summer yet. Top 5 Must-Haves for Summer premieres on 24 May at 09:30 pm.

May 13, 2016
Fashion One to air season1 & 2 of ‘Art, Fashion & Design’ & ‘Top 5 Must-Haves for Summer’

MUMBAI: Do you want to learn the techniques behind the world of art and design? Ever wondered what is the process behind constructing sculptures, creating paintings, and capturing your emotions through photography? Join talented and creative artists in showcasing their amazing work at exhibitions around the world as Fashion One, the premier global fashion, entertainment and lifestyle broadcaster, explores the world of art, fashion and design from every perspective in the second season. Enter the world of self-expression and be prepared to be inspired!

Art, Fashion and Design is a 2 episode special feature that displays incredible works from talented artist from New York, Hong Kong and other parts of the world. From sculptures to photography, learn what inspires artists and designers and be inspired by the dedication they have to their crafts. Meet talented artists such as Larry Kagan, Chow Yun Fai and others from all different disciplines. This series is more than a show; it is a way of living!

Art, Fashion & Design season 2, premieres on 16 May and 30 May at 8:30 pm for episode 1 and 2 respectively.

Kick start the summer with the right attitude and a fashionable new wardrobe as Fashion One, the premiere international fashion, entertainment and lifestyle broadcaster, reveals its top 5 must-haves for summer. In this second installment, we review the best of the Spring/Summer 2016 season to bring you the top 5 items you need to sizzle all summer long.

As the temperature starts to rise from the runway to the red carpet, we’re getting inspired by this season’s hottest trends. We’ve narrowed down all of this season’s trends into five essential must-haves: a white dress, bell bottoms, prints, loose fits and the color red. Beat the heat and shine all summer long with our essential guide to this summer’s most stylish pieces from brands like Jil Sander, Lacoste, Herve Leger and more.

Clear out your closets and get ready for the hottest summer yet. Top 5 Must-Haves for Summer premieres on 24 May at 09:30 pm.

May 13, 2016
Living Foodz draws up an appetising menu: website, app, new shows

MUMBAI: Essel Group’s international food and lifestyle channel, Living Foodz, had hit Indian television waves in September 2015. The channel is already riding on a wave of success within 7 months of its launch. Apart from curating 100 hours of original content for the Indian market, Living Foodz will roll-out its website in May, while the application will launch by June this year. The channel plans to create a marketing buzz within 30 to 60 days. Living Foodz is also looking at converting into HD by the end of this financial year and has already applied for a few licenses and is waiting for approvals.

“Converting Living Foodz into HD is definitely on the agenda. We have already applied for a few licenses. In any case, 100 per cent of our programming is in HD but as far as the audiences are concerned, the HD penetration is still limited. Business viability and economics dictate that you have a good enough audience reach to justify advertising revenue. It will have to be an optimum and improvement call at an appropriate time for us to decide whether we should create an additional HD channel or go solo HD”, revealed Zee Entertainment’s Living Group APAC and India CEO Piyush Sharma.

The channel believes that producing original content plays a pivotal role in ensuring enhanced reach. With many channels lying on content library and syndication, Living Foodz stresses on making quality content to enhance brand equity and hold audiences.

As reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com, under the Living Entertainment umbrella, the group will unveil its other new channel Living Zen, which it plans to launch in the third quarter. Focused on health, wellness and happiness, it is likely to be followed by the launch of Living Rootz, Living Homez and Living Travelz every quarter thereafter.

Living Foodz claims to have a 40 per cent market share in the lifestyle genre and will continue to focus on food as its strong component for content. To strengthen its footprint in the lifestyle space, the channel has announced a new show Sunday show Ganga:The Soul of India. Bollywood actress Dia Mirza will make her debut on TV with this new offering. The show will launch on 1 May 2016 and will air at 12 noon with a repeat telecast at 7 pm on the same day. The one hour per episode 10 episode show will see Mirza narrating the multi-faced story of the Ganges as she travels through many towns along the majestic river.

Promising to give viewers a peek into the legacy shaped by India’s longest river, the show has bagged Airtel 4G as title sponsor and Gowardhan Ghee as co-powered by sponsor, while American Tourister is the travel partner. The travel food documentary will explore every part of what the river has to offer, including the people, history, mythology, anthropology, adventure, music and the cuisine.

“Quality of content is very important to attract viewers as well as advertisers on any show. The reason why we have these sponsors on board is because of our ambitious content. Travelling is an enriching experience that often remains etched in our memories forever. Ganga: The Soul of India will give our viewers a never-before opportunity to experience the culture, history and cuisine offered along the banks of the sacred Ganges through the eyes of Dia Mirza, who is an ardent traveller. We could not think of a better concept and host to marry the ideas of travel and culture in the Indian context,” said Living Foodz business head Amit Nair.

“It is impossible for me to encapsulate in a sentence the boundless joy, the learning, the discovery, the adventure Ganga: The Soul of India has brought to my life. For those seeking to define the idea of India, this is the journey to be a part of!” said Mirza.

The show allowed her to combine her passion and love with professional experience, added Mirza. She also said that while the show was a deeply spiritual and inward journey, it was also physically challenging. This was especially true in higher terrains.

“Before this, I had said no to reality shows and the typical formats that actors get offered. I want people to make their own roadmap. Slow travel gives you a personal, warm and an enriching experience. TV gives you the opportunity to present yourself as who you are. The show encompasses all that I wanted to explore and do,” she said further.

It has also launched a coffee table book amalgamating the entire journey of Mirza and the team from Gomukh in the Himalayas to the Gangasagar delta where it meets the Bay of Bengal.

“The numbers speak for us. One of the key reasons why people watch us rather than any other channel is because we create original relevant content set in context for our viewers. All our shows have a deeper connection with the audience which leads to more viewer engagement and time spent. As far as creating original content in the factual space goes, I think we are the leaders making the largest amount of factual entertainment content,” added Nair.

As far as the marketing goes, Ganga: The Soul of India will be cross promoted on the other channels under Zee Network. The show will be primarily displayed on TV and digital platforms while the channel has also planned more specific market activities like the book launch.

With a strategically shaped business road map, it will be interesting to see how this new feature in the growing factual entertainment genre can retain its dominance.

April 20, 2016
Living Foodz draws up an appetising menu: website, app, new shows

MUMBAI: Essel Group’s international food and lifestyle channel, Living Foodz, had hit Indian television waves in September 2015. The channel is already riding on a wave of success within 7 months of its launch. Apart from curating 100 hours of original content for the Indian market, Living Foodz will roll-out its website in May, while the application will launch by June this year. The channel plans to create a marketing buzz within 30 to 60 days. Living Foodz is also looking at converting into HD by the end of this financial year and has already applied for a few licenses and is waiting for approvals.

“Converting Living Foodz into HD is definitely on the agenda. We have already applied for a few licenses. In any case, 100 per cent of our programming is in HD but as far as the audiences are concerned, the HD penetration is still limited. Business viability and economics dictate that you have a good enough audience reach to justify advertising revenue. It will have to be an optimum and improvement call at an appropriate time for us to decide whether we should create an additional HD channel or go solo HD”, revealed Zee Entertainment’s Living Group APAC and India CEO Piyush Sharma.

The channel believes that producing original content plays a pivotal role in ensuring enhanced reach. With many channels lying on content library and syndication, Living Foodz stresses on making quality content to enhance brand equity and hold audiences.

As reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com, under the Living Entertainment umbrella, the group will unveil its other new channel Living Zen, which it plans to launch in the third quarter. Focused on health, wellness and happiness, it is likely to be followed by the launch of Living Rootz, Living Homez and Living Travelz every quarter thereafter.

Living Foodz claims to have a 40 per cent market share in the lifestyle genre and will continue to focus on food as its strong component for content. To strengthen its footprint in the lifestyle space, the channel has announced a new show Sunday show Ganga:The Soul of India. Bollywood actress Dia Mirza will make her debut on TV with this new offering. The show will launch on 1 May 2016 and will air at 12 noon with a repeat telecast at 7 pm on the same day. The one hour per episode 10 episode show will see Mirza narrating the multi-faced story of the Ganges as she travels through many towns along the majestic river.

Promising to give viewers a peek into the legacy shaped by India’s longest river, the show has bagged Airtel 4G as title sponsor and Gowardhan Ghee as co-powered by sponsor, while American Tourister is the travel partner. The travel food documentary will explore every part of what the river has to offer, including the people, history, mythology, anthropology, adventure, music and the cuisine.

“Quality of content is very important to attract viewers as well as advertisers on any show. The reason why we have these sponsors on board is because of our ambitious content. Travelling is an enriching experience that often remains etched in our memories forever. Ganga: The Soul of India will give our viewers a never-before opportunity to experience the culture, history and cuisine offered along the banks of the sacred Ganges through the eyes of Dia Mirza, who is an ardent traveller. We could not think of a better concept and host to marry the ideas of travel and culture in the Indian context,” said Living Foodz business head Amit Nair.

“It is impossible for me to encapsulate in a sentence the boundless joy, the learning, the discovery, the adventure Ganga: The Soul of India has brought to my life. For those seeking to define the idea of India, this is the journey to be a part of!” said Mirza.

The show allowed her to combine her passion and love with professional experience, added Mirza. She also said that while the show was a deeply spiritual and inward journey, it was also physically challenging. This was especially true in higher terrains.

“Before this, I had said no to reality shows and the typical formats that actors get offered. I want people to make their own roadmap. Slow travel gives you a personal, warm and an enriching experience. TV gives you the opportunity to present yourself as who you are. The show encompasses all that I wanted to explore and do,” she said further.

It has also launched a coffee table book amalgamating the entire journey of Mirza and the team from Gomukh in the Himalayas to the Gangasagar delta where it meets the Bay of Bengal.

“The numbers speak for us. One of the key reasons why people watch us rather than any other channel is because we create original relevant content set in context for our viewers. All our shows have a deeper connection with the audience which leads to more viewer engagement and time spent. As far as creating original content in the factual space goes, I think we are the leaders making the largest amount of factual entertainment content,” added Nair.

As far as the marketing goes, Ganga: The Soul of India will be cross promoted on the other channels under Zee Network. The show will be primarily displayed on TV and digital platforms while the channel has also planned more specific market activities like the book launch.

With a strategically shaped business road map, it will be interesting to see how this new feature in the growing factual entertainment genre can retain its dominance.

April 20, 2016
Pittie group to launch a new spiritual TV offering in Shubh TV

MUMBAI: The divine world in television is set to witness one more addition as chairman of Pittie group, Krishan Kumar Pittie will launch a spiritual channel ‘Shubh TV tomorrow (8 April 2016).

The channel will initially be present on DTH platforms Dish TV and DD free dish, but has plans of expanding its distribution in near future “We are starting with Dish TV and DD free dish but in next six months we plan to launch on all DTH platforms,” says Krishan Kumar Pittie.

The channel will be airing lectures by prominent spiritual speakers from across the country and will also be featuring spiritual events. Its key focus in the beginning will be on the much talked ‘Kumbh’ which will host pilgrims from across the country starting next month.

“We are pleased to announce our new venture in spiritual channels Shubh TV,” says the chairman.

The sector has very little advertising happening on it and hence slot selling remains the key revenue generator. The new channel will also focus on slot selling, but at the same time will strive for better advertisement revenue, “With exclusive spiritual content on Shubh TV, we aspire to attract more advertising and create a better model for this genre” informs Pittie.

‘Shubh TV’ is also following the trend of launching an exclusive app. The app will be available for both android and iOS users.

The live telecast slots will generally be available from 10.30 AM to 1.30 AM. The channel will follow  the 3 hour slot model. The other prime time slot will be from 6.00 AM – 10:00 AM.

The group has many more launches in its pipeline,  “We are also planning to launch Shubh Cinema in near future which will air spiritual and patriotic movies,” confirms Pittie.

If sources are to be believed a Music channel is also on the cards.

April 7, 2016