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Tag: Simran Hoon

  • The Q to premiere MX original show ‘Aashram’ on TV

    The Q to premiere MX original show ‘Aashram’ on TV

    Mumbai: The Q has partnered with MX Player to bring its critically and commercially successful original series “Aashram” to television. The first season of the show will air on 11 October at 8:30 p.m from Monday to Friday followed by the second season.

    Directed by Prakash Jha, the crime thriller features Bobby Deol, Tridha Choudhury, Aditi Sudhir Pohankar and Anupriya Goenka in the lead roles.

    “Great content does wonders irrespective of its platform. Having understood the pulse of our viewers, we at The Q continue to make efforts in bringing content that is strong, and unique with a compelling and relevant plot and storyline,” said The Q chief executive officer Simran Hoon. “Airing Aashram on TV is in sync with our strategy to bring the best from digital to TV.  We will continue to pioneer such initiatives to help strengthen The Q’s position in the industry while being the preferred entertainment destination for viewers across India.”

    Inspired by true events, “Aashram” was launched in 2020 and revolves around the story of Baba Nirala, an actual conman who ensures that his devotees or followers devote their wealth to him and stay attached to his aashram.

    “Aashram unfolds a great story and given its relevance in today’s day and age, it is sure to strike the right chord with our viewers,” said The Q programming head Tanya Shukla. “Television is a medium that brings families together and by bringing a high-end limited series on television, we aim to provide our viewers with the most engaging form of entertainment. We will continue bringing such compelling stories from the digital world for our discerning viewers.”

  • FTA market rides growth wave amid pandemic

    FTA market rides growth wave amid pandemic

    Mumbai: Riding high on the launch of new channels, the advertising volumes and values of free-to-air (FTA) has grown by 25 to 30 per cent and is estimated to have a share of 25 to 30 per cent of the Rs 30,000 crore of total TV AdEx. This growth coupled with changes in viewership post the pandemic has charted the growth story of the FTA market during the pandemic.

    Out of the 901 licensed private satellite TV channels, 574 are free to air, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The launch of new channels including Shemaroo MarathiBana, ShemarooTV, Dangal Kannada, Ishara TV, Sun Marathi, Filamchi, Azaad, Dhinchaak, Colors Cineplex Bollywood, Asianet Movies, Filamchi Bhojpuri have grown the advertising share of free TV.

    “The first half of the year has been really good for FTA. The viewership had been very consistent in the early stages of 2021, with the demand peaking in the period before the second wave,” said MediaCom national director Srinivas Rao.

    According to Enterr10 Media Network chief business officer Shrutish Maharaj the FTA genre has grown by 25-30 per cent both in terms of volumes and value. “Had the pandemic and some policy changes not hit the industry, the organic growth had the potential to be much better,” Maharaj added. FTA space has also seen a lot of action with multiple launches in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Punjab etc.

    Earlier only the big broadcasters were able to invest in original programming. However, that has changed over recent time, with a host of original programmes creating a vibrancy on FTA channels. “This is changing because FTA channels are no longer catering only to rural markets where viewers were playing catch-up. They now have significant penetration in urban markets as well,” said Maharaj. Some channels even look at a ratio of 40:60 of original programming to acquired content to be an ideal mix. 

    Traditionally, FTA channels tend to perform well in rural markets and have been mainly supported by FMCG advertisers who may contribute up to 70 per cent of the ad volumes. The reliance on FMCG spends is also believed to have constrained the growth of the FTA channels, as the category is mature.

    Though the FMCG is still the largest spending category on FTA, the dependence of FTA on FMCG has reduced considerably with categories like services, healthcare, education, manufacturing and construction, telecom, media contributing significantly. There has been the advent of new categories and a few others have recorded phenomenal growth.

    Some of these advertisers who came onboard include Amazon, Myntra, Flipkart, BYJU’S, Google, Facebook, indicating a shift towards the FTA audience which is discerning and dependable to drive the next phase of growth for them.

    Since the core audience of FTA channels is mainly from the heartland, most broadcasters try to place their channels on DD Free Dish, the free DTH platform by Prasar Bharati. At a one-time cost of Rs 2,000, any viewer may watch up to 160 channels distributed on the platform at no recurring cost. It is estimated that there are 50 million DD Free Dish set-top-boxes in the country.

    The advantage of being available on DD Free Dish is significant. Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) The Q grew its client list by six times after launching on the free DTH platform, according to The Q chief executive officer Simran Hoon. “The Q has also not faced any problem of discounted ad rates like other FTA players post launching on DD Free Dish,” she added.

    Depending on the market that FTA channel caters to, viewership may increase up to 50 gross rating points (GRPs) by solely being distributed on the platform.

    “This is because DD Free Dish audience accounts for 30 per cent of the Hindi-speaking market,” pointed out Shemaroo TV, chief operating officer – broadcast business, Sandeep Gupta. “A channel can definitely survive just by being on DD Free Dish and not any other individual platform. It has a significant share of the audience in the core heartland markets such as Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, and Jharkhand.”

    The availability of channels on DD Free Dish also improves the performance of the channel in rural markets drastically, highlight media experts. However, the biggest issue is that the base size of DD Free Dish is low, leading to scale still being low. Hence, the advertiser interest in FTA channels available on DD Free Dish would depend on the markets the brand is targeting,” said MediaCom’s Rao.

    At the end of the third annual e-auction that concluded in February, broadcasters bid as high as Rs 16.5 crore to be on DD Free Dish and Prasar Bharati made Rs 731.34 crore from the sale of 57 MPEG-2 slots.

  • The Q’s client list has grown 6 times since its launch on DD Free Dish: CEO Simran Hoon

    The Q’s client list has grown 6 times since its launch on DD Free Dish: CEO Simran Hoon

    Mumbai: Since its launch in December 2017, growing the channel’s distribution has been a top priority for The Q. Realising the potential of small-town India for which television is still either the only or main source of entertainment, the media start-up hopped on to DD Free Dish in March-April and the numbers thereafter are a testimony to the plan’s success.

    Earlier this year, the Company issued a statement declaring that it has “reached its 2021 goal of distribution to 100 Million TV Households as a result of launching on both DD Free Dish and Dish TV in April. The Q India has gone live to 50 million additional TV homes in the month of April.”

    As regards GRPs – the vital metric used to project revenue growth – The Q recorded the highest-ever GRP of 53 in Barc Week 21 (June) in addition to an eight-week average of 46.23, indicating it’s heading into the big league of channels. Buoyed by the growth the ‘start-up’ is gradually expanding into a full-fledged network. It has also ventured into content production with the first TV original ‘Jurm Ka Chehra’ launching in September.  

    While the figures speak for themselves, Indiantelevision.com decided to decode the recent developments on the creative, business, and organisational front in a candid interaction with The Q CEO- Simran Hoon who joined the Company in April. With over two decades of experience in the industry having worked for leading brands including Viacom18, ZEEL, STAR, and SET, Hoon is responsible for driving The Q’s overall growth and vision. The marathoner and animal lover CEO charts the brand’s trajectory post coming on to DD Free Dish.

    Programming for a Changing Audience

    From VOD to DTH and now DD Free Dish, the path trodden by The Q has been quite unlike any other in the Hindi GEC space. Yet, says Hoon the “journey became more interesting April onwards, since launching on DD Free Dish.” Previously, the channel’s programming was targeted at an urban audience, but with the footprint expanding into the hinterland, the content evolved into a more massy and family-inclusive tone. “The moment we came on to DD Free Dish we had to address the big households in Tier 1 and 2 towns without antagonising the urban viewer who obviously has a lot in common with the smaller towns; the differentiation is more pronounced in the minds of the marketers.”

    The change has translated into a preponderance of shows such as ‘Yo-Yo Yogesh’ and ‘Baklol’ over the likes of ‘Tantra by Vikram Bhatt’ and ‘Living in Trends’ (LIT) in the content mix.

    Through all the experimenting with family-oriented shows and now with content production, the channel has been able to successfully uphold its brand ethos of ‘Zara Hat Ke’ and having a ‘social element’ in all its programming. While other players in the FTA space are running repeat content consisting mostly of family dramas that are over a year old, The Q has no plans of going the ‘saas-bahu way’ which according to Hoon is suited for an older audience. “Though finally family-inclusive, we have stuck to our core TG of 15 to 35-year-olds and the promise of offering them more fun, differentiated and easy kind of programming. Our content is carefully curated to suit all age groups,” she shares adding that comedy is a big genre on the channel now.

    Since its launch as an independent advertiser and influencer-marketing-supported Hindi youth entertainment channel, The Q has been redefining TV to mean ‘social’ by delivering digital programming to the medium. For the unorthodox FTA player, the description of ‘Connected TV’ entails not just a connection to the internet, but to the network of people as well. Going forward, even as the Company steps up original production, it will ensure a social connect for all its content. Sharing an example, Hoon reveals, “The casting for our upcoming crime show ‘Jurm Ka Chehra’ was done on ‘Chingari’ (the short video app). In the future, the audience will see a lot of stuff where we bring social to TV.”

    The Advertising Windfall

    Hoon shares that as a brand offering fresh (on TV) content, The Q has not faced the problem of discounted ad rates like other FTA players, and now, with the steady growth in viewership post launching on DD Free Dish, there has been an increase in advertiser onboarding, awareness and acceptance of the channel.

    From around five clients in the first quarter of CY 2021, the numbers have grown six times to include 30 advertisers in the current list. “The mainstay of the FTA channels is FMCG, but we have a lot more e-commerce, pharma, and digital payment companies coming in, even as our client list continues to grow further,” shares Hoon.

    In order to service the increasing demand, the Company hired Ashish Kotekar as head of ad sales for South & West regions in May, and Pankaj Rai for North & East in August. The channel also has plans to go regional, but for now, the focus will be on the HSM.

    Recently, The Q and Chtrbox (an influencer marketing platform acquired by The Q in June) announced the launch of an integrated marketing platform BharatBox which will deliver integrated advertising solutions across linear and digital platforms to marketers, thus maintaining the channel’s ‘social DNA’ even on the business front. “It’s a unique proposition where we will be offering to brands integrated advertising solutions that synergise the reach of social media influencers with The Q’s TV reach.  BharatBox will reach out to tier 2 and 3 towns,” Hoon elaborates.

    Future-ready

    Moving ahead from content and business, The Q has a lot of action happening on the organisational front as well. In addition to Krishna Menon’s elevation as the COO in May, and the new hires for ad sales, the Company appointed Sujata Samant as head of marketing this month. It is pertinent to note here that The Q has not launched any extensive marketing campaigns till now. Further, a distribution consultant and HR head were brought on board recently.

    Hoon credits Tanya Shukla, the programming head, for bringing the brand to where it stands today in that context. Shukla has been in the role for a year now. Giving an understanding of the Company’s overall vision, Hoon remarks, “We are in the process of maturing from a small operating company, a start-up that we still are, to a full-fledged organisation. More people are starting off in different roles and departments even as we speak right now. The recognition that The Q has got has been a little overwhelming for us, but with the right elements in place, we are ready to be seen as a ‘network for the future.”

  • The Q, Chtrbox launch integrated marketing platform BharatBox

    The Q, Chtrbox launch integrated marketing platform BharatBox

    Mumbai: Following the acquisition of Chtrbox by QYou Media Inc, The Q India and Chtrbox have together announced the launch of the integrated marketing platform, BharatBox.

    BharatBox will focus on delivering content from India’s most popular non-metro creators across television and digital. Combining the strength and reach of The Q with Chtrbox’s data-driven and cost-effective solutions for building successful tier 2 and tier 3 targeted influencer-led campaigns, the marketing platform will empower brands to reach consumers in these markets, said the statement.

    The platform will offer 360-degrees go-to-market customised solutions that are fully integrated across all distribution platforms. Services will include television advertisements, influencer-generated social media content, branded content, interactivity and surveys to seek real responses from consumers about new launches via influencers, and e-commerce integrations encouraging direct purchases from audiences, it added.

    Speaking on the launch of BharatBox, The Q India, CEO – Simran Hoon, said, “We are thrilled with how quickly we have begun to integrate the power and strength of both companies. The excitement and interest from our brand partners to leverage these unique and combined strengths has us feeling very confident that BharatBox will be a hit out of the gates. Perhaps more importantly, we believe consumers will be thrilled with integrated and branded content that is entertaining, interactive, fun and socially involving as they move towards the purchase of a product or service.”

    “With the power of social media and social commerce growing exponentially, we have seen tremendous success for our brand partners while taking their message to the tier 2 & 3 markets.  We like to say 1 + 1 = 11 when we describe the power of our joining forces with QYou Media and specifically The Q India. This marks the beginning of the many ways that we believe we will both lead the market and capture the hearts and minds of what may just be the world’s largest new market for commerce and purchasing power, tier 2 & tier 3 India,” added Chtrbox CEO Pranay Swarup.

  • The Q appoints Pankaj Rai as head of ad sales, North & East regions

    The Q appoints Pankaj Rai as head of ad sales, North & East regions

    Mumbai: Hindi GEC, The Q on Tuesday announced the appointment of Pankaj Rai as head of ad sales for North and East regions, effective immediately. He will be based out of the company’s New Delhi office.

    In his new role, Rai will be responsible for driving the advertising sales for the channel in the respective regions and report directly to CEO, Simran Hoon, said the company in a statement.

    Rai is a seasoned media professional armed with over 15 years of expansive industry experience. Prior to joining The Q, he was associated with Zee Network, Mid-Day, and Shaadi Dot Com in various capacities. He has handled key accounts for linear TV channels including Zee TV, Zee Cinema, &TV among others. With hands-on media sales experience across TV, print, and digital, he has successfully contributed to top-level revenues. Rai also has a deep understanding of traditional and new media functioning.

    Speaking on the appointment, Hoon said, “We are delighted to welcome Pankaj to The Q. This is one of our most-awaited and critical hires in ad sales for the North and East regions and we are confident of the value he will add to our growing portfolio of advertisers. Given his exceptionally strong relationships and business acumen with stakeholders in the market, we look forward to him bolstering our businesses to new heights.”

    Talking about his new role, Rai shared, “I am delighted and grateful for this opportunity with The Q. The Q brings to the market an exciting proposition unlike any other channel in the GEC space. The channel has also seen tremendous growth within a short span and continues to gain popularity among viewers and advertisers which by itself speaks volumes. I am excited about this new innings and look forward to working closely with Simran and the team entire team as we steer towards the next wave of growth.”

  • Viacom18’s Simran Hoon joins The Q as India CEO

    Viacom18’s Simran Hoon joins The Q as India CEO

    Mumbai : Hindi general entertainment channel The Q has roped in Simran Hoon as the company’s chief executive officer, with immediate effect.

    In her new role, Hoon will leverage her experience and insight to provide strategic direction to create new opportunities for The Q in India thus driving the organisation’s overall growth. 

    In a statement released on Wednesday, the company said Hoon carries over two decades of industry experience. Prior to joining The Q, she was associated with Viacom18 as executive vice-president and head of ad sales. She has also been a part of Zee Entertainment Enterprises, Star India and Sony Entertainment Television in leadership positions.

    QYOU Media co-founder & CEO Curt Marvis said, “It is the right time to add someone with Simran’s extraordinary capabilities to our leadership team. Our growth in India has been exponential and we are confident that Simran, with her keen business acumen and  in-depth understanding of the industry, will immediately propel The Q forward. Simran’s distinguished record and forward-thinking approach will help us stay ahead of the curve.”

    The Q India co-founder & MD Sunder Aaron added, “She is a seasoned professional with extensive knowledge of the media and entertainment industry, who brings with her rich experience and enormous expertise that we believe fervently will take The Q to the next level. Her expansive knowledge and understanding of the Indian television market will be of immense value to our company.”

    The Q India is an advertiser and influencer marketing supported Hindi language general entertainment channel which recently reached 48.07 Gross Rating Points (GRPs) on BARC (Broadcast Audience Research Council) as of Week 15, 2021.

  • Simran Hoon quits Viacom18

    Simran Hoon quits Viacom18

    MUMBAI: Simran Hoon, Viacom18 Media's executive vice president and head of ad sales has stepped down from the post nearly after 13 years of association with the company.

    In the past, Hoon was working with Zee Network as SVP. She was senior vice president at Star India and as a group manager at Sony Entertainment Television.

    She has also worked in advertising at The Times of India in 1994. She switched from print to television in 1995 when she joined Sony Entertainment Television. This was followed by a stint with Vindia the dot.com bandwagon where she handled  sales for the north.

    Hoon, a Delhi University graduate, completed her B.A. Economics (H) from Miranda House College and joined The Times School of Marketing for PGDMM in 1992.