MUMBAI: It seems that the 9X Media cluster is busy re-inventing itself. After 9XM, 9X Tashan and 9X Jalwa changed their looks; its international offering has also gone under the knife.
What is unique about the re-invention is that 9XO, which airs international music, will allow a social networking experience with Twitter and Instagram updates of artists to its viewers.
9XO channel head Luke Kenny understands his target audiences’ needs and feels that after viewing the same kind of music, structure, design there comes a saturation point in a viewers’ watching pattern. “Being a broadcaster, we have to keep re-inventing ourselves every now and then to give viewers a fresh dose of music and entertainment. If people get to see the same thing every day, it tends to become a blind spot for them,” he says.
The new look of 9XO will allow the viewers to not only watch the latest and fresh tracks but also enable them to keep a tab on their favourite artists’ Twitter and Instagram updates.
So what made them take the social media route? After a lot of research and surveys, the channel found out that most of its TG spends their time online rather than in front of the television screens. “We thought if we replicate their interactive platform with a medium which is music that is on television then it would form a different kind of network enabling us to connect with the TG seamlessly,” says Kenny.
Along with the new look, the channel has also launched www.9XO.in, a website dedicated to help viewers discover great music. An in-house team worked on creating it as well as the new logo which is blue in colour symbolising the colour of internet.
Elaborates programming head Clyde D’Souza that music programming is all about handpicked curation. “We at 9XO want to be your cool friend who introduce you to the latest dance hit, ballad or quirky music video. The social feed will help viewers get closer to artists. The website will help viewers discover and share awesome music on their Facebook and Twitter timelines.”
Kenny feels that with technology, broadcasters too need to change. One needs to be in constant touch with the TG and should converse with them through social media. “Whenever we do something quirky or interesting on the channel via our packaging or any new ideas, we do get positive feedback from our viewers. Sometimes there are negative feedbacks as well, but we take it in our stride and try to better ourselves.”
Such innovations have paid off as well. “We realised that if there is something new or different on the channel, it does get our competitors’ attention and keeps the client excited. Our advertisers and sponsors love the channel and when we innovate they are always encouraging and supportive,” reveals Kenny.
With the revamp, the channel aims to create a link between the three mediums – internet, mobile and TV – on which the TG enjoys music. The main motto of getting the social media experience on-board was because it’s accessible on the go.
The channel is looking to get more music related content as time goes by. “But again where the difference comes in, because there is music related content on the internet anyway but a lot of it doesn’t get watched. So we are going to be the curators of that content that can make our viewers discover more,” concludes Kenny.
