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Tag: Sony Pix

  • MSM elevates Saurabh Yagnik to head English entertainment channels

    MSM elevates Saurabh Yagnik to head English entertainment channels

    MUMBAI: Multi-Screen Media (MSM) today announced that Saurabh Yagnik’s responsibilities have been enhanced and he will now also oversee AXN, thus taking charge of the English language channels in the network, effective immediately.

    The AXN’s current business head Sunil Punjabi will continue to manage AXN and will report to Yagnik.

    Speaking on the occasion, MSM CEO NP Singh said: “With Saurabh’s deep rooted understanding of the English Entertainment genre, I am certain that he will chart a new and exciting journey for the English Entertainment channels at MSM. We wish him all the best.”

    Infact, indiantelevision.com was the first one to report about AXN launching in HD and will launch by the end of the year.

    Yagnik, who joined the MSM group just over two years ago, has over 17 years of varied consumer and television management experience, and has been instrumental in building and driving  the English movie channel PIX to attain market leadership.

  • Chrome data: Not much change in week 16

    Chrome data: Not much change in week 16

    MUMBAI: In week 16 of opportunity to see (OTS) data collated by Chrome Data, Analytics & Media, Music genre in the Hindi speaking market (HSM) was the chart topper.

     

    The genre gained 0.7 per cent with Sony Mix ruling the charts with 88.3 per cent OTS.

     

    The genre was closely followed with Hindi news channels with 0.6 per cent gain. ABP News continued to be on the top in the genre with 94.1 per cent OTS.

     

    Hindi movies weren’t far behind with 0.5 per cent gain. Star Gold in the HSM garnered 95.6 per cent OTS.

     

    English entertainment channels in the eight metros saw the gain of 0.5 per cent too. AXN continued to be on top with 70.7 per cent OTS.

     

    As for the bottom four, Sports genre across India saw the maximum drop of 1 per cent. Ten Sports with 76.3 per cent OTS topped the genre.

     

    Infotainment channels across the country dropped 0.5 per cent with Discovery channel gaining the most with 85.7 per cent OTS.

     

    English movies and Business news in the eight metros dropped 0.3 and 0.2 per cent, respectively. Pix with 75 per cent and Zee Business with 80.4 per cent OTS topped their respective genres.

  • Sony Pix pushes the envelope with on-ground activations

    Sony Pix pushes the envelope with on-ground activations

    MUMBAI: Multi Screen Media’s English movie channel – Sony Pix – is leaving no stone unturned to push the envelope in creating engagement with its viewers with clutter breaking on-ground activities.

    “We constantly push the envelope in the English movie channel space and that has helped us to keep our viewers engaged with our ‘Stay Amazed’ proposition,” says Sony Pix business head Saurabh Yagnik. “We will continue to do such clutter breaking activities and do our best to continue to cement our position at number two in the space and inch closer to becoming the leader in the space.”

    The channel is taking its ‘Pix Premiere Nights’ initiative to a whole new level by providing its viewers a chance to experience the second installment to the Andrew Garfield starrer The Amazing Spiderman a day prior to its 1 May India release.

    “The idea is to build the Hollywood audience, and by increasing the consumption along with the familiarity, it builds traction for movies before their theatrical release,” expounds Yagnik.

    The channel is expected to be spending anywhere between Rs 2-3 crore to push this initiative. “The scale at which the property – ‘Pix Premiere Nights’ – has grown is really encouraging for us. With Hobbit we had travelled to three cities, it went up to six cities during Robocop where we saw a participation of 8,000 plus viewers and now with The Amazing Spider Man 2 we will be travelling to 10 cities and have 11 screenings with a clear message of ‘watch it before India does’. We have already seen nearly 2,500 plus participants with 20 more days to go before the result of the contest is declared,” Yagnik beams.

    The 10 cities being targeted are Mumbai, Delhi, Gurgaon, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Chennai. The contest began on 4 April and is being marketed and pushed on social media as well as on the channel and is being sponsored by Snapdeal.com.

    “Nowadays if a movie is marketed well, it translates into great box-office numbers and also gets good television viewership when premiered on a channel,” explains Yagnik. “Plans are afoot to really push the property on the channel with innovative programming and trivia, which will soon go on air.”

    Pix will be building the buzz for the movie and the contest by running the Spiderman and Iron Man movie franchises among others through ‘Pix Doubles’ along with giving great insights and trivia during the movies with its very own ‘Pixipedia’.

    “We will also be showcasing a special ‘Behind the Scenes’ exclusive footage from The Amazing Spider Man 2. The idea is to build salience with the brand ‘Pix’ and create a recall value for our viewers,” reveals Yagnik.

    The 2,000 odd contest winners from across the length and breadth of the country will receive calls to invite them for the screening. “If we want to become leaders in the space, and sizably scale up our market share, we need to invest in building our brand and keep coming with such engaging innovations and clutter breaking initiatives,” Yagnik ends.

  • Movie channels gear up for the IPL onslaught

    Movie channels gear up for the IPL onslaught

    Season seven of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is just a couple of weeks away, but instead of worrying about possible loss of viewership and ad revenue, movie channels are gearing up to serve even more interesting fare to their audiences.

    Helios Media MD Divya Radhakrishnan opines: “IPL affects television across genres. GECs do not launch new shows, there are no reality shows, and no big blockbusters happen on movie channels. During IPL, everything comes to a standstill because that is the focal point during these months. However, the only thing posing a hindrance for IPL this time is the elections.”

    The 9:00 pm slot is typically lost in the IPL frenzy however, over the years, television channels have learnt to work around the hugely popular tourney. Besides, movie channels claim that movies serve as entertainment for both – the young and the old, and hence, they can be consumed at any point of time irrespective of other activities happening in the broadcast space.

    Yet, according to broadcasters of English movies, the 11:00 pm slot enjoys high ratings during IPL season, and strategising around this slot helps them compensate for erosion of viewership that takes place during the 9:00 pm time band. Broadcasters of Hindi movies on the other hand remain unaffected, and continue to mark their FPCs as per their preferences. Hindi movie channels mainly focus on catching viewers in the afternoon just before the beginning of the cricket match.

    About Star Movies’ and Star Movies Action’s plans during IPL 7, Star India business head English cluster, Kevin Vaz, says: “The strategy is that viewers can immediately switch to exhilarating blockbusters after an exciting match of cricket. Both channels have a fantastic line-up for their audiences and will provide the best Hollywood content.”

    With a view to amplifying the excitement of IPL, Star Movies has crafted an exclusive, on-air festival that brings together some of the biggest Hollywood premieres. “Riding on the heels of the IPL, Star Movies is bringing out a month-long movie festival titled ‘Super Star League’ in April and May, every night at 11:00 pm. We also have Amazon on board as a presenting sponsor,” says Vaz.  

    Additionally, Star Movies will continue to premiere the biggest Hollywood blockbusters every month and has a great line-up including Oblivion starring Tom Cruise and a host of films featuring Jackie Chan. “Viewers can also look forward to a host of animation movies next month,” Vaz reveals.

    Star Movies Action plans a contest round the special superhero line-up plus a speed demon festival featuring racing hits like Death Race, Ghost Rider, Gone in 60 Seconds and Speed. The Action@ 8 segment will see favourites like Predator, The Man with the Iron Fists and Hell Boy.

    “We have always placed a great importance on the digital medium as we feel that we can really connect with our viewers and gauge their preferences via online activities. In the new age, everyone is online and it is the best place to really interact effectively with our audiences,” says Vaz.

    As for HBO, the channel will air season five of its ‘Hollywood Premiere League (HPL)’ alongside season seven of IPL. Blockbusters including Jack Reacher, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, The Dark Knight Rises, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life, Wrath of the Titans, The Hunger Games and Parker will be telecast at 11:00 pm, Monday to Thursday, from April 14 to May 22, 2014.

    “The idea is to have a good content mix primarily driven by genres that are well received i.e. action and comedy. And that is what drives ratings, viewership and ad revenues in the end,” says HBO South Asia MD Monica Tata. “We will be doing on-ground activity, radio, on-air and social media promotions as well, building momentum for the two-month long festival that will offer blockbusters soon after the IPL matches get over.”

    Multi Screen Media’s Sony Pix, sister channel of official IPL broadcasters Sony Max and Sony Six, will air season four of its ‘Pix Premiere League (PPL)’ alongside IPL. “We will continue to program around IPL with the fourth season of PPL, as it is the biggest cricketing event in the country,” says Sony Pix business head Saurabh Yagnik. “The PPL has a line-up of our best titles and we have witnessed a spike in viewership during this time for the 11:00 pm slot as well. We want viewers to witness some of the best movies on our channel with the proposition, ‘Stay Amazed’.”

    PPL will be telecast at 11:00 pm Monday to Sunday from 16 April to 1 June. Only on Thursdays, there will be ‘Pix Doubles’ or ‘Super Pix’ or ‘Mega Premiere’ and Snapdeal.com will be the sponsor. With IPL being a MSM property, Pix will leverage Sony Max to get viewers to tune into PPL and catch some really good titles post the action on the field. The plan is to showcase 40 to 45 movie titles during IPL including The Amazing Spider-Man, Into the Blue, Rocky, The Terminator, Shaolin Soccer, Shutter Island, 2012, Kung Fu Hustle and After Earth. With less than two weeks’ time left, Sony Pix will premiere White House Down and Elysium to monetise well before the IPL begins.

    Zee Studio too is working on its programming around the IPL and will continue its Powerplay block that has been reloaded this year with a thrilling mix of Hollywood Action blockbusters through the month of May to attract viewers on to the channel. Powerplay starts 1 May, Monday to Friday at 10:00 pm.

    The block will see movies like: Cowboys and Aliens, Pirates of the Caribbean, Armageddon, Déj? Vu, Air Force One, John Carter and Enemy of the State.

    Talking about Powerplay Zee Studio EVP and business head Anurag Bedi says: “During the IPL, the English movie genre has historically witnessed a sizeable increase in male viewership and we will capitalise on the channel’s heavy online presence, of one million plus fanbase on Facebook and 50,000 followers on twitter by setting it abuzz with activities all through the month. Powerplay will also be promoted extensively via television and print in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore.”

    Unlike most English movie channels which are trying to create a property around IPL through packaging and programming blocks, the Times Television Network English entertainment channels will stick to what they do best. “We don’t want to come across as gimmicky by doing a ‘premier league’ though these things may help in generating more revenues, but it does not really add to the viewership,” says Times Television Network English entertainment channels’ CEO Ajay Trigunayat.

    Movies Now will compete with IPL through ‘Adrenaline Drive’, a block which has been successful for the past two and a half years for the channel. It will play at 11:00 pm, Monday to Thursday, beginning 7 April. Apart from high-octane movies like Commando, Iron Man, Salt, Transporter 2, Clash of the Titans, Batman Begins, Mr & Mrs Smith, Knight & Day, Behind Enemy Lines, 300, Collateral Damage and Superman Returns, Movies Now will also air the Matrix trilogy on 20 April, Sherlock Holmes – A Game of Shadows on 12 April, and Journey 2: The Mysterious Island on 5 April, all at 9:00 pm. While Movies Now gets around Rs 9,000 for a 10-second slot, it is pitching about Rs 12,000 per 10 seconds for ‘Adrenaline Drive’.

    Speaking of Romedy Now, Trigunayat says: “We have Friends With Better Lives launching from 1 April. It launched on CBS in the US at 8.30 pm on 31 March and we have done an interesting thing of launching a show at 11:00 pm, which is unprecedented, because prime time viewing has certainly shifted from 9:00 pm to 11:00 pm as that is a better viewed slot today than 9:00 pm.”

    In addition, Romedy Now will introduce two tent-pole properties in April i.e. Jolly Good Chaplin, a Charlie Chaplin special, and Romedy Weddings, a collection of unique movies keeping in mind the upcoming wedding season. The channel is also gearing up for the launch of a brand new series, 1600 Penn, which will be aired in May.

    Romedy Now’s current properties including Kitchen Confidential, Witches of East End, Sunny Sundays, Y So Serious and Happy Hours will continue.

    “Romedy Now is a content-agnostic channel. The content line-up consists of the best entertainment, keeping the core proposition of ‘Love. Laugh. Live’ intact. The content planned for the next two months is incredibly exciting. The Chaplin series will be quite a favourite, along with, of course, Friends With Better Lives, which is a brand new series written by Dana Klein (from the popular series F.R.I.E.N.D.S.),” says Trigunayat.

    Asked about the strategy deployed by English movie channels, a media observer said, “Properties based around IPL on English movie channels essentially serve two purposes. One, they allow channels to package these properties for the advertisers, and hence, monetise them better than their regular FPC. Two, it helps keep the buzz on the channel alive, so that the channel is not lost in the IPL hype.”

    Unlike English movie channels, Hindi movie channels are on a different route altogether.

    As Star Gold & Movies OK executive VP & GM, Hemal Jhaveri says: “It is business as usual; it’s about forming the habit for viewers, and there is so much of cricket happening anyways, nothing really changes for us dramatically during the IPL. The premieres will get their share of the marketing push through our networks.”

    Star Gold’s highlight for the month of April is ‘Masaledar Hits’, where every day, the channel will dish out a ‘Masaledar’ movie in the early evening slot; this will be a key property to win share in the non-prime time band. Golmaal 3, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Agneepath (Amitabh Bachan), Ajab Prem Ki Ghajab Kahani, De Dana Dan and Bhagam Bhaag among others will be aired as part of this block.

    Similarly for May, Star Gold will have ‘Blockbuster Noon’, which Jhaveri describes as “a programming stunt that we are planning to pull off where we will showcase a slew of blockbusters in the afternoon time band on week days. As we believe weekdays are the new weekends.”

    Additionally, the first Rs 100 crore grosser of this year, Salman Khan-starrer Jai Ho will premiere on a weekend in May followed by the world television premiere of O Teri.

    Movies OK will continue running the Family OK Holiday Special Contest on weekdays, early evening. “The idea is to engage and interact with the entire family and at the same time, provide an opportunity to watch and win the contest,” says Jhaveri. The contest gives viewers a chance to win a smart phone every day and a lucky family to go for an all expenses-paid international holiday to Thailand. This band will see movies like Main Hoon Na, Khatta Meetha, Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehtein Hain, Beta and Tere Naam among others.

    Bullett Raja will premiere on 27 April at 8:00 pm and in May; the channel will run the ‘SuperVeers – Action Blockbusters’ block at 8:00 pm on weekdays, apart from the channel premiere of the hit, Yaariyan in the weekend primetime band.

    Leveraging the election fever with an aim to provide viewers with iconic reel leaders, Zee Cinema is launching the ‘Hamara Neta Kaisa Ho’ festival which will air from 14-21 April, 2014 everyday at 9:00 pm. The festival will see titles like Nayak, Himmatwala and Aparichit – The Stranger.

    “Entering into our 20th year of entertaining our audiences with Movies, Masti and Magic, it has been our constant endeavour at Zee Cinema, to constantly provide our viewers novel offerings. We thrive to deliver the best to our audience hence have been rewarded with the highest GVTs, making the movie channel the undisputed leader in its genre. We are not aiming at combating IPL… in fact we look at it as an opportunity where television viewing will have increased eyeballs due to the election and IPL fervor,” explains Zeel deputy VP, head of programming – Hindi movie channels Ruchir Tiwari.

    Zee Classic is strengthening its programming line-up for the month of April by premiering movies such as Nasir Hussain and Shammi Kapoor’s Dil Deke Dekho, two Kishore Kumar classics like Dilli Ka Thug and Bombay Ka Chor and Biswajeet’s Bees Saal Baad for the first time on the channel. The month of April will also witness evergreen superstar Rajendra ‘Jubliee’ Kumar’s festival which will see films like Gawar, Doo Jassos and Saathi amongst others. Zee Classic will be airing a special movie Leader on Voting Day, starring Dilip Kumar and Vyjayantimala, which revolves around politics. The plethora of movies will recreate the magic of yesteryears.

     “Zee Classic being the only classic Hindi movie channel in India believes in showcasing the great works of cinema. We have an extensive and unique library of superhit classic movies, and hence have created two primetime slots – 5:00 pm and 8:00 pm daily. Apart from this, the channel will also be showcasing movies of the evergreen superstar Rajendra Kumar which will pay a tribute to the Jubilee Star by airing a month-long festival called ‘Jubilee Kumar’,” reveals Tiwari.

    The newest channel from the Zee’s stable – &Pictures – in anticipation of the upcoming IPL, has built up the Sunday 12 noon slot with ‘Hollwood Sundays’, a property that brings up a new Hollywood movie in Asli Desi Flavours every Sunday at 12 noon. “The creation of a destination Pictures@8 that shows high voltage entertainment daily at 8:00 pm was launched in order to develop a loyal viewer base for the daily prime time slot,” adds Tiwari.

    The main attraction for the month of May will see the premiere of Total Siyappa, a co-production of &Pictures. The romcom directed by E. Niwas, released in theatres on 7 March.

    On the marketing and digital strategy Tiwari says: “The activities are being constantly supported with on-air promotions and constant digital buildups and this will continue throughout the year.”

    Looks like the stage is set… not just for the biggest cricket tourney in the shortest format of the game but also for the movie channels vying for eyeballs during this period. Game On!

  • ‘Hand Pix’ is a dream slot for Hollywood buffs

    ‘Hand Pix’ is a dream slot for Hollywood buffs

    For a television channel, programming is the key to garnering TVTs but passing the litmus test becomes that much harder when you happen to be in a niche space cluttered with other movers and shakers.

    To cut to the chase, being an English movies’ channel is tough, what with ad revenues between Rs 450 and Rs 500 crore and at least 10 players in the reckoning.

    And yet, Multi Screen Media’s English movies’ channel Sony Pix continues to retain its number two spot while aspiring to become number one. So what goes into it?

    Sony Pix VP and programming head Amogh Dusad goes on to explain, “On an average, everybody in the category programmes 100-110 unique movie titles in a month, but the reality of the category is that only the top 400 titles contribute to nearly 70 per cent of the viewership.”

    Pix has survived such a scenario and even emerged the winner because of its clutter-breaking strategies. For instance, the channel never clubs movies under run-of-the-mill festivals like ‘Spectacular 9’, ‘Blockbusters @ 10’ or ‘Action @ 7’. Rather, “We started doing Pixathons, then Pix Doubles, and we have lived up to the challenge of delivering the best franchises and will continue doing so,” says Dusad.

    A new programming block, ‘Hand Pix’ is set to debut tomorrow, where cult movies like The Pursuit of Happyness (2006), Angels & Demons (2009), A Few Good Men (1992), Almost Famous (2000), Taxi Driver (1976), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) and Shutter Island (2010) that appeal to a very niche audience will be aired every Sunday before the 9:00 pm slot. “Hand Pix is a dream slot for a Hollywood movie buff who doesn’t just watch movies but wants to learn and experience them too,” says Dusad.

    The aim is to send out the message, loud and clear, that Sony Pix doesn’t just treat Hollywood movies as American imports but wants to push the envelope in increasing the consumption of English movie content. “We are picking movies that have really strong Hollywood credentials and iconic personalities associated with them in our ‘Hand Pix’ block,” says Dusad. “We want to give viewers the sense that you will get to see great films here. It has been programmed on Sunday evenings before the 9:00 pm slot as a lot of people want to watch exploratory movies during that time.”

    Apart from the slot’s newness, it will also be packaged differently by Sony Pix, where a small synopsis will precede the movie, telling audiences what it’s about and what went into making it.

    “So The Pursuit of Happyness will start off by saying that this is an inspiring story of Christopher Gardner… and we have not yet decided on whether there will just be a slate, or a voice-over as well but it will be a brief 15-20 second band before and during the movie telecast,” Dusad explains. “During the film, we will have loads of trivia around the making and other nitty-gritty to keep the viewers hooked on.”

    Speaking of having a strong competitive edge in referring to the name ‘Pix’ in all programming blocks, he says, “Our word lends itself to actually convert into a vocabulary, so we already have eight programming blocks that have come out of the name of the channel itself.”

    Of the eight, ‘Super Pix’ is the movie of the month, ‘Handy Pix’ showcases iconic movies from Hollywood, ‘Pixipedia’ is the trivia that runs during the movie, ‘Pixathon’ has a movie marathon from the same franchise, ‘Pix Doubles’ usually means the movie and its sequel, and so on. “It’s a cool way to bring association and it basically works on recall and builds association with the channel,” says Dusad.

    Recently, the channel took its ‘Pixathon’ franchise to the next level by airing an animation Pixathon.

    On the planning of the fixed point chart, he says, “The big learning that we have is the combination of TAM data as well as consumer interaction. On an average, a viewer spends only three to four minutes on a channel (in this space), and the movies that work well are those that viewers like to catch over multiple airings.”

    Like other English movie channels, Pix too plays dubbed content as a change from the usual fare. For example, the channel will be airing War of the Arrows, a hit at the Korean box office, to set viewers’ pulses racing. “We pick up content that resonates well with the consumer and they generally look for a break from Bollywood and like to see some change with great visual effects and action. Dubbed content is a good option but we have very few titles as we believe in quality content, and a few of these titles have big names from Hollywood associated with them, like there is True Legend, which has the team of Kill Bill and Matrix associated with it,” elaborates Dusad.

    English movies channels cater to the upwardly mobile young audience, which is the target audience for most aspirational brands in this day and age. This creates a lot of value for advertisers. “Primarily, the English movie space caters to premium audiences with a significant skew to male brands and that is the reality of the category. Within that, whoever finds it relevant for them is pretty much already on the channel. And now that we have risen in viewership, more and more brands are showing keen interest,” Dusad signs off.

     

  • Sony Pix’s digital dreams

    Sony Pix’s digital dreams

    If in doubt about the formidable reputation that social media enjoys today, look no further than these figures: There are over 9 crore people on Facebook and 3 crore people on Twitter in India alone.

    Not surprisingly, everyone who is someone is in a tearing hurry to build their equity on this platform. Multi Screen Media’s (MSM) English movie channel, Sony Pix, is no different except that it aims to break the clutter in social media, much as it has done in the television space.

    Sony Pix EVP and business head Saurabh Yagnik says: “We look at social media as an extension of Pix’s personality in that space.

    We believe that the content that we put there is consumed on the second screen, so it’s very important for us to be effective and engage well with social media.”

    Unlike many others who till recently only spoke of the number of fans or likes or followers on a page, Pix believes in more significant metrics like the number of people talking about or engaging in a conversation on the page.  

    “Our focus has clearly been that whenever Pix does something, there is a huge level of engagement that happens and when we look at big campaigns, there is the television, print and digital medium; all of that together constitutes a comprehensive marketing plan,” explains Yagnik.

    “In terms of the overall build up, after television, social media is the most significant. Because with social media, we get a clear 10-15 days window in which, we can establish and keep building the property before its premiere on television. Unlike print, which is more here and now, on social media, you can build up the engagement over a longer period of time in a cost-effective manner.”

    On facebook, Pix boasts 1.77 million likes coupled with nearly 12 to 15 per cent activity, which implies that at any point in time, there are nearly 200,000 plus people actively commenting, sharing, liking and interacting on facebook. On Twitter too, the channel has 37,100 followers with many of its campaigns having trended both in India and world-wide.

    Campaigns

    Pix has carried out campaigns around premieres including Men in Black 3, The Amazing Spiderman, Hobbit and Skyfall both on television and on social media. “We always witness lot of traction on social media when we have big premieres. We always have certain themes to the premieres,” says Yagnik.

    MIB 3 was about anti-alien day, where Pix said eliminating various kinds of aliens from society was the need of the hour. Hash tags were displayed on the TV screen during the premiere, encouraging people to tweet about the film.

    “We were trending through the day at number one and two in India. The anti-alien day campaign trended even worldwide at number four, so it was really encouraging,” beams Yagnik.

    With The Amazing Spiderman, Pix pitched the campaign around the amazing people in each person’s life, creating a web of amazing characters and stars.

    In case of Hobbit, the prequel to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the campaign was based on the thought, ‘where it all began’ and conversations were built around this. “We gave a lot of trivia around the sets, locations, costumes, kind of prosthetics that were used. And we went a step ahead with the campaign by getting Hollywood celebrities to say ‘where it all began’,” recalls Yagnik. Pix then posted stories of Sylvester Stallone facing such dire times that he had to sell his dog for Rocky and Jennifer Lopez travelling in buses and trains singing songs, thus giving the whole thing a human touch.

    Skyfall had an interactive game around the mission to save MI-6 and it went so far as to call every player and inform him/her of his mission as a build-up to the premiere. During the premiere, a code was required to be entered as the finale to the game and winners were ferried to the Warner Motion Pictures exhibition in London.

    In a separate initiative, Pix’s very own Hollywood insider, Notty Pixy, was received very well, along with her fashion tips and Hollywood inside gossip. Pix got Notty Pixy to take over twitter on one particular day of the week with her personality reflecting in the posts going out on facebook as well.

    Finally, the Premiere Pixathon was around the ‘power of four’. “We chose movies that had four big stars, or spoke about Hollywood’s four big stars and what makes them click with the audience, four big cricketers and their achievements, and with this, we used the message of the ‘power of four’ for our big Premiere Pixathon. We also used a hash tag, which was trending worldwide,” says Yagnik.

    “On television, the conversation is a monologue where only the channel is conversing with the audience, but on the digital platform, there is a second screen and people love to talk about what they are watching and what they would love to watch and what they are doing and so on.”

    Strategy

    Explaining the strategy behind leveraging social media as a platform, Yagnik says: “The moment we engage on social media, it’s no longer a monologue but a dialogue.  So one can talk and demonstrate his personality and at the same time, the audience responds and talks back, which is always healthy for the channel.

    It acts as a barometer on how posts are being received and what is being liked or disliked by our audience on the digital front.”

    While television is all about talking to the audience, social media gives a chance to listen to the audience. “We are in the process of using it as a listening tool and we have already implemented it at Sony Pix and we will do it across the organisation as well, using net-based SAP,” he explains. “For us, social media is a very important tool for demonstrating and engaging our personality to the viewer on an alternate screen, which beautifully complements television.”

    Four of Pix’s campaigns made it to the facebook hall of fame. Says Yagnik: “It really makes us feel good that even facebook is recognizing our campaigns. It also tell us that we’ve put in a lot of thought and rigor to ideate and create a very cogent

    communication around a property both on- and off- air. The idea is to build intrigue around the property we are trying to market.”

    About Tonic Media, Pix’s digital agency, he says: “We leverage collective minds to come up with outstanding ideas and Tonic Media is an extension to the Sony Pix family.”

    All of Pix’s campaigns go through its content, marketing and on-air promotion team as well as Tonic Media before being further debated, ideated and sharpened. “It’s always good to have the devil’s advocate, which keeps one on the guard because one often falls in love with his/her own idea and loses focus of what the viewer wants, so it’s a very dispassionate view that one gets,” explains Yagnik.

    The channel ensures that the communication is streamlined and reflects Pix’s personality. “We ensure that the on-air, off-air and digital campaigns are all carrying the same message and not misleading the viewers,” says Yagnik. “And finally we need to see the scaleability of the campaign, whether it can be applied across the three platforms. Thought leadership is the centre of what we have to do, and whenever we do something, we need to demonstrate that we are thought leaders and our communication is considered cutting-edge.”

    For such a well planned digital strategy, it could well end up being a case study for other channels.

  • PIX’s focus is on social media conversations to build the channel

    PIX’s focus is on social media conversations to build the channel

    Saurabh Yagnik

     

    A  viewer is neutral to genres and consumes content that addresses his need state.

     

    In the English movie space nearly three-fourth of the viewership is driven by males and nearly three-fifth of this is driven by the age group 16 – 29 years.

     

    Choices of content consumption for males and particularly young males are driven by elements like talkability, recency, topical themes, current affairs and what appears to be cool. Coupled with it is the inherent need for speed, thrill and adrenaline rush.

     

    By nature, the audience set we deal with is and likes to be spoilt for choice – his options are television, malls, multiplexes, hangouts, coffee shops et al. A viewer would feel “claustrophobic” in case they were told that there is only so much that you can get.

     

    While dealing with creating loyalty the trick is giving more rather than restricting choice.  The inherent desire is to experiment before settling for anything specific. Also, for the younger male, the concept of “badge value” and a “cool hangout” are important to make anything a destination of choice. It is accordingly, our constant endeavour to be a companion of relevance to the viewer.

     

    (Saurabh Yagnik is Executive Vice President & Business Head – PIX at Multi Screen Media)

  • I also planned on being a rockstar but destiny had other plans: Ajay Trigunayat

    I also planned on being a rockstar but destiny had other plans: Ajay Trigunayat

    It isn’t often that you get to see a channel head donning a journalist’s hat and interviewing his competitor but we at indiantelevision.com, were treated to this one-of-a-kind interaction between Sony Pix EVP and business head Saurabh Yagnik and Times Television Network CEO English entertainment channels Ajay Trigunayat. Excerpts…

    Yagnik: If not the CEO of one of India’s leading television networks, what would you have been doing?

    Trigunayat: As a kid, I was fascinated with sports and always dreamt of being a footballer or a basketball player. But my genes got the better of me as most basketball stars are well over six-and-a-half feet and I am just about five feet seven inches tall. Like most Indians, I too had the option of pursuing either engineering or medicine but started off as a copywriter with a take home of just Rs 500 before landing an opportunity to work for Pepsi in sales for a handsome Rs 5,500. So that’s when I slowly moved into marketing. After college, I was also keen on studying at the Oceanography Institute in Goa.

    Yagnik: But you preferred to make bigger waves in the television broadcast space.

    Trigunayat: (Chuckles) Yes, I also planned on becoming a rockstar but destiny had other plans.

    Yagnik: We all would have preferred if you had become a rockstar (Both laugh)… I have been told that you are a complete workaholic and apart from work, spend your remaining hours at home with family. But, if and when you do get some free time, where would we find you engaging in some R&R?

    Trigunayat: Yes, I certainly like to be very well organised and plan my weeks well in advance. But, I also do like to relax and take some time off with a couple of my close friends. I have two very close friends in Bandra; thus, out of the roughly four weekends in a month, I end up spending two with them. While I used to hang out at the bar in Marriot, it shut shop a few months ago. Still, I do like to try out new places and prefer scenic landscapes than being in a concrete jungle.

    Yagnik: So, I guess the river is your water hole (laughs). We all know that you have single-handedly developed Movies Now into one of the leading English movie channels, but tell us something about your early days.

    Trigunayat: I literally grew up on the Delhi University campus, as my father was a Professor of Physics at the institute. I did my schooling at St Xavier’s and since it was about 4.5 km from the university campus, I made it a point to cycle down, thus saving on transportation and getting that much extra money to splurge. The high point during school was when the seniors would ask us to rag the incoming senior batch, so it was fun to actually rag boys who were a few years older than us.

    I got an Economics Honours from Kirori Mal College and was really active in sports like football and basketball. I was also very active in one-act theatre and really thought would get into the performing arts but destiny had other plans.

    Yagnik: Where did you go to watch movies while growing up? Name a few of your yesteryear as well as current favourites.

    Trigunayat: In the early days, we didn’t have much of Hollywood films coming to India, but I still managed to catch one or two movies every month at the Chanakya Theatre in Delhi. I grew up on Amitabh Bachchan and Shashi Kapoor movies that were regularly telecast on Doordarshan over weekends.

    In recent times, I have enjoyed feel good flicks like 3 Idiots along with alternative cinema like Gangs of Wasseypur and Gulaal which really speak volumes about the kind of movies our filmmakers are capable of nowadays. I also enjoy old flicks like Deewar, Hum and Rang Birangi and some of Govinda’s masala movies like Deewana Mastana and Coolie No.1.

    Yagnik: Speaking of movies, how can we miss out on the women from Bollywood? So, who among the current lot do you find attractive?

    Trigunayat: (Chuckles) There was a joke going around in college when Qurbani released that in the song Kya Dekhte Ho… Surat Tumhari Feroz Khan lies to Zeenat Aman as she is attired in a swim-suit.

    But from the current crop of actresses, I believe Katrina Kaif is the most gorgeous and she looked stunning in the song sequence Kamli from Dhoom 3. I would like to mention here that a couple of younger actresses like Parineeti Chopra and Alia Bhatt have been doing some brilliant work on the silver screen and I am just looking forward to seeing Highway.

    Yagnik: What about Hollywood… Your favourite movies, directors, actors…

    Trigunayat: I simply love the work of Steven Spielberg and James Cameron; they are magicians on celluloid and can capture the essence of their scripts very well on the big screen. I also love some of the work done by Alfred Hitchcock, Michael Bay and Christopher Nolan. I like action movies and thrillers and movies with drama and this is reflected in my choice of favourite directors.

    Among the actors, though Al Pacino and Robert De Niro are considered all-time greats, I strongly believe Christian Bale has raised the bar a few notches with the kind of roles he has done in the recent past. I mean his transformation from a person suffering from insomnia in The Machinist (2004) to the larger-than-life character of Batman to a retired boxer training his brother to become a professional in The Fighter (2010) to putting on weight for his Oscar-nominated role in American Hustle (2013). I also like Matthew McConaughey and he’s really improved a lot with movies like The Wolf of Wall Street and Dallas Buyers Club.

    Yagnik: Let’s talk a little shop now; please share your thoughts on the breakaway success of Movies Now, which has become a case study of sorts for the industry.

    Trigunayat: I will be honest; though we never imagined the channel to be so successful, we did a lot of planning to be accepted. We launched in 2010 and were confident that we would be the only channel in the space to leverage the high definition content that we had in our library. We couldn’t manage to raise funds when we were planning to launch the channel around 2008 because of the market crash in September and October and then again, due to the escalating oil prices in the Middle East.

    We were looking for a Joint Venture and had the option of either doing it with the Times Group or 9X Media. We went ahead with the Times Group, taking into consideration its rock-solid reputation and large network. I had personal money going into the venture as well. On the content side, we struck deals with NBCUniversal, 20th Century Fox Film Corp, DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures. The deal signed with NBC Universal allowed us to have the rights for all Spielberg movies post 1997 and then with the deal with DreamWorks, we got Spielberg movies prior to 1997 as well. We further consolidated our library by inking deals with MGM and signing content from foreign studios to get martial arts movies on Movies Now.

    Yagnik: You’ve now become quite the lady’s man with the launch of Romedy Now. How’s the channel coming along?

    Trigunayat: Well, brevity is the soul of wit, and with Romedy Now, we wanted to say that a woman likes two things in her partner – he should be humorous and romantic. The response to the channel has really been phenomenal, but the matrix could have changed had we also got better placement and push in distribution as currently, we are available in only 65 per cent of the market and are yet to bring on board some of our best content.

    We have grown in our reach as well; from a 0.25 per cent reach in week 1, we have moved up to 3.6 per cent in the market, beating competition like Star World, AXN, Zee Café and Comedy Central.    

    Yagnik: Finally, which is your favourite holiday destination?

    Trigunayat: There is no favourite destination as such, but I love to travel to new places and recently, I’ve been thinking of offbeat destinations like Iceland. More than anything else, let me tell you that I will be heading to Brazil in July as I have managed to get tickets for one quarter-final, one semi-final and the final of the FIFA World Cup 2014.

    Yagnik: And before we end this conversation, please could you tell the readers what you told me in private that Sony Pix is your favourite English movie channel destination (both laugh)…

  • Chrome Data: No toppers in week six

    Chrome Data: No toppers in week six

    MUMBAI: The opportunity to see (OTS) collated by Chrome Data Analytics & Media is out for week six, but doesn’t look too good.

     

    The past week didn’t see any genre in the top category which could mean that the reach of the genre hasn’t really increased.

     

    Even the bottom four that had the English movie as well as English entertainment channels saw a drop of 4.9 per cent in the eight metros.

     

    Pix gained the highest OTS in the movie genre with 73.6 per cent, while AXN continued to rule the roost in the entertainment genre with 67.4 per cent OTS.

     

    The sports genre across India saw a dip of 3.5 per cent. Ten Sports gained the highest OTS with 73.6 per cent.

     

    Business news genre was at the bottom in the eight metros with 2.8 per cent fall. CNBC Awaaz scored the most OTS with 76.2 per cent.

  • Sony Pix to premiere 4 movies on 16 February

    Sony Pix to premiere 4 movies on 16 February

    MUMBAI: The English movie channel from the Multi Screen Media (MSM) stable – Sony Pix – is continuing on its clutter breaking innovations as its gearing up for one of its biggest day yet.

     

    Living up to its brand promise; Stay Amazed, Pix will present its viewers, a unique opportunity to experience the amazement of four big movie premieres back to back for the first time ever on Indian Television. The date is 16 February, when viewers will get to see the premiere of Expendables 2 at 12:00 pm, M. Night Shyamalan’s sci-fi thriller After Earth at 2:00 pm, deep sea thriller Dark Tide starring Halle Berry at 4:30 pm and the critically acclaimed The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo at 7:00 pm.

     

    Sony Pix EVP and business head Saurabh Yagnik added: “We constantly strive to interact and engage with our viewers, by not just offering exceptional titles but also presenting them a completely memorable viewing experience. ‘Premiere Pixathon’ is one such initiative that will break the clutter and help differentiate us in the genre. It’s for the first time ever that any Hollywood movie channel in the genre has come up with such initiative.”  

    Sony Pix has always been amongst the front runners when it comes to promoting and marketing their premieres in an innovative way. With ‘Premiere Pixathon’, the channel will again heighten the amazement of its viewers and engage them like never before.