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Tag: English movie channels

  • Times Network movie channels announce Diwali lineup

    Times Network movie channels announce Diwali lineup

    Mumbai: Times Network movie channels Movies Now, MNX, Romedy Now, and MN+ have announced a special programming lineup for Diwali.

    Movies Now will air films like “XXX: Return of Xander Cage,” “Quantum of Solace,” “Bumblebee,” “Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen,” and “Men In Black: International” at 9 p.m every night. It will also air films like “Die Another Day,” “Apocalypto,” “Sherlock Holmes,” “Spectre” and more on weekdays at 11 p.m. 

    On 4 November, the channel will bring the biggest blockbuster superhero films like “Wonder Woman 1984,” “Spiderman: Far from Home,” “The Dark Knight Rises,” and “Transformers: The Last Knight.”

    MNX will air films like “Source Code,” “The Tuxedo,” “Zombieland: Double Tap,” “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” “Walking Tall,” and “The World is Not Enough” every day at 9 p.m.

    Romedy Now will telecast the films “13 Going on 30,” “Monte Carlo,” “Marmaduke,” “Fly Me To The Moon” starting at 11 p.m every night. It will also air films such as “The Hustle,” “French Kiss,” “The Vow,” “Zookeeper,” “Where’d You Go, Bernadette” and more on 4 and 5 November starting at 8 a.m onwards.

    MN+ will air films such as “Irma La Douce,” “The Comfort of Strangers,” “Company Business” and more every night at 11 p.m. On 4 and 5 November, it will showcase “Bright Nights,” “Rain Man,” “The Internship,” “The Terminal,” “Erin Brockovich,” “Birdman,” “Raging Bull” and more from 9 a.m onwards.

  • It’s all-day primetime for Times Network’s English movie channels during lockdown

    It’s all-day primetime for Times Network’s English movie channels during lockdown

    MUMBAI: In the third week of lockdown due to COVID-19, Indians decided that they had had enough news and turned to movies for a refreshing change. While Hindi and regional movie channels gained big, English movie channels saw an 83 per cent rise in viewership in week 13 in 2020, according to the BARC-Nielsen report.  

    Times Network English entertainment cluster president – strategy and business head Vivek Srivastava says: “Overall TV viewership has seen a 45 per cent increase during this lockdown period. News and movies have been the two most-watched genres. Movies have exhibited almost 80 per cent growth. Times Network’s English entertainment brands had adapted to the new tariff order (NTO) very well and we barely lost any eyeballs. However, post the implementation of the NTO, few players lost significant viewership, and it is heartening to see that during this lockdown, the category is seeing resurgence and that’s a positive sign.”

    During the ongoing lockdown, the network is treating the whole day as primetime and is scheduling blockbuster Hollywood content throughout the day. Some of the big titles include The Avengers, Thor: Ragnarok, Thor: The Dark World, Guardians of the Galaxy, Spiderman Franchise, Despicable Me 3, Cars 3, Jumanji Welcome to the Jungle, Ant-Man, Creed 2, Vice, etc.

    Srivastava informs that primetime is still the biggest peak, but there has been significant growth in non-primetime as well, especially the afternoon band. However, advertising has declined during the lockdown period. “That is primarily because of the unavailability of products across most categories and the inability of consumers to step out of their homes during this period. We expect a slowdown till the lockdown remains,” he adds.

    While some advertisers have stopped advertising, those less affected are using it for brand building. For them, the movie genre presents a good opportunity. “We continue to see advertising from BFSI, a few brands in automobiles, e-commerce, consumer durables, and FMCG categories,” he says.

    On the company front, Srivastava says that the Times Network was one of the first broadcasters to adopt a work-from-home system even before the nationwide lockdown was announced. “This was a result of our foresight and preparedness to ensure seamless BCP by equipping our teams with necessary technological services, increased internet bandwidth, collaborative IT tools for meetings and discussions for executing work requirements seamlessly,” he says.

  • English movie channels line up movies despite lower advertising

    English movie channels line up movies despite lower advertising

    MUMBAI: Taking advantage of people’s presence at home during Diwali and most likely in front of the TV screens, English movie channels have strengthened their programming lineup.

    Times Network has curated a month long content for each of its English movies channels except MNX. MNX will feature a Harry Potter movie marathon from 16–23 October at 9pm.

    Movies Now has lined up explosive blockbusters from 2 October 2017, every weekday at 11pm including The Pacifier, National Treasure: Book Of Secrets, Race To Witch Mountain, Rush Hour 2, 10,000 BC.

    In communication with Indiantelevision.com Havas Media Group-India MD Mohit Joshi said, “The viewership of English Movies platform is stable as of now. However, the revenues have got impacted because of the downward trend in advertising spends. As the viewership and penetration of OTT platforms mature, content will drive revenues and whoever has better content will be the winner.”

    Joshi pointed out that this year there is no festive rate increment in English movies genre and neither for other genres.

    Romedy Now has a special line-up for the festival of Diwali called ‘Diwali Delights’. It began on 2 October and will go on till the end of the month, everyday at 9 pm. Movies lined up include Serendipity, 2 Weeks Notice, Runaway Bride, A Lot Like Love, Pitch Perfect, 10 Things I Hate About You, It’s Complicated, French Kiss, When In Rome and Pretty Woman.

    Sony PIX brings Hollywood blockbusters via ‘PIX Amazing Aces’ Festival for a full month leading up to Diwali. Movies include The Mummy series, Fast and Furious series and Jurassic Park series.

    AXN, home to iconic shows and characters, brings a special line-up for Diwali week. This Diwali, binge-watch seasons of America’s Next Top Model S22, the Amazing Race S26, American Ninja Warrior S6, Survivor S32 and Fear Factor S5. These thrilling shows are sure to give you a mind rush to keep your Diwali week an ultimate celebration.

  • 1 pm weekend slot, the second primetime for English movie channels

    1 pm weekend slot, the second primetime for English movie channels

    MUMBAI: No one will disagree that at 1pm in the afternoon, the TV remote is controlled by housewives. But on weekends comes an added dilemma. Joining the fray for the remote are her children, husband and in laws all tuning in to watch their favourite movies or shows at the same time. In the ensuing melee are English movie channels that are all smiles as the 1 pm slot, particularly during the weekends has seen an increase in viewership.

     

    “The 1 pm slot today is the most important slot after the evening primetime as it garners the second highest viewership after the 9pm slot,” informs Romedy Now and Movies Now content head Mansi Shrivastav. The channel believes it is a potential target for repeats of previous night’s blockbuster movies. Earlier titles include X-Men: The Last Stand and Ghost Rider-The Spirit of Venegence.

     

    Similar thoughts are echoed by Star India English cluster general manager Kevin Vaz who says that the genre is heavily consumed at this time with Star Movies scraping a 21 per cent relative share. Knowing the slot’s potential, Star Movies had introduced it as a ‘one break movie time’ band to give the viewer a theatre like experience.

     

    Out of the entire day, the afternoon band contributes nearly 25 per cent of the viewership to the English movie genre, claims Sony Pix and AXN EVP and business head Saurabh Yagnik. “The 1pm slot is the second biggest day part for Sony Pix and majority of the viewership comes from younger demographics,” he says. This has come from premieres such as Skyfall, Hobbit, Captain Philips, Hobbit 2, Grown Ups 2 and MIB 3.

     

    Most channels show repeat telecast on weekdays while weekends are reserved for big  premieres.

     

    However, Turner International India English Entertainment south Asia senior director and network head Dhawal Katkar feels that weekday mornings and afternoons are emerging as the new favourite amongst youngsters for its two channels WB and HBO. Whereas, the genre itself has been witnessing a drop in primetime viewership for the entire week, he adds. HBO’s afternoon lineup includes GI Joe: Retaliation, The Hangover 3, Jack Reacher, The Great Gatsby and Star Trek: Into Darkness while WB’s premieres include Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, Due Date, Spiderman, Suckerpunch.

     

    However, channels strictly ensure that adult movies are not repeated in the afternoon. While a movie shown at night may have adult content, the same cannot be shown in the afternoon due to children being present in the viewing audience.

     

    According to media planners, a 10 second ad slot for the 1pm slot movie could command rates in the range of Rs 500 to Rs 4000 in the weekday with a 10 to 15 per cent rise on the weekends.

     

    Maxus managing partner north and east region Navin Khemka says, “Brands are keen to invest at this spot due to the increasing number of premieres and it draws kids and teenagers as well.” The weekend slot is heavy on content he adds.

     

    Another media planner quipped that the weekday spot is picked by women centric brands such as FMCGs and online shopping portals so this time should be more sharply targeted. However Madison Media COO Karthik Lakshminarayan informs, “1pm slot is not a high viewership slot, rather viewership starts picking up post 2pm.”

     

    While media planners vary on the role the 1pm weekend spot plays, they all agree that it helps garner added viewership in a very fragmented segment.

  • Chrome Data: English channels gain in week 26

    Chrome Data: English channels gain in week 26

    MUMBAI: According to Chrome Data Analytics & Media that week 26 saw the rise in English Movie channels when it comes to opportunity to see (OTS).

     

    In the eight metros, the genre jumped 2.1 per cent. Movies Now topped the chart with 75.1 per cent OTS.

     

    English Entertainment channels in the eight metros followed suit and gained 2 per cent. AXN with 72.2 per cent OTS topped the genre.

     

    Business News with 1.3 per cent and Sports channels across the country jumped 1.3 per cent and 0.8 per cent, respectively.

     

    Zee Business with 78.6 per cent OTS and Ten Sports with 76.5 per cent OTS continued the roost in their respective genres.

     

    Only three genres dipped this week.

     

    Religious channels in the Hindi Speaking Market (HSM) fell 0.9 per cent. Aastha channel with 96.5 per cent continued its reign in the genre.

     

    Hindi News in the HSM dropped 0.5 per cent followed by Hindi Movies with 0.1 per cent. ABP News garnered 94.3 per cent OTS while Max got 95.9 per cent OTS.

  • Chrome Data: English News channels gain in week 13

    Chrome Data: English News channels gain in week 13

    MUMBAI: The week 13’s opportunity to see (OTS) data collated by Chrome Data Analytics and Media is out.

     

    As per the data collected, English News channels in the eight metros saw a jump of 2.2 per cent with Times Now topping the genre with 87.4 per cent OTS.

     

    English movie genre ranked second in the eight metros with 1.3 per cent gain. Pix gained the maximum with 76.8 per cent OTS. The genre was followed by the kids channels across India with 1 per cent rise. Cartoon Network continued to rule the roost with 83.8 per cent OTS.

     

    English entertainment channels in the eight metros saw a minor jump of 0.6 per cent with AXN gaining the maximum with 70.7 per cent OTS.

     

    As for the bottom four, the genre which saw the highest drop amongst others was Business news in the eight metros. The genre dropped 2.1 per cent; however, Zee Business was the highest gainer in the genre with 85.6 per cent OTS.

     

    Next was Hindi News in the Hindi Speaking Market (HSM) with a 0.7 per cent drop. ABP News got 92.9 per cent OTS in the genre.

     

    Sports genre across India saw a very minor drop of 0.1 per cent. Star Sports 1 continued to rule the genre with 74.5 per cent.

  • English movie channels will have to battle for reach

    The fight for audience attention in the English movie genre is getting fierce as fresh competition arrived with the launch in February of World Movies from UTV. Market leaders Star Movies and HBO built their strategy on blockbuster content during the first half of the year. Pix carried out localisation initiatives while Zee Studio added more titles to provide “refreshing” content.

    Industry trackers say the genre, pegged at Rs 1.7 billion last year, is expected to grow by 15 per cent this year. New channels will expand the market even as Star Movies and HBO continue to dominate the genre.

    Tam data (C&S15+ six Metros) shows that while Star Movies has a viewership share of 36 per cent during the period 1 January to 30 June 2008, HBO is nipping at its heels with a 33 per cent share.

    The gap was wider for the same period last year. While Star Movies pocketed a 43 per cent share, HBO’s stood at 29 per cent.

    Pix’s share, on the other hand, has stayed steady at 17 per cent while Zee Studio has a share of seven per cent this year. World Movies which launched in February, has a six per cent share.

    Star Movies has 12 films in the top 20 ranking, while HBO has eight of its films in the list. The titles are a mix of action and martial arts films that are easy to relate with like Commando, Rob B Hood, Superman Returns and Enter The Dragon.

    Says Star India VP marketing and communications Prem Kamath, “The highlights of Star Movies’ performance included The X Men trilogy festival. We continued to bring in big properties like Oscars and blockbusters like Last King of Scotland, Night at the Museum, Little Miss Sunshine. The channel also focussed on consolidating its existing brands Friday Night Premiere and Movie of the Month to consistently build big properties and provide a better viewing experience.”

    Star Movies has also added variety to its content. A case in point: VIP Access, which features forthcoming theatrical releases. There are a few other things planned in this area, adds Kamath.

    And what of arch rival HBO? The channel’s mantra of ‘Big, New, Most’ has helped it gain ground. The programming has been a mix of blockbusters like Superman Returns, critically acclaimed films like Munich and original shows like Entourage, the third season of which has just kicked off.

    HBO South Asia country manager Shruti Bajpai says, “What is also important is our focus on entertaining themes. These are conceptualised for the channel every month. They attack different TGs and advertisers.” Some examples of these are HBO Animation Fest, Mad About Diamonds, Fast Cars and Gorgeous Babes, HBO Earth Day.

    Also playing a role are tentpole events. “We did a ‘Hollywood’s Best’ initiative which featured Oscar nominated/winning movies. We also had ‘HBO is Summer’ during May and June, which featured Summer of 60 Nights. Here, a blockbuster movie was shown every night. There are also mini-stunts under this umbrella like ‘Entrapment’, ‘Martial Arts Specialists ‘Codename: SuperKids’ etc. All these have resounded with our target audience,” says Bajpai.

    As part of its expansion strategy, HBO bought out the stakes of the partners in the joint venture in Asia except Paramount. And to have access to the big studios, it continued to maintain exclusive licensing arrangements with Sony, Universal, Warner Bros. and Paramount/ Dreamworks.

    Pix’s boat rocked steady in the ratings game, holding third spot in the English movie genre space. During the year, Pix carried out its local initiative Gateway in association with Ashok Amritraj. This has helped boost the profile and reach of the channel.

    Says Pix business head Sunder Aaron, “We delivered on our promise of being a Hollywood film channel that would localise in some ways. The winner Bejoy Nambiar heads to Los Angeles. He goes through a two-month boot camp under the tutelage of Ashok Amritraj. After that he goes into a project which is already under production.”

    Pix’s content strategy is to stick to its basic tenet of telling great stories. Pix also has slots for different genres like thrillers and dramas.

    Aaron says the late night slot is gaining viewership. Even the Sunday afternoon slot has grown. “Going forward, Pix will focus on strengthening the afternoon band,” Aaron adds.

    The year also saw the launch of World Movies in February. Armed with 650 movies, UTV Entertainment Television COO Dilshad Master says the initial response has been good. “Our research at the time of launch showed that language would not be a barrier for our audience. This has proven to be the case. We have also chosen films correctly. They need to have global appeal and also be contemporary in nature.”

    Targeting Sec A, one of the key slots for the channel is Platinum Collection. The segment focuses on high profile award winning films from around the world, boasting of titles like The Counterfeiters from Austria (the Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film this year), Twilight Samurai from Japan, Zelary from Czech Republic, and Hidden Blade from Japan. It has also got thematic slots for comedies, thrillers, etc.

    The channel will also create a Friday Premiere slot later this month.

    To add variety, World Movies covered the Cannes film festival in-depth with the initiative ‘Cannes Calling.’ It is now looking at doing something around the upcoming Toronto Film Festival. “We will launch our home video division in the coming months. We will also focus on the strategy of releasing films into cinema halls. Having said that, the core of our business will be the television channel,” adds Master. 

    One of the challenges for this genre is to build reach. While distribution in the metros is in place, there is an audience in the smaller cities that is not being tapped sufficiently enough because of availability issues of the channel. “The reach and relevance of English movie channels has to increase,” notes Aaron.

    As the market evolves one can only expect increased competition and fragmentation. Says Kamath, “Each player will not only try to stay ahead of the game, but also maintain an effective cost structure. However the game will always remain to be driven by the titles shown on the channels.”

    Mindshare’s Amin Lakhani agrees with the fact that a lot depends on titles. “Star Movies has held fort while HBO has picked up the pace this year. Both these channels do good stuff around their films. Zee Studio has tried a lot of things like refreshing their line up with more titles. However they have struggled as far as numbers delivery is concerned. The world cinema genre will grow steadily. It is bringing a new experience to the viewers. However it is mainly the elite who will tune in to this due to the subtitles,” opines Lakhani.

    Channels with compelling and consistently ‘winning’ content will continue to flourish while the others will just about manage to survive at the periphery.

    Says Bajpai, “A larger Indian audience than ever before is viewing Hollywood movies and the appetite for such content seems to be increasing. Breaking through the clutter and being able to hold on to the attention of the audience, which is usually short due to the ample choices available, will be a rising phenomena in this category.”

    Rank Channel Film Rating
    1 Star Movies Commando 0.37
    2 Star Movies Rob B Hood 0.29
    3 HBO Enter The Dragon 0.28
    4 Star Movies The Breed 0.27
    5 HBO Mr. Bean’s Holiday 0.27
    6 Star Movies Predator 0.26
    7 Star Movies Night At The Museum 0.26
    8 Star Movies Tremors 0.25
    9 Star Movies Rang De Basanti 0.25
    10 HBO Superman Returns 0.25
    11 Star Movies Winners and Sinners 0.24
    12 Star Movies Pirates of the Carribean 0.24
    13 Star Movies The Mummy Returns 0.24
    14 HBO The Mummy 0.24
    15 HBO Ghost Rider 0.24
    16 HBO Son Of The Mask 0.24
    17 Star Movies Spy Kids 0.22
    18 Star Movies Tom Yum Goong 0.22
    19 HBO King Kong 0.22
    20 HBO The Mask 0.22
    Source: Tam c&s 15+ Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad
  • ‘2008 has been HBO’s best year in terms of quality and quantity of programming’ : Shruti Bajpai – HBO South Asia Country Manager

    ‘2008 has been HBO’s best year in terms of quality and quantity of programming’ : Shruti Bajpai – HBO South Asia Country Manager

    As the television landscape gets more crowded with new entrants, the challenge for existing players is to keep innovating. HBO, which has bought out the stakes of its partners in the Asia venture except Paramount, still has exclusive licensing arrangements with Sony, Universal, Warner Bros and Paramount/DreamWorks.

    Late last year, the English movie channel launched an anchor slot HBO Wicked Hour. The focus in this slot is on action, thrillers, suspense, sci-Fi and critically acclaimed movies for the late night male viewers. This is part of the channel’s strategy to create new programming blocks to cater to specific TGs.

    In an interview with Indiantelevision.com’s Ashwin Pinto, HBO South Asia country manager Shruti Bajpai talks about the challenges that confront English movie channels and the pressure to focus on content and branding.

    Excerpts:

    Why did HBO buy out its partners in the Asia venture except for Paramount?
    This was a management decision in keeping with HBO’s expansion plans across the world. HBO wanted to further build on its strong position in the US. The majority equity stake in HBO Asia is a further testament to this expansion.
    Does the channel now have to bid for new titles coming from its former partners?
    We have exclusive licensing arrangements with Sony, Universal, Warner Bros and Paramount/ DreamWorks. This arrangement continues uninterrupted. This is the reason why we have such a strong inventory.

    What are the challenges that are going to confront the English movie genre over the next few years?
    The last few months have seen a spate of launches in the Hollywood/International cinema and there are some more expected this year. There is an intense amount of clutter in the overall TV channel space and the viewer is spoilt for choice.

    I am of the firm opinion that channels with compelling and consistently ‘winning’ content will continue to flourish while the others will just about manage to survive at the periphery. Hollywood movies are beginning to grab a bigger chunk of India’s huge movie market, traditionally dominated by Bollywood.

    A larger Indian audience than ever before is viewing the Hollywood movies and the appetite for such content seems to be increasing. Breaking through the clutter and being able to hold on to the attention of the audience, which is usually short due to the ample choices available, will be a rising phenomena in this category.
    How has HBO fine tuned its programming strategy?
    HBO has been following the mantra of ‘Big, New, Most’ for Indian viewers. We have always devised innovative and topical themes around our movies, instead of fitting it in a “genre for each day” bracket. We do not believe in doing automatic repeats the morning after, like other channels.

    Has HBO spruced up the content this year because of new competition?
    It will not be wrong for me to state that 2008 has been HBO’s best year in terms of the quality and quantity of programming. We have a supply of blockbuster hits that take center stage every month like Superman Returns, Ghost Rider, Happy Feet and Mr. Bean’s Holiday.

    In addition, we also air critically acclaimed movies and blockbusters that anchor the Saturday primetime slot at 9 pm. These have included Munich, World Trade Centre, Memoirs Of a Geisha, Blood Diamond. Upcoming titles include Spiderman 3, Surf’s Up and The Pursuit Of Happyness.

    What is also important is our focus on entertaining themes. These are conceptualised for the channel every month. They target different TGs and advertisers. Some examples of these are HBO Animation Fest, Mad About Diamonds, Fast Cars and Gorgeous Babes, HBO Earth Day.

    Also playing a role are tentpole events. We did a Hollywood’s Best initiative which featured Oscar nominated/winning movies, HBO is Summer during May and June, which featured Summer of 60 Nights. Here, a blockbuster movie was shown every night. Moreover there were also mini-stunts under the HBO is summer umbrella like Entrapment, Martial Arts Specialists ‘Codename: SuperKids etc. All these have resounded with our target audience.

    To add to this, we have looked to raise the bar when it comes to quality programming with original series like Entourage, the third season of which has just begun on the channel and themes like HBO- Movies with a difference that showcases movies that make us sit and think.

    Have new programming blocks been created to cater to different TGs?
    Our most current anchor slot HBO Wicked Hour was launched late last year. It focuses on action, thrillers, suspense, sci-Fi and critically acclaimed movies for our late night male viewers.

    Right now, we are focussed on building this slot and also other key slots like It’s a Guy Thing, Midday Matinee, Family Sunday etc. We are always on the lookout for creating new programming blocks to cater to specific TGs.

    As the audience gets more fragmented in the metros, the challenge for English movie channels is to reach out to the smaller cities as well. How is HBO targeting these viewers who are aspirational?
    Television is one of the biggest sources of entertainment for people across categories in India. Where the audiences have evolved, programming has also seen a huge turn around on the small screen. With the choice and variety on offer for the Indian audiences, the television industry today is booming. It is not only in the metros but also the smaller towns where there are potential viewers. What matters ultimately is the content that is shown – if the content is different and unique, it is well appreciated by the viewers.

    The increase in multiplexes in smaller towns and the increase in global travel by Indians from all across the country have added to the familiarity with Hollywood movies and shows. HBO is a global brand and this helps in the affinity towards the channel.

    How has the channel fared on the ad sales front?
    The ad revenues are growing year-on-year. Turner, our ad sales partner, has done an excellent job to maximise revenues and also retain a number of advertisers exclusively on HBO.
    ‘DTH is growing, but the format is still the classic ‘one price for all channels’ rather than specialised packages. This is expected to change as the market matures‘

    Has perception among clients about this genre improved?
    HBO is perhaps one of the few channels that is more than just a channel; the brand gives a big boost to the channel’s perception.

    Also, English movies is a genre that our ad clients consume on a regular basis.

    What are the kind of packages you offer clients that go beyond the 30-second spot?
    We have different packages that are tailor made for different clients. One of our packages is the brand integration package where we seamlessly integrate the positioning of the brand that is being advertised into the theme for the month. We also have a lot of contests that we do for the advertisers that go beyond the 30-second spot.

    Channels have started advertising on rival bouquets. Does HBO accept ads from other channels that are not part of Zee Turner or is there a conflict of interest?
    We do accept advertising from other channels, but are careful in picking those that have the right fit. Some of the channels that have recently advertised on HBO are BBC Entertainment and English business channel UTVi.

    Is HBO looking to boost its content around news shows to add variety to filmed content?
    HBO has always believed in giving its Indian audiences the best of international programming and content across genres. We already have a diverse mix of blockbusters, all time favourites and original productions. In fact HBO is the only channel to have both the raters and the differentiators.

    The third season of the show Entourage just premiered in late June and we have Big Love coming soon. Also, the recently-aired two part mini-series in the US, The Andromeda Strain, which is based on the best-selling novel by Michael Crichton, is going to be on our channel soon.

    Does HBO do a lot of marketing and promotional activities to create awareness?
    HBO’s marketing and promotional activities have always looked to be innovative and clutter breaking. This year we have had many multimedia campaigns to announce our Summer line-up, our mega blockbusters and our shows.

    We have a well planned strategy for the rest of the year, especially during the festive season of October-December. As we speak, we are running a multimedia campaign that includes a contest, to promote Spiderman 3.

    The hope is that addressability will get a push this year with DTH (direct-tohome) seeing new launches this year. How do you see the distribution scenario evolving?
    As new launches increase, distribution becomes critical. We are also hoping that addressability gets implemented in the right manner.

    DTH is also growing, but the format is still the classic ‘one price for all channels’ rather than specialised packages and introduction of new tiers. This is expected to change as the market matures.

  • English movie channels bank on digitalisation for growth

    English movie channels have seen an almost flat ad revenue growth in 2007. The challenge has also been to innovate programming slots even as viewers have spent less time on these channels. The bright spot, though, is the signs of maturity that the genre is showing. New players like Anil Ambani’s Reliance and NDTV Imagine are also eyeing this space.

    Star Movies is the clear leader in the segment with a share of 47 per cent, according to Tam data (C&S 15+) for 2007. HBO follows with a share of 30 per cent. After that come Pix and Zee Studio with shares of 13 per cent and 10 per cent respectively.

    More interesting, though, is the time spent on English movie channels. Data shows that time spent has fallen with HBO showing the worst dip. Its share has gone down from 4.68 to 3.05 minutes each week. Star Movie’s share has also dropped from 5.9 minutes each week to 4.91 minutes.

    Players attribute the fall partly on the distribution scenario as more channels have jostled for space on clogged cable networks. This has meant higher carriage or placement fees. Then, of course, there is competition from other genres.

    In terms of the top films of the year, HBO’s King Kong with a rating of 0.75 topped the list. Star Movies’ The Mythhad a rating of 0.47. HBO’s Hindi dubbed King Kong took the third spot.

    Facing an intensely competitive environment, it is crucial for players to understand their audiences better. The aim in some cases is to boost the non-primetime area and look at areas like presentation. Differentiation through innovation is also important.

    Keeping all this in mind, Star Movies undertook various initiatives. It revamped the late night movies to cater to the male audience. It also focussed on the Sunday afternoon slot. Films that air are chosen so that the audience enjoys a relaxed weekend. Star VP marketing and communications Prem Kamath adds that the channel also re-looked the evening slots.

    “The aim has been to bring in more family movies. In addition to that we also constantly feature film festivals like our X Men Trilogy during the year end, the Star Wars marathon, 15 nights of Bond to name a few.”

    Kamath attributes the channel’s leadership to the focus on striving for variety without compromising on quality of offerings. So you have a serious film like Crash and blockbusters like Pirates of the Caribbean 2, X Men 3.

    And what of HBO? The channel’s tagline for the year was Big! New! Most! HBO South Asia country head Shruti Bajpai expresses satisfaction in terms of how the plans were achieved. For this channel too it is a combination of raters like Mission Impossible 3, The Da Vinci Code, Batman Beginsand King Kong and critically acclaimed, path breaking movies like Brokeback Mountain and Syriana.

    A lot of focus went into seeing that different viewer segments were tuning in at different slots. So Midday Matinee every weekday at noon was introduced. Wicked Hour which is every weeknight after the 9 pm movie was also launched. “In addition, HBO also caters to the youth with Whazzup every weeknight at 7 pm, a special family treat for the whole family in Family Sunday, an action packed entertainment package for the guys in “It’s a Guy Thing”.

    HBO also revamped its on air look. The aim was to make the channel brighter and racier. Bajpai goes on to explain that there are new features like an On-air EPG of sorts, which offers the viewers a sneak peek of the upcoming titles in the next few days and a Countdown clock indicating the time left to watch the next film. Bajpai attributes the dip for the genre in part to the fact that more channels are entering other genres.

    “According to me there are only two real players in this genre (Star Movies and HBO) and there will always be a toss up of who is number one and who’s not. This is all a part of the game and we welcome it as it helps us stay on our toes. Ultimately the viewer benefits the most as he/she gets to see the best from the best,” she concludes.

    Still with more players coming in, there are signs that the genre is starting to mature. The feeling in the industry is that English movie viewing for non-blockbuster content is now starting to grow. A case in point is Pix. It launched in April 2006. The channel’s business head Sunder Aaron says that the aim last year has been to get films that push its tagline of telling good stories. For the channel it does not matter when a film is made. The aim was also to differentiate itself through local content. Therefore in association with noted Hollywood producer Ashok Amritraj it started an initiative called Gateway. This gives an aspiring filmmaker the chance to make a movie with Amritraj.

    The shows go on air next month. Aaron notes that the response has been better than the channel expected. “We have had one thousand entries to the competition, and you would be impressed by the quality and variety. We had a similar response to the Pix Short Film Festival. We have got a couple of other initiatives and programmes in development, so we are eager to continue with our strategy at this point, particularly because the Pix viewers are responding well.”

    The channel has more local ideas on the table which it will roll out later this year, he adds.

    Zee Studio did two major innovations last year. One has been subtitling which even some rivals concede was a good move. That is because it builds more comfort with viewers. The other has been to show foreign films. This has been an area that has been ignored for a while by the English film channels. Zee Studio did, among other things, a festival with Palador. Films like the Mike Leigh classic Secrets and Lies as well as Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai aired.

    Ad Revenue stagnates in 2007:

    Data available withIndiantelevision.com shows that ad revenue plateaued for this genre last year. Star Movies made around Rs 770 million compared with Rs 740 million in 2006 and Rs 671 million in 2005.

    HBO followed a similar revenue trend. The channel is estimated to have made around Rs 560 million last year. This was a slight increase over the Rs 557 million made in 2006.

    Like Star Movies, 2006 was a better year for HBO on the ad revenue growth front as it only made Rs 436 million in 2005.

    For Zee Studio ad revenue was Rs 238 million in 2007.

    Pix, on the other hand, made around Rs 60 million in 2007.

    Mediaedge:cia’s Manas Mishra notes that besides Star Movies and HBO, the other two players are starting to find their own level. Since Pix caters to an evolved movie viewer aged 25+ it makes sense for certain brands to consider it. He also opines that Zee Studio has managed to get viewers from outside the core English movie viewing demographic on account of the subtitling. As a result, it can become more diverse in its offerings with foreign language fare.

    Digitisation to boost subscription earnings:

    The key for these players is the spread of digitisation this year. With Bharti and Reliance launching direct-to-home (DTH) platforms this year, English movie channels are expected to get a boost in terms of subscription revenue. A channel like HBO, after all, is purely subscription driven abroad. The hope is that the dependence on ad revenue which is anyway small will decline.

    New players eye the space:

    Digitisation means place for new channels One of them will come from Reliance. UTV and NDTV Imagine are also entering. The focus for the last two is world cinema. NDTV will be doing a World cinema initiative called NDTV Lumiere. This will span not just the launch of a channel but also release films into theatres, home video as well as provide space for on-ground activation. The aim is to bring in a culture of world cinema.

    Just how important subscription revenue will be can be gauged from the fact that NDTV Imagine CEO Sameer Nair says that the focus of NDTV Lumiere is entirely digital and it is not a question of counting TRPs to appease media buying agencies.

    Aaron seconds this view. With the economy growing so rapidly, and the number of cable and digital television (DTH, IPTV, digital cable etc.) households increasing as well, the pie will undoubtedly continue to grow, he says.

    By how much is the question. Positioning will also be key for new entrants. It is not just a case of buying titles and putting them on air; understanding, addressing and attracting English viewership is also important.

    There is also the issue of digital cable penetration. If it spreads across the country, then many channels can come in. In case that doesn’t happen, then carriage fees will stay a big obstacle.

    Pricing issues on addressable platforms also have to be sorted out. Bajpai says that even DTH is still in an “everything for everybody” format and “one pricing system for all channels” kind of model. “Once these things change, the benefit will start becoming more apparent. Broadcasting business, after all, needs to be viable,” she adds.

  • ‘Our aim is to give history a more broad based appeal, which is why we are focussing on entertainment’

    ‘Our aim is to give history a more broad based appeal, which is why we are focussing on entertainment’

    Live the Story! With the aim of competing better in the English entertainment space The History Channel is pursuing a new strategic direction in India. The aim is to spread the appeal of the channel to more viewers and increase the stickiness level through a variety of shows. These include television movies, documentaries, mini series and long running series.

    Indiantelevision.com’s Ashwin Pinto caught up with The History Channel India MD Nikhil Mirchandani to find out about the plans and what lies in store.

    Excerpts:

    Could you talk about The History Channel’s new direction?
    I would like to point out that we have not changed our positioning. We own the theme of history and will continue to do so. Our aim is to give history a more broad based appeal, which is why we are focussing on entertainment. Over the last three years we did a few things that set the stage for what we are trying to do today.

    We established our positioning of history that no other channel has. History is our middle name so to speak. In a scenario of over 300 channels distribution is very important. We managed to do that since we are a part of the Star family.

    We are the 16th best distributed channel in the country. We established a loyal viewer and advertiser base. We have also marketed ourselves well like getting Diana Hayden to host Biography. Moving towards entertainment is the next logical stage of evolution in our product lifecycle. Our aim is to attract more viewers and advertisers.

    In what way has the programming strategy been embellished?
    We begin our primetime with factual content at 8 pm. Then there are drama series at 9 pm There will be classic product from our library at 10 pm. At 11 pm there will be a thriller band. On the weekends you have a television movie on Friday at 9 pm For example Hitler The Rise of Evil.

    There will also be a combination of fact and fiction. For instance you could see a biography of Marilyn Monroe followed by a drama or a television movie. We are also targeting women in the afternoon with programming that we are confident will appeal to them.

    The primetime moves from a youngish factual content to drama to thriller. That evolution of our programming blocks is logical.

    According to research how do viewers perceive the channel?
    Viewers perceive us as a well respected credible authority on the subject of history. They have constantly expected that of us and we will not dilute that offering. They find us interesting as we deal with personalities like Hitler, Helen of Troy.

    The great thing about the History Channel is that it is not restricted by formats. That is not the case with a movie channel that focuses on blockbusters. If they deviate one immediately notices that. Our only concern is whether the story is historically relevant. I would say that English movie channels are undifferentiated from each other.

    We have a wide basket from the lifestyle genre, to thrillers to even perhaps stories on 9/11. It will be in terms of formats. By this I mean documentaries, movies, series, one off biopics, long series. The topics have also grown. We will also showcase concerts like Woodstock. History is never going to be the same again and we take advantage of that.