ITV

Tag: revamp mode

  • Vissa in revamp mode; dubbed movies, interactivity key programming pull

    MUMBAI: Chennai-based Raj Television Network’s (RTN) Telugu channel Vissa TV is gearing for change. Come 5 June, and the channel will sport a fresh look along with a new logo.

    In line with the makeover, Vissa will start telecasting dubbed English movies in Telugu. Also in the pipeline is a slew of interactive programmes.
     
    Says Vissa TV executive vice president R Radhakrishnan, “We have been keeping a low profile these days. Now we felt it was time to jazz up a bit. The new shows we are launching will play a crucial role in our revamping process.”

    RTN has been uplinking Vissa TV, along with the Tamil channels Raj TV and Raj Digital Plus, from Bangkok since November 2004. The network had to move out its channels to Bangkok as the I&B ministry terminated its teleport licence. The government was acting against RTN uplinking its Vissa TV and now shelved Raj Musix from India without a valid licence.

    The present makeover is part of RTN’s decision to change the look and feel of the channels in its network. Raj TV has already started the process and is about to unveil its new logo on 14 May.
     
     

    Programming initiatives:

    With the makeover, Vissa TV is introducing the concept of dubbed English movies in Telugu in June. “We have acquired Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee movies. We will be launching a martial arts movie segment to telecast these movies in the weekends,” says Radhakrishnan.

    The channel is also banking on the game show genre to make waves in the market. One of the three game shows, Jackpot, will be an SMS-based live interactive game show.

    “The channel has acquired the format rights of the show from a Hungary-based production company and the show will be shot in Hungary,” says Radhakrishnan.

    The one hour show is scheduled on week days between 9 pm to 10 pm. Viewers have to register their name and other details through SMS. The channel then picks up one of the registered viewers through a lucky dip and hurls questions at them. Each right answer will carry a certain amount of cash prize and the maximum prize money a viewer can win is Rs 100,000. Vissa will launch the Jackpot in the second week of June.

    Chance Le Chance is an interactive on-ground show, slotted for weekends. The on-ground activity will cover all major towns in Andhra Pradesh. The channel will be launching a publicity campaign for Chance Le Chance covering television, print and below-the-line activities. Produced by Vinod Bala, the show has its anchor in popular television personality Uday Bhanu. The event will kick start on 21 May from Warangal.

    Vissa TV has also lined up a musical talent show Paadaala Telugu Paatta to identify and promote new talents in lyric writing and playback singing. Anchored by popular playback singer Nithya Santhoshini, the show will have one winner in each category — male singer, female singer and lyrics writer.

    The channel will also be launching a daily soap Gharshana in the last week of June. Starring popular artists from Telugu film industry, the serial is produced by Vinod Bala.

  • Zee Cinema, Music in revamp mode

    Zee Cinema, Music in revamp mode

    MUMBAI: Zee Cinema is in a for a complete programming shake up with the recent acquisition of 16 new movies to its library. So is Zee Music, the languishing music channel in the Zee bouquet.

     

    ETC promoter Yogesh Radhakrishnan, barely three months into his job as head of the two Zee channels, seems determined to pull both out of their perceived lethargy and into active viewer attention.
     
     

    Zee Cinema, despite being the frontrunner in its genre, is the first to get the revamp treatment. Gone will be the weekly Bollywood round ups and the endless countdown shows. The main attraction of the revamped channel is Ek Ka Teen Premiere – new Hindi movies that will make their satellite premiere on Friday 1 pm, with repeat telecasts on Saturday at 5 pm and Sunday at 9 pm.

     

    Radhakrishnan says the innovative strategy will work as the TG for each telecast is different. The idea behind acquiring movies that have barely shaken the box office after their theatre release during 2002 is unique too – these are films that suffered at the cash registers due to problems with delivery, marketing or poor publicity, he says. The second attraction is Bollywood Tonight,, a daily news bulletin on the Hindi film industry, anchored by Samar Khan.

     

    Films like Durga, Yeh Mohabbat Hai (Cinevistaas’ maiden film venture), Dil Ne Phir Yaad Kiya and Ansh are bound to do well with audiences who have not had the opportunity of viewing them in the theatres, he says. Slotting of the movies will remain Radhakrishnan’s key to the success of Zee Cinema, a channel which he says, is the most underrated in the Zee bouquet.

     

    The channel will also go in for major brand building exercises like Bollywood events from the next fiscal. Zee Cinema, the oldest Hindi movie channel in the country, has thus far not aired events as a premium programming strategy. Zee Cinema, however, will continue to borrow sister Zee TV’s blockbuster acquisitions (Gadar – Ek Prem Katha)is the New Year’s Eve prime time attraction) even as it will continue to dip into its own 1,500 odd strong movie library and 30-odd strong ETC movie library.

     

    Says Radhakrishnan, ” The idea of repeating a show thrice a week is to attract different audience segments. Research shows that people tune in even at 10 am. Cinema is able to deliver ratings throughout the day as everyone watches this form of entertainment. For advertisers, the attraction lies in tripling unduplicated reach. Our concentration will rest on films that the SEC B & C have not seen either due to delivery problems or poor marketing efforts. “

     

    Regarding the advertising and marketing strategy, Radhakrishnan maintains that his focus rests on having Zee Cinema on the prime band of every cable operator. “Beyond creating a basic level of awareness about new programme initatives, I do not see the need to splurge millions on outdoor advertising, radio and print.”

     

    Zee Music, which is next on Radhakrishnan’s agenda, will appear in its new avatar in January, complete with new shows, ID and a focused TG in mind. For the time being, though, Radhakrishnan is keeping his plans tightly under wraps.