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Tag: Media Worldwide

  • Media Worldwide launches Bangla Talkies

    Media Worldwide launches Bangla Talkies

    MUMBAI: Music channel network, Media Worldwide Ltd has announced the launch of an all new channel Bangla Talkies.

    The music channel network launched with Sangeet Bangla in the year 2005, a Bengali music television channel. Since its inception, Media Worldwide has grown to a 5-channel network with Music India, Sangeet Bangla, Sangeet Bhojpuri, Sangeet Marathi and now Bangla Talkies added to the portfolio.

    Bangla Talkies will be a back to back Bengali music channel with 100 per cent exclusive content available on no other channel. It will be airing all time bangla hits with a collection never ever seen on any Bengali music channel.

    Media Worldwide Ltd co-founder Mahendra Soni said, “I am delighted to announce the launch of our latest channel in the Media Worldwide network called Bangla Talkies. It is with immense pleasure that I speak of the growth story of Media Worldwide from its inception to having 5 channels under its brand name today. Media Worldwide envisions providing wholesome entertainment of the vibrant music and film industry to a country of over a billion people in the language, ethos and culture which we all celebrate and are proud of.”

  • Media Worldwide to launch Marathi music channel; names Dewoolkar as chief creative officer

    Media Worldwide to launch Marathi music channel; names Dewoolkar as chief creative officer

    MUMBAI: Media Worldwide is all set to launch a new Marathi music channels called Sangeet Marathi in September 2015. The channel launch is part of the company’s expansion plan for the coming year.

     

    This will be the company’s fourth music channel after Music India (Hindi), Sangeet Bangla and Sangeet Bhojpuri. Beginning with Sangeet Marathi, the company also plans to launch a number of music channels for the Indian audience in the future.

     

    Media Worldwide has roped in Deepak Dewoolkar as the chief creative director of Sangeet Marathi.

     

    Dewoolkar, who enjoys a large fan base and is a very well known name and face in the Marathi cinema, has played the lead part in blockbuster Marathi movies like Vaat Pahte Punvechi,Janmadaata, Pratidav, Navra Majya Muthit Ga and Maza Saubhagya among 70 other films and in more than 40 Hindi TV series like Krishna and Jahan Pe Basera Ho amongst others. He has also been a part of Marathi television series like Damini and Lek Ladki Ya Gharchi. He has also been part of few Hindi movies and prominent Marathi dramas like Lagna and Kaal Chakra.

     

    In addition to being an actor, Dewoolkar is also a popular director and filmmaker with 14 films to his credit. His involvement with the Marathi entertainment industry has spanned more than 25 years. Dewolkar is also the recipient of Mama Varerkar Award for the Marathi play, Lagna.

     

    Through his association with movies and performing arts, Dewoolkar’s unmatched understanding of the Marathi music industry will help Sangeet Marathi expand the music horizons outside of film music.

     

    Media Worldwide director Nisha Chothani said, “We are proud to welcome such an experienced industry professional as the chief creative officer for our channel, Sangeet Marathi. Deepak Dewoolkar brings extensive expertise to our channel and will play a key role in creating the kind of content that appeals to our audience. His knowledge of Marathi music and cinema will be extremely beneficial to our channel highlighting the exuberance of the Maharashtrian culture.”

     

    Media Worldwide managing director Prashant Chothani added, “In an attempt to meet with the expectations of our audience, we decided to bring an expert on the Marathi entertainment industry on board. Deepak Dewoolkar brings a different point of view, that of the audience, to the table. His knowledge will help us design content that is at par with the choices of the viewers. We are extremely excited with this alliance and get an insight into his perspective.”

     

    Dewoolkar said, “As a Marathi actor, filmmaker, and director, I have been associated with the Marathi film industry for over 25 years. I have travelled across Maharashtra, interacting with the masses and understanding their choice of music and movies. There is a huge paradigm of music outside the Marathi movies. People revel in ethnic Marathi music like Natya Sangeet and Bharud that are not played on music channels generally. With Sangeet Marathi, we plan to handpick the choicest music to serve the numerous audience sets we are aiming to reach.”

  • ‘Music channels are under pressure to increase revenues’ : Prashant Chothani – Media Worldwide director

    ‘Music channels are under pressure to increase revenues’ : Prashant Chothani – Media Worldwide director

    With an already cluttered and competitive music channel market, acquiring a good chunk of market share was not easy for Music India. Having achieved that, Media Worldwide, the company that operates the channel, has plans afoot to launch two regional music channels.

     

    In an exclusive chat with Indiantelevision.com’s Richa Dubey, Media Worldwide director Prashant Chothani attributes the success of Music India to a complete Bollywood masala content and a strong focus on distribution.

     

    Excerpts:

    Music India had initiated talks with Sahara for diluting stake. What is the status now?
    We are still in talks with a few broadcasters. We have nothing to announce at this stage.

    Isn’t it tough to exist as a standalone music channel broadcaster while others are part of networks?
    We are actually planning to expand our bouquet. We are launching two regional music channels. The first one to come up this year will be a Bhojpuri music channel. The Marathi music channel will follow soon. Besides Music India, we have a Bengali music channel called Sangeet Bangla.

    How will you manage to raise funds for the two channels?
    We can fund it ourselves – and we can always raise debt.

    Isn’t this the wrong time with a host of new broadcasters preparing to enter the market while analogue cable bandwidth is already choked?
    Distribution is definitely getting more expensive as there are a lot of channels and there is not enough space available on cable networks. One has to deal with carriage fee. But I have old relationships in the cable industry. And we run a popularly watched Hindi music channel.

    But aren’t revenues difficult to come by for music channels?
    Music channels are under pressure to increase revenues. GECs are dishing out a lot of music content; they are also airing music talent hunt shows. Even news channels run music promotions. But we are doing well, as is reflected in our ratings.
    ‘Our content is primarily Bollywood based. We prefer showing Shah Rukh Khan rather than the VJs‘

    Why are MTV and Channel [V] infusing a lot of non music programming?
    MTV has put a lot of non music content. They identify themselves as a youth channel -and want to stay connected with the youth. Although Channel [V] does not have non music content as much as MTV, both of them are trying to tap into the semi-GEC space.

     

    As a result, they have diverted from the concept of music television. I believe a music channel should primarily play music.

    So how do you define your channel profile?
    When we started a year back, our tagline was ‘Simply Music’ and we have stuck to that. Unlike the other music channels, we don’t have VJs. Everything on the channel is fresh and we have all that a music lover wants. We provide latest ring tone codes, availability of CDs, etc. We have not diverted from music. Our audiences want to consume entertainment which is film and lyrics based. Anything related to Bollywood music is available on Music India.

    Is ‘Simply Music’ enough to drive a music channel?
    Only music works. As our ratings demonstrate, we are strong competitors to Channel [V] and MTV. Sometimes we are even ahead of Channel [V].

    How do you compare in terms of reach?
    In cable TV homes, we are No. 2 after MTV. On the direct-to-home (DTH) platform, we are on DD Direct Plus and Dishtv. Both MTV and Channel V are not on DD Direct. Our core focus is to make the channel available to as many people as we can because all viewers want to see music.

    What is special about your content?
    Our content is primarily Bollywood based. Our programming and scheduling is also distinctively different. We believe that we can’t do anything better than the song that is playing on the channel. We prefer showing Shah Rukh Khan rather than the VJs. We have a programme called Lagey Raho which runs across the day and has songs playing a particular theme – dance numbers, romantic and sad songs among others.. We keep refreshing this every 15 minutes. These are then followed by movie trailors in Just Trailors.

    But one hardly comes across ads on Music India?
    That is how we schedule it. We don’t want consumers to get bored of an overdose of ads. We, therefore, do not place more than one or two ads every break; we have a perfect balance. Ultimately, viewers are here to see songs and trailors. Even if the ads come, viewers do not shift the channel because they know that we will be back with music. That is the credibility we have built. We deliver good RoI to the advertisers.

    What is the major source of revenue for Music India?
    Our business model is ad driven. About 50 per cent of our revenue comes from ads. Movie trailers account for the balance 50 per cent. Our core TG is 15-34. We have brands like Coke, Pepsi, LG, Sony Ericson, Motorola, Nokia, Vodafone, Idea, Tata Indicom, Bajaj, Hero Honda, Margo, HUL, Cadbury, Asian Paints and Perfettis.
    How about your other channel Sangeet Bangla?
    A lot of content on Sangeet Bangla is exclusive. Besides music, we also show a movie every day at the prime time slot.