ITV

Tag: Ashutosh Barve

  • QYOU Media India’s Q TV launches new original series ‘Viral Hua Re’, deploys an AI anchor

    QYOU Media India’s Q TV launches new original series ‘Viral Hua Re’, deploys an AI anchor

    Mumbai: Recognising the burgeoning need for innovative and compelling content, QYOU Media India’s leading Hindi general entertainment channel, Q TV, continues to successfully strike a chord with its audiences. Further bolstering its ‘Zara Hatke’ proposition, Q TV, in a first-of-its-kind initiative, they announced a new original series, ‘Viral Hua Re’, driven by artificial intelligence (AI) that launched on 20 August 2023.

    In a pioneering move that unleashes a completely new approach to content creation, ‘Viral Hua Re’ aims to transport the ubiquitous mobile phone experience of scrolling through multiple short format videos, onto the living room television set, through an engaging and hilarious lineup of short videos. Led by a sassy animated AI anchor, ‘Viral Bhabhi’ with her witty one-liners and anecdotes, the show features viral videos sourced from social platforms spanning various sub-genres including comedy, pranks, gags, falls and fails. Combining creativity with cutting-edge technology, the channel aims to revolutionize the way audiences engage with content with the introduction of an AI anchor.

    Speaking on the launch, QYOU Media India CEO Simran Hoon said, “At QYOU Media India, we have always been at the forefront of delivering exceptional and wholesome entertainment to our viewers. We believe in the power of innovation and thus the introduction of the new AI-driven show adds a revolutionary dimension to our programming. ‘Viral Hua Re’ exemplifies our commitment to curating content that resonates with our cherished viewers. With the launch of the new AI-driven show, we remain steadfast towards harnessing the power of technology to redefine entertainment experiences. We look forward to embracing the future of television, where creativity meets technology and storytelling transcends conventional narratives.”

    QYOU Media India senior VP – programming & strategy Ashutosh Barve further added, “At Q TV, we believe in pushing the boundaries of entertainment, and our new show reflects that commitment. The unconventional ‘Viral Hua Re’ truly embodies the spirit of being ‘Zara Hatke.’ In a first-of-its-kind initiative, with the AI anchor-driven show, we aim to take our viewers on an exciting journey of entertainment that challenges conventions and sparks creativity. The show is unique and operates at the cusp of user-generated content, and will surely capture the hearts of our viewers. We look forward to innovating and creating more such content that connects and resonates with our loyal viewer base while attracting new viewers to the channel.”

    Q TV’s latest content line-up underscores its commitment to embracing user-generated content and harnessing the power of AI to deliver fresh and captivating entertainment to viewers across India. 

  • Q Marathi sets off with four top national advertisers, 17 digital creators

    Q Marathi sets off with four top national advertisers, 17 digital creators

    Mumbai: With the biggest national FMCG advertisers such as Himalaya, L’Oréal, Pepsi, and Reckitt, and 17 top Marathi digital creators on board, Canada-based QYOU Media’s regional foray Q Marathi is off to a good start.

    Starting 15 March, the free-to-air market of over 84 million Marathi audiences in Maharashtra will have access to ‘original-to-TV’ content from across genres including comedy, romance, horror, animation, drama, and religion and spirituality in the form of Q Marathi. Reinforcing the network’s core DNA, the channel will tap into the world of social video to feature content from Marathi digital creators and social media stars.

    Why Marathi

    Q Marathi channel head Neeta Thakare says that while the network plans to venture into a bunch of languages and genre niches going ahead, the decision to begin with Maharashtra was both natural and strategic. “The state being the company’s base and a top management that is strongly rooted in the Marathi cultural ethos, helped. Marathi being third-most spoken language, as well as Maharashtra’s high literacy rate, disposable income, and digital savvy youth make it an attractive market for content providers and advertisers alike,” Thakare shares.

    This is evinced by the coming on board of some of the biggest pan-India brands such as Himalaya, L’Oréal, Pepsi, and Reckitt as ‘founding sponsors’, along with several others. These are among the top advertisers, nationally.

    According to Q Marathi programming head Ashutosh Barve Marathi channels are generally driven by retail advertising by local stores and businesses. “Having four pan-India clients as ‘founding sponsors’ for a start-up channel is a significant achievement. It reflects the faith these diverse brands have in us and our content for being able to connect them to the right kind of audience.” he says.

    The content proposition

    Talking of content, uniquely positioned as the ‘Bhannat Aahe’ channel in a market dominated by pay channels Star Pravah, Zee Marathi, Colors Marathi, and Sony Marathi and the sole FTA brand Sun Marathi, Q Marathi promises to carve out a niche for itself as the “OTT of Marathi television through its edgy and exclusive programming,” asserts Barve.

    Elaborating on the channel’s unique proposition, he notes, “In recent times the Marathi audience has taken to digital and youth content in a big way in terms of both consumption and creation. There are so many brilliant creators from the small town and villages who are churning out videos in the long-form 10/15/20-minutes space on a regular basis. As a brand driven by the booming creator economy, the Q is bringing this content to the underserved youth that is currently limited to consuming mostly drama and mythology on television. In the future we may open to shorter content and social commerce, among other things.”

    All the talk about youth and youth/digital/edgy content aside, can the channel as a GEC afford to eliminate other section of audiences? Barve clarifies that Q Marathi is definitely a family-inclusive channel. “We are programming for the entire spectrum of the audience with shows that talk of diverse subjects like childhood memories of grandmother’s home and another one that is reminiscent of Malgudi days, and yet other which depicts live-in relationships. So, while our content is always very ‘young-at-heart’, it most definitely caters to the entire family.”

    Making it known

    The Q Marathi is being promoted through a phased 360-degrees campaign, with a focus on reaching out to interior regions of Maharashtra. Currently, in the awareness-building phase, the campaign is heavy on print, shares Thakare.

    Pointing out another unique feature of the Q’s promotional strategy on digital, Barve says, “it is for the first time a TV channel is using the social media might of its creator partners as a force multiplier to reach out to the ‘aam aadmi’ in a sustained manner.”