ITV

Tag: Jai Malhar

  • Zee puts up tough competition in Marathi space with ‘Yuva’

    Zee puts up tough competition in Marathi space with ‘Yuva’

    MUMBAI: A few weeks back, Viacom18 launched another general entertainment channel Colors Super to expand its reach in Karnataka market. Soon after, one of the leading media conglomerates, Zee Enterprises Entertainment LTD (ZEEL) announced new channel launch in Marathi space with Zee Yuva. Zee Networks’ Zee Yuva will be the new entrant in the Marathi space to encash the network’s upper hand in being a pioneer in the region.

    The new channel will offer some light hearted refreshing content, which the channel claims is different from what the other players in the Marathi space currently offer. ZEEL’s regional language offerings within India are performing extremely well.

    “We are able to leverage content strengths across the network by replicating successful formats. Our understanding of audiences is reflected in our leadership and improving network performance,” reads ZEEL annual reports 2015-16.

    According the report, Zee Marathi maintains dominant leadership in Marathi general entertainment space with 50 per cent market share. The channel was once again the slot leader in all the nine prime time slots led by top rated fiction shows like Jai Malhar, Nanda Saukyabhare, Ratris Khel Chale and non-fiction shows such as Chala Hawa Yeun Dya and Home Minister.

    In Maharashtra, 54.8 per cent is rural population whereas 45 per cent is urban population, as per Maharashtra Economic Survey. Zee Talkies and Zee Yuva business head Bavesh Janavlekar says, “In Maharashtra, 17 per cent of population is Marathi viewing audience, which means there is big chunk of the audience is consuming Marathi content. Hence, we thought there is scope to further explore the space with Zee Yuva.”

    Zee Yuva will be the network’s fourth presentation in the Marathi genre. It already operates GEC Zee Marathi, movie channel Zee Talkies and news channel Zee 24 Taas.

    The channel will be a paid and is scheduled to go on air from 22 August. With no particular restriction to TG, the channel will cater to all the age groups of Maharashtra. “It is not a youth centric channel; it is more about youthfulness, more about the value of forever young at heart. Therefore we didn’t put an age to it.”

    While leading channels in the category like Zee Marathi, Colors Marathi and Star Pravah mostly target female audience in the state, off-late Marathi films aimed at the young people have also quite done well. ZEEL sees an opportunity in this. “We feel that there is huge opportunity to explore and grab the Marathi audiences, who are young at heart. We will target the heartland of Maharashtra,” claimed Janavlekar. He added, “Yuva is not about age. It’s about a mindset. So our content will be light with storylines revolving around friendship.”

    With the launch of Zee Yuva, ZEEL is not only focusing on the Maharashtra but also planning to tap in the global Marathi audience through its digital platform Ditto TV.

    Zee Yuva’s differentiated proposition is strengthened by its content that is distinctive and based on audience insights, which the international audience will relate to. “I feel that this new and innovative step will definitely win the hearts of the audience of Maharashtra. The audiences of Maharashtra have showered immense love on Zee Marathi, Zee Talkies and Zee Studios and I believe that the audiences will welcome the new channel Zee Yuva with the same love and warmth.”

    The channel will start off with five fiction shows of different genres like college and romance. It would have a weekend show as well. There will be music in the morning and movies in the afternoon band. “We will have shows around music in the future. The primetime here will be 7 pm to 9.30 pm. We will have movie premieres every day, informed Janavlekar. The channel will also premiere Hollywood movies dubbed in Marathi.

    Zee Yuva revealed the first look of its first show Love, Lagan and Locha. The channel has roped in production houses like Iris Production and I me Production for the content.

    When it comes to attracting advertisers, he informed that it doesn’t matter if the brand is based in Delhi, Bangalore or Bombay as long as Maharashtra is the priority market for them, as the channel is positive to gain the confidence of audiences residing in the interiors of Maharashtra.

    Fortunately there are many channels selling youthfulness to people. “We are focusing on maximizing the viewership on television and digitally and we know that brands will be on board therefore we are not too much worried about the brands. Primarily focus will be on building the viewership through differentiated content strategy.”

    The channel’s digital campaigns were received well and had a reach of 5 million in a day. It also trended on Twitter and recorded 28.6 million impressions in a day. Apart from this the channel has more than 50,000 likes on Facebook.

    Zee Yuva has also rolled out a music video composed by Jashraj Joshi, Hishikesh Datar, Saurabh Bhalerao, sung by Jashraj Joshi and Soniya Mundhe.

    “We will be rolling out network promotions and non-network promotions followed by print and outdoor campaigns,”Janavlekar added in parting.

  • Zee puts up tough competition in Marathi space with ‘Yuva’

    Zee puts up tough competition in Marathi space with ‘Yuva’

    MUMBAI: A few weeks back, Viacom18 launched another general entertainment channel Colors Super to expand its reach in Karnataka market. Soon after, one of the leading media conglomerates, Zee Enterprises Entertainment LTD (ZEEL) announced new channel launch in Marathi space with Zee Yuva. Zee Networks’ Zee Yuva will be the new entrant in the Marathi space to encash the network’s upper hand in being a pioneer in the region.

    The new channel will offer some light hearted refreshing content, which the channel claims is different from what the other players in the Marathi space currently offer. ZEEL’s regional language offerings within India are performing extremely well.

    “We are able to leverage content strengths across the network by replicating successful formats. Our understanding of audiences is reflected in our leadership and improving network performance,” reads ZEEL annual reports 2015-16.

    According the report, Zee Marathi maintains dominant leadership in Marathi general entertainment space with 50 per cent market share. The channel was once again the slot leader in all the nine prime time slots led by top rated fiction shows like Jai Malhar, Nanda Saukyabhare, Ratris Khel Chale and non-fiction shows such as Chala Hawa Yeun Dya and Home Minister.

    In Maharashtra, 54.8 per cent is rural population whereas 45 per cent is urban population, as per Maharashtra Economic Survey. Zee Talkies and Zee Yuva business head Bavesh Janavlekar says, “In Maharashtra, 17 per cent of population is Marathi viewing audience, which means there is big chunk of the audience is consuming Marathi content. Hence, we thought there is scope to further explore the space with Zee Yuva.”

    Zee Yuva will be the network’s fourth presentation in the Marathi genre. It already operates GEC Zee Marathi, movie channel Zee Talkies and news channel Zee 24 Taas.

    The channel will be a paid and is scheduled to go on air from 22 August. With no particular restriction to TG, the channel will cater to all the age groups of Maharashtra. “It is not a youth centric channel; it is more about youthfulness, more about the value of forever young at heart. Therefore we didn’t put an age to it.”

    While leading channels in the category like Zee Marathi, Colors Marathi and Star Pravah mostly target female audience in the state, off-late Marathi films aimed at the young people have also quite done well. ZEEL sees an opportunity in this. “We feel that there is huge opportunity to explore and grab the Marathi audiences, who are young at heart. We will target the heartland of Maharashtra,” claimed Janavlekar. He added, “Yuva is not about age. It’s about a mindset. So our content will be light with storylines revolving around friendship.”

    With the launch of Zee Yuva, ZEEL is not only focusing on the Maharashtra but also planning to tap in the global Marathi audience through its digital platform Ditto TV.

    Zee Yuva’s differentiated proposition is strengthened by its content that is distinctive and based on audience insights, which the international audience will relate to. “I feel that this new and innovative step will definitely win the hearts of the audience of Maharashtra. The audiences of Maharashtra have showered immense love on Zee Marathi, Zee Talkies and Zee Studios and I believe that the audiences will welcome the new channel Zee Yuva with the same love and warmth.”

    The channel will start off with five fiction shows of different genres like college and romance. It would have a weekend show as well. There will be music in the morning and movies in the afternoon band. “We will have shows around music in the future. The primetime here will be 7 pm to 9.30 pm. We will have movie premieres every day, informed Janavlekar. The channel will also premiere Hollywood movies dubbed in Marathi.

    Zee Yuva revealed the first look of its first show Love, Lagan and Locha. The channel has roped in production houses like Iris Production and I me Production for the content.

    When it comes to attracting advertisers, he informed that it doesn’t matter if the brand is based in Delhi, Bangalore or Bombay as long as Maharashtra is the priority market for them, as the channel is positive to gain the confidence of audiences residing in the interiors of Maharashtra.

    Fortunately there are many channels selling youthfulness to people. “We are focusing on maximizing the viewership on television and digitally and we know that brands will be on board therefore we are not too much worried about the brands. Primarily focus will be on building the viewership through differentiated content strategy.”

    The channel’s digital campaigns were received well and had a reach of 5 million in a day. It also trended on Twitter and recorded 28.6 million impressions in a day. Apart from this the channel has more than 50,000 likes on Facebook.

    Zee Yuva has also rolled out a music video composed by Jashraj Joshi, Hishikesh Datar, Saurabh Bhalerao, sung by Jashraj Joshi and Soniya Mundhe.

    “We will be rolling out network promotions and non-network promotions followed by print and outdoor campaigns,”Janavlekar added in parting.

  • Zee Marathi: Sustaining values, evolving expressions

    Zee Marathi: Sustaining values, evolving expressions

    MUMBAI: One of the strongest channels in the Zee Entertainment stable, Zee Marathi, has been a leader of the genre for quite some time. Nearly 15 years in the genre, it has seen itself transform from Alpha Marathi to Zee Marathi.

    With high TAM ratings to back it, the channel has sustained its values over time through the kind of story telling that it does to viewers. While now, the channel has turned its focus to get younger audiences hooked to its shows, it faces several challenges.

    Zee Marathi business head Deepak Rajadhyaksha says that over the years the Marathi general entertainment channel (GEC) has managed to keep its values intact as time progressed. Two new shows launched by the channel are proof of the same. Ka Re Durava is a story about a married couple in an office who have to pretend to be unmarried for some reasons while Honar Sun Mi Ya Gharachi is about a woman from a nuclear family who gets married into a joint family with six mother-in-laws and how she deals with them.

    “We are a youth inclusive show. Our survey in Maharashtra led us to understand what today’s youth is interested in, how is his lifestyle, thought process and TV consumption, which we incorporate in our shows. The youth of today will be our main target tomorrow,” says Rajadhyaksha. He goes on to add, “Ka re Durava has a young married modern couple. If a similar story was there in the previous generation shows, the same understanding and support system would have been missing.”

    The in-house research showed some important findings for the channel- the youth had the ability to take risks, extremely smart and not stuck in complexities of relationships and are very social media savvy. These findings were similar for both urban and rural areas.

    Another show Julun Yeti Reshamgathi shows the lead woman leaving her boyfriend and getting married to a man chosen by her parents. When she tells her husband about him, he asks her if she wants to go back to him, but she stays on and slowly falls in love with him. While the family comes to know of it and starts doubting her, she has her husband’s support. “We deal with issues in a non-dramatic way but such is the pattern of storytelling that we follow,” says Rajadhyaksha.

    Regional channels usually end up taking shows from Hindi and showing it to its viewers. But Zee Marathi says that in its case, it’s the reverse. Honar Sun Mi Ya Gharachi has been adapted for Zee Kannada with a request to also adapt Eka Lagnachi Dusri Goshta. Zee Telugu has also asked to adapt some shows from the Marathi GEC while the network’s flagship channel Zee Marathi has also pitched in for Honar Sun Mi.

    Budget restrictions disallow them from experimenting too much with non-fiction but it does as much as it can. The recently launched Jai Malhar is the first mythological show in the genre costing nearly Rs 10 crore for the series. Home Minister and Sa Re Ga Ma Pa are famous in-house properties with the former in its eleventh year, since the channel does not believe in remaking international formats.

    While most Hindi GECs still work on the endless show format, Zee Marathi has kept the 9pm slot as a finite story band. Rajadhyaksha says that its viewers are now acquainted to this slot and are smart enough to understand the time period of shows. A month before the show ends, viewers are informed, either indirectly or directly, about it.

    However, even though TAM considers a Maharashtra population of 4.72 crore viewers, it still has to penetrate 25 per cent of the state. Digitisation has helped it reach metros well, but they along with LC1 markets still remain a challenge. “The borders are the toughest market for us to crack, near Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka. Hindi is widely spoken here and it’s difficult to pull Hindi viewers to Marathi because Hindi shows are grander than ours. But slowly and gradually we will be in a position to capture them too,” says Rajadhyaksha.

    Digitisation and implementation of the 12 minute ad cap has allowed them to increase ad rates by around 20 to 25 per cent overall and around 35 per cent for primetime. Subscription rates have increased by 13 per cent since last financial year.

    Currently about 15 per cent of its viewers are youth. For the tech savvy generation, all its shows are available online with two people employed for the digital medium. At the same time, out of India markets such as the UK, South East Asia, UAE, Mauritius, Australia and the US are prominent pockets.

  • Zee Marathi to launch Jai Malhar

    Zee Marathi to launch Jai Malhar

    MUMBAI: If Hindi general entertainment channels (GECs) are treating audiences to a growing number of mythology-based shows, why should regional channels be far behind?

    Following in the footsteps of Mahabharat, Mahadev and Maa Durga will be Zee Marathi’s Jai Malhar, a mythological show based on the reincarnation of Lord Shiva as Lord Khandoba aka Lord Malhar, Maharashtra’s most revered warrior god.

    Produced by actor-filmmaker and head of Kothare Vision, Mahesh Kothare, the show has been mounted on a lavish scale and promises to be like none other before it. Slated to premiere on 18 May, Jai Malhar will replace Tu Tithe Mee at 7:00 pm. Only the first episode will be for one hour and will be beamed on a Sunday.

    Zee Marathi business head Deepak Rajadhyaksha says, “Mythology has always appealed to Indian audiences but nobody in the Marathi industry has touched the subject owing to the extensive research and heavy investment involved in recreating it. Zee Marathi has made an ambitious attempt to transform the saga of Maharashtra’s Lord Khandoba into a gripping and thoughtful show with state-of-the-art visual effects and presentation. The original mythological narrative hasn’t been disturbed but what has been modified is the style of storytelling, making it riveting and in tune with contemporary screen techniques.”

    Jai Malhar has Kartik Kende as executive director, Rupesh Tatkari as director of photography, Nilima Kothare and Neeta Khandke as costume designers, Santosh Ayachit as creative head and scriptwriter, Pankaj Padghan as music director and Chandrabhan and Abhijat in charge of graphics. The 60-strong team is largely constituted by young and promising talent.

    For now, a deal for producing 312 episodes has been signed. With shooting having commenced on 31 March at Film City in Goregaon, the plan is to can seven to eight episodes by the end of this month, with 12-hour shooting schedules. For a show of such epic proportions, set designer Satish Panchal has re-created elements from Lord Khandoba’s palace, the fort of Jejuri, temples and ashrams to make it look as real as possible. Sources say nearly Rs 1.3 crore has been spent on the set itself. As for the central characters of Lord Khandoba and his two consorts, Mhalsa and Banai, were selected from more than 2,000 participants who auditioned in the cities of Mumbai, Nagpur, Aurangabad, Nashik and Kolhapur among others. The names of the protagonists have not yet been revealed. Two cameras are being used on the set for shooting in HD. In keeping with regulations, a medical officer is available on the set every day to oversee that the animals used for the shoot are treated ethically and not harmed in any way.

    “Once we were firm on the idea, we approached Zee Marathi and they instantly said yes to it,” says Kothare. “The show will appeal to all. For youngsters it’s a tale of a lover; for the elderly, it’s the tale of a God; and for kids, it’s the tale of a superhero. No show has ever been made on this scale in the Marathi genre.”

    Apparently, Kothare has been conceptualising the idea for the past three years and has been in talks with the channel for about a year and a half. Sources say that each episode could cost anywhere between Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh, pegging a year’s exercise at approximately Rs 10 crore to Rs 12 crore. Nearly Rs 50 lakh has gone into costumes alone including clothes, headgear and weapons.

    A marketing campaign has already begun in TV and print. On-air promos have already begun while a full-page ad spread was already published in leading Marathi newspapers such as Maharashtra Times and Divya Bhaskar. The full-fledged campaign will break approximately 10 days before the launch of the show on 18 May. The creative agency for the show is FCB Ulka while media planning has been done by GroupM.