ITV

Tag: Emotional Atyachaar

  • “Bindass is platform-agnostic; a relaunch is on the cards:” Nikhil Gandhi

    “Bindass is platform-agnostic; a relaunch is on the cards:” Nikhil Gandhi

    Youth are a fickle audience. Especially considering that today’s young are a mobile first generation, and it is difficult to nail them down and make them watch simple telly.

    No one understands this more than Star India’s Channel [V] which brought the curtains down on youth programming and reinvented itself as a music channel recently.

    And of course no one understands this more than Disney India Media channels VP and head of revenue Nikhil Gandhi. He has the responsibility of running the mousehouse’s channel’s in India comprising of youth channels – Bindass and Bindass Play and kids channels – Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD and Hungama TV, and  movie channels – UTV Movies and UTV Action.

    What’s grabbing his attention these days is Bindass. Launched as  a youth channel in 2007 under the UTV umbrella, it aired cult shows such as as Yeh Hai Aashiqui, Love by Chance, and  Emotional Atyachaar which got it  into the top 3 slot in the youth channel genre.  But that was in the pre-smart phone era, when video consumption on hand held devices was not that ubiquitous.

    Over the past few months, Gandhi and his Bindass team, have been working on reinventing the channel into one which is relevant for today’s mobile and Internet data guzzling youth. Among the first steps it took was to release a series first online on its Facebook page. Called Girl In The City it caught the youth’s imagination.

    Indiantelevision.com caught up with Gandhi to know what else is on the cards for Bindass viewers in an exclusive tete a tete.:
    Excerpts:

    What’s in store for Bindass?

    Bindass started out in 2007 and we have completed nine years. And this is going to be the 10th year of its existence. We are planning something very exciting. We have changed the way that content is getting developed on the channel. We are not looking at channel content only but platform agnostic content. We started off with the journey of this thought process three months back with a show called as Girl in the City (GITC) which has now come up to become the second most viewed show as a web series in India for which we partnered with Facebook. The way we did it was that we launched the show on the social media platform every Thursday which went on to the channel on Friday and then subsequently on YouTube by Saturday. 30 million views, the second most viewed web series in India. And we  are working with the best talent, right from Anand Tiwari to writer Sanyuka Chawla Shaikh. We worked with the best talent, directors and writers for the show. The talent that we worked with is exceptional which we plan to continue with going forward.

    The good part is that the content marketing was phenomenon which was earlier called as branded content or AFP is becoming a new buzzword for marketers. Everybody wants to get into the content space. And so we are pioneering that effort along with a lot of other guys who are in the same space. Next year, starting October you will see new shows launching on the Bindass interactive platforms (Bindass, Bindass Play, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Blogs, etc) . It is not necessary to have a 22 minuter on Facebook, I can also choose to have five  minuter there. Or a six second Vine video. Marketers and advertisers are loving this because we are providing them this holistic engagement. The views and the numbers are just phenomenal.

    So, we are saying about 30 minutes of what?. How much does a normal Bindass show get in terms of the audience?

    I can’t compare it completely like that because there we have different metrics like TVR TVT or DVR. The truth is Bindass reaches out to 90 million homes, so the reach is there. So the reach is there but the engagement has to move up to a level where I can at least say that even if we are getting million views a week, in 15 weeks I will be providing 15 million views. The number is not small, it is quite staggering and there is lot of repeat value and of library value.

    The best part of this is it also gives me an advantage to expand into different territories. Now, I have syndicated this show in Pakistan, I have syndicated this show on inflight. So my eco-system of revenue generation is different all together. First of all, I have got great brand partners. The partners for GITC – sponsor Castrol and powered by partner ebay, saw the power in storytelling and then we integrated them seamlessly into the show; it was not overtly in your face branding. We found a very good talent in the young YouTuber Mithila Palkar. She is extremely talented and now the entire world wants to work with her.

    We did a lot of exciting stuff not just from the web series point of view but also from the ancillary programming around it and around her. She did something called as Facebook live interactions with the audience through which we got a lot of on the spot feedback about the show, about the length, the quality of the show. Everyone did a great job. So, this is now going to become the mantra of Bindass going forward.

    And what else is going to happen?

    We are revamping the entire look and feel of Bindass in the month of October. You will see a whole new avatar of the channel. The micro content that we are going to create around it is going to be phenomenal. That also leaves a space for us to probably move into the events space which we have stayed away from a long time. Anything interesting from the ground perspective, we may want to partner with.

    Our main  stay  is going to be platform agnostic content. The good part is we own the IP and the library is for life. Given our global presence now, GITC is travelling as a format to Indonesia. So, the Maker Studios team in South East Asia in Singapore is now taking up this concept and creating a show for either the Philippines or the Indonesian market which for us is a phenomenal way forward.

    So, likewise, our next show is going to launch either in end of October or first week of November. I think the way forward clearly for us is to get into this space for largely digital content,  separate content for on-air. The sky’s the limit as far as the creativity is concerned.

    What happens to Bindass Play? Does it continue?

    Bindass Play continues. It is a very sweet music channel. It is a highly profitable business. We are looking at creating ancillary content around Bindass Play that we did last year through Bollywood Republic. This entailed us moving into smaller towns, checking out the talent , recreating and rehashing Bollywood songs. It did very well for us. If you put both Bindass and BindassPlay together as a network, we stand tall as the number one youth network on television. And if I add the digital elements to it which is Facebook, YouTube and everything else our digital initiatives on YouTube, we are a very strong healthy leading youth network in the country. Which gives you a holistic view of two youth channels leading the space on TV, the entire digital play, and most importantly the content creative capability that we have right now is what is driving us.

    But you have reduced your presence on YouTube?

    But if I put my video up on YouTube, I get that many amount of views. All my old library content is still there. Any new exciting stuff, unless its made for YouTube, I don’t put on YouTube. GITC was made for digital, so the third leg of it went on to YouTube. But specifically If I am making a show for television, I don’t need to necessary put it on YouTube. So that’s the change that’s coming about in our thought process.

    So are you working with all partners?

    We are open to working with all partners, everyone is talking to us. We are working with people who share the same vision. Our thought of owning IP is very clear. We are working with very good talent from the face perspective.  So that’s the vision we have taken on for Bindass. We are here for the long run.

    You will see a lot of this action starting from October from our perspective and we will be announcing many of these initiatives very soon. I think the kind of advertisers who are getting attracted to this and the kind of support that we are getting from brands is phenomenal. They have seen what we have done with GITC, with other shows. The last 10 years have created a mega library of sorts.

    So Bindass will continue with its edginess and brand ethos?

    Bindass has its own brand ethos. It does not necessarily mean edginess. That era is over now. If you look at GITC, it’s a rom-com web  – there’s romance, there’s love, there’s emotion; there’s a lot of empowerment, achievement, confidence building. Bindass from that sense if you look at the way the brand has evolved, you will see that we have through a lot of iterations with the brand. And today if you look at the real meaning of Bindass, it actually means confidence.

    Bindass is a term and we are the only TV channel in the country with a brand that has got meaning in the country. Every other channel today has just a television name. Bindass is an attitude and that is our inherent advantage. It means fearless, fun, free, frank, etc which are all attributes of confidence. We have realised this through our on-going research that for the last so many years is that the parentage have become cooler. Today the children can talk to their parents because they are equally young.

    The father is not anymore saying that you have to wear a saree or salwar kameez at home, he understands his daughter or son. He is not saying my way or the highway – that you have to become a doctor or an engineer. Today, we have got DJs, gliders, etc who are making careers out of things that you have never ever imagined before and the parents are supporting them. So a lot of that confidence is coming from parents and family. The second part is coming from the youth’s aspirations. They all want to make it big in life. Their attitude is not of rebellion at all but of let’s make it happen.The manifestation of all of this is Bindass. Every show you see will have this element of Bindass coming about extremely strongly.

    Our vision is to empower the youth of the country. We want to stand tall as this figure, supporting you guys. Go out make it happen. Need So it is not enough for you to become an engineer or doctor. You have to have that Bindass attitude which is a very confident attitude.

    What happens to getting advertisers on board? Do you see them coming?

    As the brand specifically, I think the advertisers, the clients, who have been with us for so many years have now realized now that this is the way forward.  It is not enough for you to just put it out there. We have several channels in the youth space trying to be something. I won’t take names but just putting up a show on your channel and getting a few GRPs is not the way this business works. You need to have that element of understanding the youth. You need to understand what is driving their thought process, how are they  looking at making this thing work. And that is what we call the new Bindass millennial.

    What is driving their attitude and confidence in them. Pillar of support is their circle, their dreams. And the drive to succeed is their attitude and actions. What is their circle of support? I can talk to my parents, I can talk to my friends if I am in a situation; I know that I have a backup which is driving me that’s my confidence. In earlier times, my confidence was also restricted, because I could not speak to my father. My dad wanted me to become a chartered accountants and I did not want to. That was the cause, the reason for rebelling at that time. Now there is no need because the parents understand their children and want them to go for it. They have become supportive- that is the element of confidence. As this is the pillar of support, follow your dreams,  break the barriers and receive abundance freedom, sky is the limit.

    I don’t want to think small, I just want to make it big. I don’t want to work, I won’t. I’ll do whatever I feel. I have seen so many people in my own friend and relative circles. I could never imagine in my dreams that my father would allow me to become a wildlife photographer. It is all about having the will to succeed. Instant gratification. I want it now. This is all getting into the fact that there is a lot of exposure happening, because this millennial is a digital native. You talk to them about Donald Trump, they will give you their opinions; you talk to them about what’s happening in the world with the whole ISIS crisis, they will give their opinions. You talk to them about Michael Phelps world record, they will give you their opinion. Their universe is driving around their phones, their IPads, their tablets.

    And the reason we have taken this platform-agnostic content approach. Just to give you a brand personality manifestation, we are looking at at Alia Bhatt. That is our brand personality – versatile, good looking, urban, sexy, smart, trendy, confident. My elements of Bindass is this.

    We have always been 2D in our packaging. We are looking, for the first time,  at going 3D. So the whole coming of Bindass is going to be new look and feel, this new brand philosophy, the manifestation of this great content.

    What about traditional television distribution?

    We are looking at increasing our digital reach on television through all that’s happening on digitization. Hopefully in the next six months from here or maybe in the next one year from here, India will be completely digitized. So if I am talking 100 million or 150 million homes digitized reach on television with just two brands- Bindass and Bindass Play.  Right now, I’m talking about 250 million homes that my brands will reach out to with all my digital platforms which is a huge massive brand to reckon with going forward.

    What is the number of audience we are looking for out of 150 million audience category? It is not everyone in the universe who will consume this data.

    15 to 21 is my demographic. Even if you go to Hohsiarpur, everyone is on Google, and on facebook. Just look at the kind of interactivity they get, it’s mind boggling. I travel the length and breadth of the country into many towns, I have observed that everybody has access to the internet and that is what is enabling this whole philosophy of being a digital native and us getting the confidence of driving that.

    What is the number? Is it 20 million or 15 million or 10 million people the young people out there?   People who could possibly be the key target audience of Bindass?

    It’s far more than that. First of all you know the great number of 65-70 per cent of India being in the age of 15-40.  That is my number. Whether they are engaging with me on television or on my Facebook or YouTube or Instagram or Vine, I am getting them wherever they are.

    But Facebook is about 150 million to 200 million users….

    My own Facebook page has 10 million fans in two brands.  When I do a show on Facebook, they pump it out to their universe and then if I am syndicating the same show to various people, I am going through a huge massive turnover of sorts in terms  of  numbers. So, I have got the platforms, the audience and the brand. I got the look and feel and I have also got the entire pedigree of the Bindass out there. What I am focusing now is content creation capability which is what is driving and propelling this entire engine and creating the modernisation on top of it.

    Will you build the same structure and tap into these possibilities?

    Absolutely. After I have a team which is already there, we are going out to tap various possibilities. The beauty of it is brands which never thought of coming onto the channel before have suddenly latched onto this.Now they are saying Boss, let’s make it happen.

    How are you putting this in your executive producers in the network? How are you integrating this entire brand  philosophy with them?

    They have already been with us so everybody is in the understanding of the coming age of Bindass and what we stand for. They are part of our focus group discussions and research. When I give the vision of what we want to do, the first click was let’s stop thinking as a 42 minute episode. I urge them to come up with a 10 second spot or 10 second video which makes sense to me. We will blow it up.

    So, content today cannot have a duration cut. It is to have a creative cut and to see what work well exceptionally for it. I think that we have also gone into a philosophy wherein we don’t think that I have to create 22 minute episode showing long scenes. We can’t do that as the audience is a digital native. They are consuming maximum amounts of videos on WhatsApp. I need 100  of my videos to be on Vine, Instagram and WhatsApp and SnapChat. .

    Like Snapchat with a 10 sec video with or without giving link to television…

    Exactly. It’s like a 30 second promo. You watch a promo, you get a synopsis of what you gonna see in the half an hour or one hour program. A guy who is spending one hour a day on mobile constantly checking his apps, give him a sense over there by creating a 10 or 20 second video. Most importantly the virality has to be out there. That guy, who  gets video, needs to have the ability or the push that I need to send this to my group and that is the success of content.

    Are you going to raise ad rates?

    We have already raised our ad rates. We are the highest in the market from an FCT perspective. What we are now raising is the premium in terms of content. So when we go out to brands, we actually sell the story first. We have stopped selling and have started telling. No selling shows, start telling stories. That is the shift in the revenue teams is to stop selling and start telling. And that has created great success. We have 10 brands lined up for our next shows confirmed already.

  • “Bindass is platform-agnostic; a relaunch is on the cards:” Nikhil Gandhi

    “Bindass is platform-agnostic; a relaunch is on the cards:” Nikhil Gandhi

    Youth are a fickle audience. Especially considering that today’s young are a mobile first generation, and it is difficult to nail them down and make them watch simple telly.

    No one understands this more than Star India’s Channel [V] which brought the curtains down on youth programming and reinvented itself as a music channel recently.

    And of course no one understands this more than Disney India Media channels VP and head of revenue Nikhil Gandhi. He has the responsibility of running the mousehouse’s channel’s in India comprising of youth channels – Bindass and Bindass Play and kids channels – Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD and Hungama TV, and  movie channels – UTV Movies and UTV Action.

    What’s grabbing his attention these days is Bindass. Launched as  a youth channel in 2007 under the UTV umbrella, it aired cult shows such as as Yeh Hai Aashiqui, Love by Chance, and  Emotional Atyachaar which got it  into the top 3 slot in the youth channel genre.  But that was in the pre-smart phone era, when video consumption on hand held devices was not that ubiquitous.

    Over the past few months, Gandhi and his Bindass team, have been working on reinventing the channel into one which is relevant for today’s mobile and Internet data guzzling youth. Among the first steps it took was to release a series first online on its Facebook page. Called Girl In The City it caught the youth’s imagination.

    Indiantelevision.com caught up with Gandhi to know what else is on the cards for Bindass viewers in an exclusive tete a tete.:
    Excerpts:

    What’s in store for Bindass?

    Bindass started out in 2007 and we have completed nine years. And this is going to be the 10th year of its existence. We are planning something very exciting. We have changed the way that content is getting developed on the channel. We are not looking at channel content only but platform agnostic content. We started off with the journey of this thought process three months back with a show called as Girl in the City (GITC) which has now come up to become the second most viewed show as a web series in India for which we partnered with Facebook. The way we did it was that we launched the show on the social media platform every Thursday which went on to the channel on Friday and then subsequently on YouTube by Saturday. 30 million views, the second most viewed web series in India. And we  are working with the best talent, right from Anand Tiwari to writer Sanyuka Chawla Shaikh. We worked with the best talent, directors and writers for the show. The talent that we worked with is exceptional which we plan to continue with going forward.

    The good part is that the content marketing was phenomenon which was earlier called as branded content or AFP is becoming a new buzzword for marketers. Everybody wants to get into the content space. And so we are pioneering that effort along with a lot of other guys who are in the same space. Next year, starting October you will see new shows launching on the Bindass interactive platforms (Bindass, Bindass Play, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Blogs, etc) . It is not necessary to have a 22 minuter on Facebook, I can also choose to have five  minuter there. Or a six second Vine video. Marketers and advertisers are loving this because we are providing them this holistic engagement. The views and the numbers are just phenomenal.

    So, we are saying about 30 minutes of what?. How much does a normal Bindass show get in terms of the audience?

    I can’t compare it completely like that because there we have different metrics like TVR TVT or DVR. The truth is Bindass reaches out to 90 million homes, so the reach is there. So the reach is there but the engagement has to move up to a level where I can at least say that even if we are getting million views a week, in 15 weeks I will be providing 15 million views. The number is not small, it is quite staggering and there is lot of repeat value and of library value.

    The best part of this is it also gives me an advantage to expand into different territories. Now, I have syndicated this show in Pakistan, I have syndicated this show on inflight. So my eco-system of revenue generation is different all together. First of all, I have got great brand partners. The partners for GITC – sponsor Castrol and powered by partner ebay, saw the power in storytelling and then we integrated them seamlessly into the show; it was not overtly in your face branding. We found a very good talent in the young YouTuber Mithila Palkar. She is extremely talented and now the entire world wants to work with her.

    We did a lot of exciting stuff not just from the web series point of view but also from the ancillary programming around it and around her. She did something called as Facebook live interactions with the audience through which we got a lot of on the spot feedback about the show, about the length, the quality of the show. Everyone did a great job. So, this is now going to become the mantra of Bindass going forward.

    And what else is going to happen?

    We are revamping the entire look and feel of Bindass in the month of October. You will see a whole new avatar of the channel. The micro content that we are going to create around it is going to be phenomenal. That also leaves a space for us to probably move into the events space which we have stayed away from a long time. Anything interesting from the ground perspective, we may want to partner with.

    Our main  stay  is going to be platform agnostic content. The good part is we own the IP and the library is for life. Given our global presence now, GITC is travelling as a format to Indonesia. So, the Maker Studios team in South East Asia in Singapore is now taking up this concept and creating a show for either the Philippines or the Indonesian market which for us is a phenomenal way forward.

    So, likewise, our next show is going to launch either in end of October or first week of November. I think the way forward clearly for us is to get into this space for largely digital content,  separate content for on-air. The sky’s the limit as far as the creativity is concerned.

    What happens to Bindass Play? Does it continue?

    Bindass Play continues. It is a very sweet music channel. It is a highly profitable business. We are looking at creating ancillary content around Bindass Play that we did last year through Bollywood Republic. This entailed us moving into smaller towns, checking out the talent , recreating and rehashing Bollywood songs. It did very well for us. If you put both Bindass and BindassPlay together as a network, we stand tall as the number one youth network on television. And if I add the digital elements to it which is Facebook, YouTube and everything else our digital initiatives on YouTube, we are a very strong healthy leading youth network in the country. Which gives you a holistic view of two youth channels leading the space on TV, the entire digital play, and most importantly the content creative capability that we have right now is what is driving us.

    But you have reduced your presence on YouTube?

    But if I put my video up on YouTube, I get that many amount of views. All my old library content is still there. Any new exciting stuff, unless its made for YouTube, I don’t put on YouTube. GITC was made for digital, so the third leg of it went on to YouTube. But specifically If I am making a show for television, I don’t need to necessary put it on YouTube. So that’s the change that’s coming about in our thought process.

    So are you working with all partners?

    We are open to working with all partners, everyone is talking to us. We are working with people who share the same vision. Our thought of owning IP is very clear. We are working with very good talent from the face perspective.  So that’s the vision we have taken on for Bindass. We are here for the long run.

    You will see a lot of this action starting from October from our perspective and we will be announcing many of these initiatives very soon. I think the kind of advertisers who are getting attracted to this and the kind of support that we are getting from brands is phenomenal. They have seen what we have done with GITC, with other shows. The last 10 years have created a mega library of sorts.

    So Bindass will continue with its edginess and brand ethos?

    Bindass has its own brand ethos. It does not necessarily mean edginess. That era is over now. If you look at GITC, it’s a rom-com web  – there’s romance, there’s love, there’s emotion; there’s a lot of empowerment, achievement, confidence building. Bindass from that sense if you look at the way the brand has evolved, you will see that we have through a lot of iterations with the brand. And today if you look at the real meaning of Bindass, it actually means confidence.

    Bindass is a term and we are the only TV channel in the country with a brand that has got meaning in the country. Every other channel today has just a television name. Bindass is an attitude and that is our inherent advantage. It means fearless, fun, free, frank, etc which are all attributes of confidence. We have realised this through our on-going research that for the last so many years is that the parentage have become cooler. Today the children can talk to their parents because they are equally young.

    The father is not anymore saying that you have to wear a saree or salwar kameez at home, he understands his daughter or son. He is not saying my way or the highway – that you have to become a doctor or an engineer. Today, we have got DJs, gliders, etc who are making careers out of things that you have never ever imagined before and the parents are supporting them. So a lot of that confidence is coming from parents and family. The second part is coming from the youth’s aspirations. They all want to make it big in life. Their attitude is not of rebellion at all but of let’s make it happen.The manifestation of all of this is Bindass. Every show you see will have this element of Bindass coming about extremely strongly.

    Our vision is to empower the youth of the country. We want to stand tall as this figure, supporting you guys. Go out make it happen. Need So it is not enough for you to become an engineer or doctor. You have to have that Bindass attitude which is a very confident attitude.

    What happens to getting advertisers on board? Do you see them coming?

    As the brand specifically, I think the advertisers, the clients, who have been with us for so many years have now realized now that this is the way forward.  It is not enough for you to just put it out there. We have several channels in the youth space trying to be something. I won’t take names but just putting up a show on your channel and getting a few GRPs is not the way this business works. You need to have that element of understanding the youth. You need to understand what is driving their thought process, how are they  looking at making this thing work. And that is what we call the new Bindass millennial.

    What is driving their attitude and confidence in them. Pillar of support is their circle, their dreams. And the drive to succeed is their attitude and actions. What is their circle of support? I can talk to my parents, I can talk to my friends if I am in a situation; I know that I have a backup which is driving me that’s my confidence. In earlier times, my confidence was also restricted, because I could not speak to my father. My dad wanted me to become a chartered accountants and I did not want to. That was the cause, the reason for rebelling at that time. Now there is no need because the parents understand their children and want them to go for it. They have become supportive- that is the element of confidence. As this is the pillar of support, follow your dreams,  break the barriers and receive abundance freedom, sky is the limit.

    I don’t want to think small, I just want to make it big. I don’t want to work, I won’t. I’ll do whatever I feel. I have seen so many people in my own friend and relative circles. I could never imagine in my dreams that my father would allow me to become a wildlife photographer. It is all about having the will to succeed. Instant gratification. I want it now. This is all getting into the fact that there is a lot of exposure happening, because this millennial is a digital native. You talk to them about Donald Trump, they will give you their opinions; you talk to them about what’s happening in the world with the whole ISIS crisis, they will give their opinions. You talk to them about Michael Phelps world record, they will give you their opinion. Their universe is driving around their phones, their IPads, their tablets.

    And the reason we have taken this platform-agnostic content approach. Just to give you a brand personality manifestation, we are looking at at Alia Bhatt. That is our brand personality – versatile, good looking, urban, sexy, smart, trendy, confident. My elements of Bindass is this.

    We have always been 2D in our packaging. We are looking, for the first time,  at going 3D. So the whole coming of Bindass is going to be new look and feel, this new brand philosophy, the manifestation of this great content.

    What about traditional television distribution?

    We are looking at increasing our digital reach on television through all that’s happening on digitization. Hopefully in the next six months from here or maybe in the next one year from here, India will be completely digitized. So if I am talking 100 million or 150 million homes digitized reach on television with just two brands- Bindass and Bindass Play.  Right now, I’m talking about 250 million homes that my brands will reach out to with all my digital platforms which is a huge massive brand to reckon with going forward.

    What is the number of audience we are looking for out of 150 million audience category? It is not everyone in the universe who will consume this data.

    15 to 21 is my demographic. Even if you go to Hohsiarpur, everyone is on Google, and on facebook. Just look at the kind of interactivity they get, it’s mind boggling. I travel the length and breadth of the country into many towns, I have observed that everybody has access to the internet and that is what is enabling this whole philosophy of being a digital native and us getting the confidence of driving that.

    What is the number? Is it 20 million or 15 million or 10 million people the young people out there?   People who could possibly be the key target audience of Bindass?

    It’s far more than that. First of all you know the great number of 65-70 per cent of India being in the age of 15-40.  That is my number. Whether they are engaging with me on television or on my Facebook or YouTube or Instagram or Vine, I am getting them wherever they are.

    But Facebook is about 150 million to 200 million users….

    My own Facebook page has 10 million fans in two brands.  When I do a show on Facebook, they pump it out to their universe and then if I am syndicating the same show to various people, I am going through a huge massive turnover of sorts in terms  of  numbers. So, I have got the platforms, the audience and the brand. I got the look and feel and I have also got the entire pedigree of the Bindass out there. What I am focusing now is content creation capability which is what is driving and propelling this entire engine and creating the modernisation on top of it.

    Will you build the same structure and tap into these possibilities?

    Absolutely. After I have a team which is already there, we are going out to tap various possibilities. The beauty of it is brands which never thought of coming onto the channel before have suddenly latched onto this.Now they are saying Boss, let’s make it happen.

    How are you putting this in your executive producers in the network? How are you integrating this entire brand  philosophy with them?

    They have already been with us so everybody is in the understanding of the coming age of Bindass and what we stand for. They are part of our focus group discussions and research. When I give the vision of what we want to do, the first click was let’s stop thinking as a 42 minute episode. I urge them to come up with a 10 second spot or 10 second video which makes sense to me. We will blow it up.

    So, content today cannot have a duration cut. It is to have a creative cut and to see what work well exceptionally for it. I think that we have also gone into a philosophy wherein we don’t think that I have to create 22 minute episode showing long scenes. We can’t do that as the audience is a digital native. They are consuming maximum amounts of videos on WhatsApp. I need 100  of my videos to be on Vine, Instagram and WhatsApp and SnapChat. .

    Like Snapchat with a 10 sec video with or without giving link to television…

    Exactly. It’s like a 30 second promo. You watch a promo, you get a synopsis of what you gonna see in the half an hour or one hour program. A guy who is spending one hour a day on mobile constantly checking his apps, give him a sense over there by creating a 10 or 20 second video. Most importantly the virality has to be out there. That guy, who  gets video, needs to have the ability or the push that I need to send this to my group and that is the success of content.

    Are you going to raise ad rates?

    We have already raised our ad rates. We are the highest in the market from an FCT perspective. What we are now raising is the premium in terms of content. So when we go out to brands, we actually sell the story first. We have stopped selling and have started telling. No selling shows, start telling stories. That is the shift in the revenue teams is to stop selling and start telling. And that has created great success. We have 10 brands lined up for our next shows confirmed already.

  • What does young India want from TV shows?

    What does young India want from TV shows?

    MUMBAI: Reality shows with dollops of voyeurism or reality shows showcasing talent; hard-hitting real life stories or risqué fiction; fantasy or crime; comedy or cutting edge adventure… what is it that the youth of today wants from television in terms of entertainment?

    While a few shows successfully manage to pervade all society’s echelons, a few fail to take flight. Moreover, now with the digital entertainment landscape augmenting every day offering fresh new content on the go, broadcasters have their task cut out for them to engage the young and restless minds with relevant programming.

    A question that often echoes in the conference rooms of broadcasters and production houses during brain-storming sessions is: What does the youth of today want from television in terms of entertainment?

    Roadies fame and Monozygotic co-founder Rajiv Ram rightly points out, “Today’s youth is always seeking content by consuming it across different platforms, which are available to them. The youth wants to get surprised with edgy content diverting from the mainstream content that is provided to them.”

    Not the ones to follow herd mentality whether it is about career choices or personal life decisions, the youth today wants to bring a change in society and this also reflects in the kind of content that TV shows today are are furbishing them with.

    The youth fare on television today offers a diverse range of life changing shows like Big F, Emotional Atyachaar, Love by Chance, Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya and Gumrah spreading awareness amongst the youth through hard hitting stories. At the same time, shows like Sadda Haq and Yeh Hai Aashique aims at breaking society’s prejudices and stereotypes. On the other hand are reality shows like Roadies, Splitsvilla, Bindass Naach or India’s Top Model, which provides a platform for youngsters to showcase their talent and skills. Bad Company, a talk show, lures the young audience with its concept of revealing the deepest, darkest secrets of TV actors.

    It’s no secret that viewers are the biggest decision makers when it comes to the success of a show. What is perhaps lacking in the youth entertainment landscape today is experimental content, which dares to take some risks. While last year one did see some shows like Warrior High, Roadies X2, Big F, India’s Next Top Model and Love School breaking the shackles with new concepts on MTV, the fact is that there’s a need for more such shows targeting the youth. And while MTV was experimenting with its programming, Channel V and Bindass were not far behind with the launch of shows like Swim Team, Bindass Naach, Tu Con Mein Con, Zindagi Wins and Kota Toppers.

    “A show like Swim Team would not work in India because of the content. It is indeed new, but the youth cannot relate to the concept. On the other hand, a one of its kind dance reality show Bindass Naach will attract viewers’ attention with its concept portraying a trio living for their dreams,” adds a media expert.

    With the buzz created by Big F and Love School, both shows are giving strong competition to existing shows in the category. “The add-on factor to these two shows is that they have roped in familiar industry names as the host to gain some traction,” points out a channel executive.

    The entertainment pyramid is well layered with each level catering to a diverse set of audience. While at the base of the pyramid is the audience consuming content from the internet services, the level above constitutes of people consuming information from the various over-the-top platforms (OTT), which offers content catering to the youth. At the third level is the consumption of international shows and at the tip of the pyramid is a pure experience i.e. live shows. At every level of the pyramid, the youth expects different content.

    Supporting this, erstwhile Viacom 18 EVP and MTV & MTV Indies business head Aditya Swamy, who is now with Flipkart as senior director – marketing says, “The pipe is getting bigger and better every passing day with one end through which the information is being poured to the audience and the other end through which the youth is consuming the content. The content ecosystem is vibrant constituting diverse information for a group of people, who are totally different from one another and have a divergent content preference, which cannot be clubbed together as one.”

    On the other hand, with the growing access to internet, the young generation has the option to consume anything and everything from the web sans barriers. “There is information all around us but it’s on the youth to take the call. They have to use, assimilate and make sense of the information. The only problem that I believe in India is navigation. And the need to have more relatable and real characters that the youth can connect with,” adds Bawa Broadcasting creative director Cyrus Oshidar.

    Added Sunshine Productions producer Sudhir Sharma, “Channels need to understand the need of the youth and what will grab their attention. They won’t consume information that doesn’t interest them. A show done out of a random research won’t work. The youth plays the role of a dual personality these days and you have to link your content with their lives to penetrate the show,”

    Sharma strongly believes that skin show or bold scenes won’t get views, instead more relatable content will get good following.

    “With changing trends, the youth will demand different types of content. Sadda Haq is successful today because of its theme, which goes against the rules laid down by the society. The show successfully bridges the gap between the reel and real characters. The youth will heavily consume such content,” asserts Beyond Dreams founder Yash Patnaik.

    “Roadies X2, with its new concept and jury was well received by viewers. It did well not only because of the recall element attached to it but also the concept, which kept the audience on their toes to know what’s in store for them,” observes an industry expert.

    The youngsters have been hooked to some popular international shows through the internet services available to them. Shows like F.R.I.E.N.D.S, How I Met Your Mother, Sherlock etc, are widely watched in India. However Patnaik is of the opinion that though shows from the West have enjoyed success in India, they still cater to a limited group of people. “Original content will still be consumed on a larger scale, which cannot be matched,” he says.

    India’s Next Top Model, which is an adaption of America’s Next Top Model, proved to be successful with the buzz that it created. “I don’t think that there is a need to acquire content when we have enough talent available in India to create original shows,” adds Patnaik.

    The year has seen shows like Warrior High or Zindagi Wins going off air in just a few months. While the former was an interesting campus tale with dozens of love moments between the couples, it could not help grab enough eyeballs. On the other hand, the latter being a medical drama moulded on the lines of Dill Mill Gayye, started off as a romance between two friends, but lost its spark halfway. In the absence of a convincing storyline, the show saw an influx of new characters but failed to strike a chord with the audiences and had to make an early exit.

    “Production houses need to constantly re-invent content with the changing dynamics in the society. They can’t feed one type of a content for years,” says Patnaik.

    The youth today is consuming information simultaneously from different platforms and wants shows, which can be consumed easily in one go. And now more so with the launch of Netflix in India, which uploads the entire season of shows at one go on their subscription driven platform, people have yet another legit platform to go to! Swamy rights points out that as the audience will evolve, so will the content model and hence platforms for better consumption of information will evolve. “The entire media – digital or TV – is growing at a steady pace,” he says.

    Also emphasising on the concept of branded entertainment, Sharma points out that if shows stick to brands, they ought to work in India. “The business of shows is dependent on ratings as well as on the funding from advertisers,” he says.

    “Advertisers need to understand the content that the services are providing to the viewers. They cannot provide diluted system fed information to the youth. In today’s scenario, audience segmentation is an issue and needs to be solved so as to retain the youth audience. The youth requires risky, humoristic, never seen before content with elements of surprise,” adds Ram.

    “With the change in consumer trends, channels along with the production houses have to understand the content that they are providing to the youth,” adds Swamy.

    Ram says, “Even advertisers have to understand the content on such channels in a better way and develop the bridge between real and reel life characters. Channels need to work on their programming strategies to keep the audience intrigued. Only then will the entire industry grow as a whole,” says Ram.

    The need of the hour for youth entertainment channels is no doubt to dish out some edgy relatable content, which will in turn keep them glued to traditional TV viewing even in the rapidly expanding digital world.

  • “Make sure that the attitude you wear fits you and is not forced:” Vijay Subramaniam

    “Make sure that the attitude you wear fits you and is not forced:” Vijay Subramaniam

    The youth of India believe in purposive action and are restless for change at all levels, their own lives, society and circumstances. One man, who has studied the young adults very closely is Disney India Media Networks VP – content and communications Vijay Subramaniam.

     

    Talking about one of the leading youth network in the country, bindass, with his passion and perseverance, the channel has been consistently entertaining young adults with content and campaigns that are purposive and action-oriented, with more than 1000 hours of path-breaking original content.

     

    He intends to inspire the youth of the country to actively do something about issues that surround them and believes that young people can fight the system and bring in the change. With Subramaniam being at the helm since its inception, the channel has grown in viewership by more than 150 per cent and today reaches out to 1.3 times more young adults since launch.

     

    In conversation with Indiantelevision.com’s Disha Shah, he talks about bindass’ journey, his views about today’s youth and how different they are from previous generations, the best way of engagement and more.

     

    Excerpts:

     

    How has bindass’ performance and journey been since its launch?

     

    It’s been one of the most interesting journeys for us with the brand. Seven years ago, when we set up bindass, it was exciting for us to be able to create a well defined Indian youth brand. The landscape back then and even now is such that most young adult brands tend to be international. It was an interesting challenge for us to provide the Indian youth with a brand, which they could not only relate to and see the reflections of themselves in, but also a brand that would understand the nuances of everything Indian.

     

    The journey has been incredible. In terms of viewership alone, in the last seven years, we have grown by over 150 per cent. We have added 90 million viewers, who are tuning in on a weekly basis. The evolution of this brand has seen significant increases in its performance at every step.

     

    Today as a composite, if we take the other brand that we had launched alongside bindass, i.e bindass play, together they command 19 per cent of the market of young adults, which is essentially the age group of 15-24 Sec AB.

     

    What do you think about the youth today? How is this generation, as a group, different from the previous generations (both politically and socially)?

     

    One of the corner stones of our success, both as bindass as well as to tell great stories to this audience, has been our ability to constantly converse with them. Very often people talk about research which is very important but I do believe that continuous dialogue with our audiences is the most important factor.

     

    Young people are casual, informal and shape the world through that lens. First and foremost I think today’s generation is booming with confidence. Everyone today is hoping to hit the high orbit and want to do well for themselves. There is a lot of optimism there.

     

    Secondly, they live in a world of abundance. What they see out there is really what we describe as tetras of opportunities. What’s crucial for them is their ability to make sense of it all. The youth today looks for meaningful relationships with brands, such as us, that help them navigate through the tetras of opportunities and help them to get through their desired goals. It’s also a generation that has deep-rooted commitment to things that really matter to them. As we have seen very often, when push comes to shove, this generation rises up and is willing to be scouted.

     

    Another interesting dimension is their interpretation of freedom. It is very important and matters a lot to them. Here, I am talking about all kinds of freedom, from expression to choosing their own boundaries. Alongside this dimension are achievements and successes and with that comes materialism.

     

    They live in a world where there are no borders, frankly. Be it social media or the amount of technology available to them… today’s generation is born into it. Their ability to see the world through a global lens is far easier than generations prior to that.

     

    Overall, it is a very confident, optimistic, positive and energetic generation and we at bindass reflect all of these in everything that we do in our journey with them.

     

    What according to you is the best way to engage the young? What works with them?

    Engagement is a broad term. For us, we have to choose methods of engagement on the basis of what we mean to them – while we are their friends; we are also responsible for their entertainment. Our focus engagement is through entertainment that is purposeful, enabling, funny as well as empowering. Our aim is to provide content that allows them to lean back and yet the message is the lean forward one.

     

    Through the themes that I spoke about, comes the ability to engage. However, what makes for fruitful engagement with them is dialogue and not monologue. The dialogue should reflect their attitude and spirit and above all else we should be able to constantly walk in step with them as their attitudes change, are shaped and re-shaped. That’s what creates successful meaningful engagement with young people.

     

    bindass’ shows like Halla Bol, Yeh Hai Aashiqui and Emotional Atyaachar all cater to the youth. How do you ensure that each show stands different from each other?

     

    We have a continuous conversation with our TG and that is possible only because of our robust research mechanism. We have tried to focus on different dimensions in the themes that we believe entertain young people in India. From that perspective, we have explored the entire spectrum of the theme of love and relationships. Right from Yeh Hai Aashiqui, which talks about strong love stories and relationships, to the other end of the spectrum – Emotional Atyachaar that talks about what happens when love goes wrong or even Pyaar Ka The End.

     

    And why this is important to young people? They want a 360 degree view of themes that matter to them because ultimately at some level they relate to it. While they are being entertained by the content, they absorb what is shown and also apply it to their lives.

     

    Talking about our second theme, empowerment, the first season of Halla Bol narrated stories of women facing harassment and fighting back. The second season took it a few notches higher by showcasing women fighting the system. We are seeing a lot of success in our society on that front. This is yet another reflection of how important empowerment is for young people.

     

    We also did a show called Change Ayega, Hum Layenge, which was a satire on the fact that if you are just going to indulge in armchair activism, nothing is going to change. Young people have to get up and get going and bring about change.

     

    The inspiration and source for a lot of differentiation comes in our deep understanding of themes from all dimensions. And that allows us to put our stories and different pieces of content that are both entertaining and engaging and at the same time giving a very holistic view of the themes that matter to the young people.

     

    Does creative talent understand youth programming today?

     

    Absolutely for bindass. For us, our success as a brand has been to be able to partner with creators right across the board and help them benefit from our rich understanding of young adults in India. A lot of this knowledge that we have, is transferred within our creative eco-system.

     

    From an overall industry perspective, creative talent today is progressive and has a good understanding of the target audience. It is ultimately about your focus. If they are focused on the youth, the understanding is very high and if their focus is on other age segments, then their understanding is not necessarily that high.

     

    What have you learnt about your audience?  

     

    One is the dialogue, which is a two-way interaction with the audience, regardless of the medium of entertainment. Second is to be able to wear your attitude and make sure that the attitude fits you and is not forced. It’s like a group of friends, each one has a distinct personality but when they come together, they form a nice group. The third lesson is that if you want to win them. you have to walk with them and be one of them. Lastly, this is a restless audience because they have so much to achieve and so we have to reflect those needs.

     

    What are the platforms on which the youth consumes more content today – television or digital?

     

    Between the access of technology and that of hardware, the fact remains that they are looking for their source of entertainment at points and devices that are convenient to them at that point in time.

     

    Keeping this in mind, as a brand that they care about, it is important for us to reflect that moment. This is the relationship that is changing in terms of their traditional consumption and we do believe that we need to be present wherever they want us to be present.

     

    For example, earlier the youth looked at television as a lead medium, whereas digital was to provide marketing support and extend a bit of the television universe. But at bindass, we have always pioneered our digital first strategy. We have always looked at these two universes as being symbiotic and not one leading and the other following. We have also looked at important philosophies through all these access points for young people and all of these are active and not promotional.

     

    Besides television, bindass had also launched initiatives like Dreamstart and bforchange. How has the response been for them?

     

    We were very clear that bindass will play a certain role on television and there are other roles that bindass, as a brand, will play with our other consumer touch points. Both the properties played a very important role on digital as the call to action made way for live conversations, tracking progress, engaging and interacting that are best done using the digital environment.

     

    Both initiatives had started with driving the brand message of being the enabler of purposive action. Today I am very proud to say that the partnerships Dreamstart did are commendable and we are getting perfect partners for the initiative. We are trying our hands on the music space as well. With the other initiative bforchange, we could bring about 170 NGOs onto a digital platform and make it so easy for people to access and pledge their support to them.

     

    Nowadays, most of the Hindi general entertainment channels (GECs) are tapping into the youth genre through new shows. Do you feel that going forward they can be your direct competitor?

     

    We welcome them (laughs). We are not just about the shows that we air but also a state of mind in the lives of our consumers. We are a part of the youth’s group today and in order to stay there, we need to stay relevant.

     

    Anyone who is willing to entertain will get the attention of the audience if done correctly. Young adults today loves a variety of entertainment. At any point of time, while they will be entertained by many, the fact is that they still prefer a few and those are the ones that they have made an emotional investment in. We believe that bindass is a brand that our audiences will make an emotional investment in.

     

    On the other hand, the advantage of more variety of programming coming through is that we get to tell even more differentiated stories of high quality. When Hindi GECs also move in these dimensions, it also gives a creative uplift to the entire eco-system and that is a welcome benefit for all of us.

     

  • UTV Stars to don new look

    UTV Stars to don new look

    MUMBAI: UTV Stars is all set for a makeover. Come October and the music and feature based programming channel, will don a new look. Disney India, riding on the success of its youth entertainment channel-bindass, is all set to unveil a refreshed channel offering with a new brand proposition complemented with fresh packaging, new content and a new brand name, that will further fortify the bindass brand.

     

    The channel will continue in its present avatar till September 2014. The change is in keeping with Disney India’s long-term strategy of building a set of formidable brands in India.

     

     “Disney India is committed to serving audiences with differentiated multi-brand offerings in the television space. To that end, we are refreshing our product offerings in the youth genre, using brand bindass to create a new proposition for UTV Stars that is complementary to the bindass brand, and centered around themes and passions that drive Young India,” said Disney India vice president – content & communication, media networks Vijay Subramaniam.

     

    “In one of the most dynamic media industries in the world, it has been our constant endeavor to continually refresh our offerings to stay ahead of the curve and serve our audiences and stake holders with quality content that raises the bar on engagement and relevance,” added Disney India vice president – revenue, media networks Nikhil Gandhi.

     

    ‘bindass’ is one of the first homegrown youth entertainment channel in India that has gone from strength to strength in the past few years. The channel has delivered genre defining shows and campaigns that have mirrored the realities, dreams and aspirations of the Indian youth to garner a cult following. The channel’s most recent initiative, ‘b for change’ and new shows such as Yeh Hai Ashiqui, Halla Bol and Change Ayega, Hum Layenge as well as old favorites in their new avatars such as Emotional Atyachaar have successfully reiterated bindass’ philosophy of ‘Enabler of Purposive Action’ to its viewers.

  • bindass launches ‘Halla Bol’ to inspire youth to fight back

    bindass launches ‘Halla Bol’ to inspire youth to fight back

    MUMBAI: Early this month, youth channel, bindass, came up with a brand campaign ‘B for Change’. This came in after almost three years after its ‘What I am’ campaign.

     

    And taking its promise of “Enabler of Purposive Action” a step further, the channel has launched a latest show Halla Bol. The first show under the binadaas’ new brand campaign, Halla Bol, will showcase stories inspired by various real life instances and celebrates the victories of women who stood their ground to emerge as heroes.

     

     “Halla Bol is a show with a significant change in narrative in the way women can fight real life crimes which are a part of any young woman’s everyday life. bindass’ shows such as Emotional Atyachaar and Yeh Hai Aashiqui have already established a bench mark when it comes to representing young change-makers from our every-day life. Today’s youth are the do generation, they are restless to act and that’s exactly what you will see in the show. We plan to extend the flavor of the ‘b for change’ campaign with ‘Halla Bol’. These are stories of women who’ve fought back for themselves and that’s what every young Indian should do”, says bindass director content Shalini Sethi.

     

    The show will be hosted by popular television actor Karan Tacker, who will take the viewers through the hard-hitting stories and also provide a man’s perspective. “I am delighted to be a part of this show. ‘Halla Bol’ is an eye-opener for all the young people of our country, especially for men whose value system allows them to be unjust and for women who tolerate injustice in silence. This show, illustrates how a little strength and self-confidence goes a long way in bringing about meaningful change”, says the actor.

     

    In its first episode bindass Halla Bol will showcase a blazing issue prevalent in the society – that of eve teasing. Every episode will have the female youth icon who will tell her tale, thus encouraging viewers to take purposive action. The episodes would conclude with the debunking of inane myths that surround women’s issues.

     

    The show will go on air from today (28 February) at 7pm.

  • Now, Shaadi Mein Atyachaar on Bindaas

    Now, Shaadi Mein Atyachaar on Bindaas

    MUMBAI: With season four of Bindaas’ cult show, ‘Emotional Atyachaar’ completing 50 well-received episodes, the channel is all set to telecast a mini-series titled ‘Shaadi Mein Atyachaar – Dekho, Seekho, Bacho’ in the same time slot, starting tomorrow.  

    To be aired at 7pm every Saturday, the one-hour series will run across four episodes; taking viewers through the heart-wrenching stories of real women who’ve braved all forms of betrayal in marriage, and lived to tell the tale.

    We don_t do anything without research, says Shalini Sethi

    Bindass director programming Shalini Sethi feels that betrayal in an institution like marriage is not restricted to sexual infidelity alone but goes on to include fraud, dowry-related harassment and domestic violence among other issues. The series celebrates women who’ve fought these odds while serving as inspiration to others who might find themselves in a similar situation.

    Asked about the choice of subject, Sethi says: “We got a lot of feedback saying that in many marriages, women in particular are extremely unhappy and have been tortured. These women wanted a platform to tell their stories and inspire other women. These brave hearts in the end have stood up against society and family and spoken about it.”

    The core format of the series is the same as that of season four of Emotional Atyachaar, where the victims came and narrated their stories. It caters to the youth, especially in the 15-24 year age group, and is in sync with Bindaas’ motto of inspiring the youth to take positive action.

    Regarding the timing of the series, Sethi says: “Like the first three seasons, the fourth season of Emotional Atyachaar was a huge success. It has been our constant endeavour to candidly represent the realities of our society with sensitivity. We thought the time was right to showcase to our viewers another facet of infidelity by featuring episodes dealing with such unimaginable situations in marriages.” 

    What about research? “We don’t do anything without research. As the programming team of Bindaas, we strongly believe in research. Emotional Atyachaar absolutely does a lot of research because over the years, we have shown the viewers how real people come and talk about their experiences. Even for this special series, we had to go through different stages and research women who’ve been suppressed big time in marriage,” explains Sethi.

    Hosting the series will be Pravesh Rana, who is also the face of Emotional Atyachaar. He will be seen interacting with women who’ve successfully battled troublesome marriages.

    Will the series work for the channel? “Relationships always get wider audiences. If the shows have been done right, they will always get you much larger audiences. Bindaas as a brand always had a purpose, a message. We have always told audiences to take action and find solutions. At least, we will inspire a couple of people to think and families to wake up,” concludes Sethi.