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Tag: The Q

  • 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.”

  • The Q announces its line-up of new-age comedy series

    The Q announces its line-up of new-age comedy series

    Mumbai: Following the success of ‘BakLol’ and recognising the audiences’ burgeoning need for light-hearted content, a Hindi general entertainment platform, The Q has further strengthened its content slate.

    In addition to the recently launched ‘Dum Laga ke Hasna’, the platform on Wednesday announced its content line-up which includes three exclusive to television comedy series: ‘Yo Yo Yogesh’ (5 August), ‘Chu Chu Ke Funs’ (14 August) and ‘Ridhu Pidhu’ (4 September). With these new releases, the platform aims to take the laughter quotient a notch higher with funny and relatable content.

    “At The Q, our belief that youth entertainment can also be family-inclusive and fun for all is further strengthened with the increasing viewership we are witnessing,” said the programming head, Tanya Shukla. “The success we have seen with BakLol and Dum Laga ke Hasna was unexpected. Acting on this and understanding our viewers’ need for lighter relatable content we are adding three fresh series. These light-hearted stories with their young protagonists will surely win our viewers’ hearts in India. Our commitment to infuse the Indian homes with exciting content that is fresh and a little different will continue.”

    With a growing library of over 850 programs, The Q has reached an audience of over 712 million via 100 million television homes with partners including DD Free Dish, TATA Sky, DISH TV, Siti Networks, and 380 million OTT users via platforms including ShemarooMe, MX Player, ZEE5, and Dish Watcho as well as 232 million users on mobile and digital platforms including Snap, JioTV, Airtel Xstream, Amazon Fire TV, Chingari and Samsung TV Plus, the entertainment platform said in a statement.

  • The Q announces its first TV original ‘Crime Aur Kanoon’

    The Q announces its first TV original ‘Crime Aur Kanoon’

    Mumbai: We often hear of a common phrase, ‘Police walo ki na dosti achi hai na dushmani’ (It’s neither good to be friends or an enemy with a policeman). However, when the two come together, their relationship gets even more exciting. It is this theme that Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC), The Q is set to explore in its first TV original – Crime Aur Kanoon, that was announced on Tuesday, further to the channel’s launch on DD FreeDish.

    Crime Aur Kanoon is The Q’s first original crime fiction show that will premiere on television on 21 August.

    The show will include several modern age crime stories. With renowned actor Kinshuk Vaidya as the host, it will take viewers through strange and intriguing cases with every episode. Each episode will create awareness about the heinous crimes being committed in society ranging from common day-to-day identifiable situations to more complex situations such as cybercrimes, online frauds, and much more.

    Commenting on the launch of the channel’s first original, The Q, chief executive officer, Simran Hoon said, “At The Q, we endeavor to keep our audience engaged with content across varied genres. With an entry into the crime fiction genre with our first TV original after The Q’s presence on DD FreeDish and other DTH and cable TV services, we aim to further strengthen our programming slate and consolidate our position. We look forward to creating thrill and excitement for our audiences with the launch of Crime Aur Kanoon.”

    The Q, programming head, Tanya Shukla said, “With our new show Crime Aur Kanoon, we aim to educate young India about the myriad of crimes being committed nowadays. More importantly, staying true to our brand promise to provide young Indian creators and talent a larger platform, Crime Aur Kanoon will open up an exciting new avenue for us at The Q to drive engagement with our viewers and the audience, thereby allowing them to be a part of the show. We are extremely excited about our upcoming show and look forward to introducing more original content that appeals to our viewers.”

    With the entire family staying home amidst the unprecedented situation, The Q’s upcoming content backed with a unique storyline and curious moments, promises to give the audience a thrilling experience with Crime Aur Kanoon.

    The Q India is an advertiser and influencer marketing-supported Hindi language content brand, channel, and VOD provider delivering digital programming from social media stars and digital video creators targeting young Indian audiences. According to the channel, it has reached an audience of over 712 million via 100 million television homes with partners including DD Free Dish, TATA Sky, DISH TV, and Siti Networks; 380 million OTT users via platforms including ShemarooMe, MX Player, ZEE5, and Dish Watcho; and 232 million users on mobile and digital platforms including Snap, JioTV, Airtel Xstream, Amazon Fire TV, Chingari and Samsung TV Plus.

  • BARC week 21: The Q is heading to the big league of channels

    Mumbai: QYOU Media Inc has announced that The Q India, the company’s Hindi language youth-oriented channel has reported a new record gross rating point (GRP) level in week 21 of 2021, as measured by the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC). 

    GRP is a measurement that combines viewer impressions with the time spent viewing (TSV) a particular channel. In week 21, The Q recorded 94.65 million viewer impressions with an average TSV of 104.56 minutes, which on a combined basis has driven The Q to its highest GRP level in company history. 

    The GRP of The Q in the week 21 report of BARC is 53, and clearly indicates that the channel is making steady progress and heading into the big league dominated by mass-market channels that are operated by Sony, Zee TV, and Viacom (Colors). The Q also recorded an eight-week average GRP of 46.23. 

    It should be noted that GRP is one of the most vital metrics used to project potential future revenue growth. As The Q is gearing up with a line up of new programmes, the channel is expected to join the big league in the coming months. 

    “This has been an incredible ratings run and every week we are thrilled with the solid fan base that we are clearly establishing.  Perhaps the most amazing part of this is that we have yet to launch many of our new programs and series and in addition, there has been little to no marketing of the channel to date. This is happening organically and via the virtuous loop, we all believed in where our creators and their social presence are building our brand directly with our viewers. We are not resting on these results and expect to continue to build distribution, programming, and marketing efforts to push The Q to (still) higher and higher levels,” said QYOU chief executive officer and media co-founder Curt Marvis. 

    In a recent statement, the company said that The Q is available in over 100 million TV households and reaching over 612 million OTT and mobile users in India. 

  • BARC week 21: Star Utsav tops the list of Hindi GEC platforms

    BARC week 21: Star Utsav tops the list of Hindi GEC platforms

    Mumbai: Star Utsav has topped the list of most-watched Hindi GEC channels across all platforms, released by the Broadcast Audience Research Council of India (BARC) for week 21 (22 May to 28 May 2021). The channel also bagged the top spot in the list of free platforms, while it was placed sixth in the list of paid platforms. 

    In the list of paid platforms, Star Plus continued its dominance with 2792.69 Average Minute Audience (AMA), followed by Sony SAB in the second spot with 2520.82 AMA. Colors and Sony Entertainment Television bagged the third and fourth spot in the pay platform with 1449.93 and 1294.56 AMA respectively. The remaining channels in the top 10 list of Hindi GEC pay platforms are Zee TV (1278.53), Star Utsav (928.53), Star Bharat (721.95), Sony Pal (629.86), Dangal (467.47), and Colors Rishtey (429.25). Star Utsav topped the category of free platforms with 2037.08 AMA, followed by Colors Rishtey (1077.12) and Zee Anmol (1043.52) in the second and third spots respectively. Sony Pal bagged the fourth spot in the free category with 945.33 AMA.

    Other television channels that found their place in this BARC list of free Hindi GEC are Dangal (778.15), The Q (772.12), Big Magic (326.58), Shemaroo TV (137.4), DD National (21.77), and DD Retro (21.29). The most-watched Hindi GEC in the rural market is Star Utsav with 2104.48 AMA. Other Hindi GECs included in the top 10 list of the rural market are Colors Rishtey, Zee Anmol, Sony Pal, Star Plus, Dangal, Sony SAB, The Q, Zee TV, and Colors. 

    In the urban market, Star Plus topped the list with 1869.27 AMA, followed by Sony SAB (1721.53), Colors (983.04), and Sony Entertainment Television (918.03) in the second, third and fourth spots respectively. Other channels in this list of top Hindi GECs in the urban regions are Star Utsav, Zee TV, Sony Pal, Star Bharat, Dangal, and Colors Rishtey. 

    Star Utsav topped the all-category list which is a compilation of both pay and free platforms with 2965.61 AMA, followed by Star Plus, Sony SAB, and Sony Pal in the second, third and fourth spots respectively. Other channels in the all-category list are Colors Rishtey, Colors, Sony Entertainment Television, Zee Anmol, Zee TV, and Dangal. 

  • QYOU Media to acquire influencer marketing firm Chtrbox

    QYOU Media to acquire influencer marketing firm Chtrbox

    Mumbai: QYOU Media Inc on Tuesday announced that it has entered into a definitive share purchase agreement to acquire leading Influencer marketing company Chtrbox in India.

    The acquisition is part of the company’s continued focus on India, and in the creator economy and content domain. QYOU Media will initially purchase a majority stake in Chtrbox, with a three year earn out. Founder and CEO Pranay Swarup and COO Julie Kriegshaber will continue in their leadership roles with Chtrbox.

    Founded in 2016 Chtrbox is a data-driven influencer marketing, with a diverse pool of over three lakh influencers, from celebrities, social media stars, Gen-Z creators to micro and nano influencers. According to the company, it will continue to run as an independently positioned brand, while benefiting from QYOU Media’s complementary businesses including the TV channel – The Q.

    Highlighting the common goals shared by the companies QYOU Media Inc., CEO and co-founder, Curt Marvis, said collective synergies between the two businesses could not be better aligned. “Our channel in India, The Q, with its massive recent ratings growth shows the power of the right creator led content. When we combine this with Chtrbox’s digital acumen and unparalleled knowledge of the world of influencer marketing, it is truly a match made in heaven,” he said.

    QYOU Media has been built with ‘influencers’ at its core. Its India TV Channel, The Q is also primarily creator-led and records nearly 100 million viewer impressions weekly. The acquisition is aimed at substantial expansion of QYOU’s influencer marketing business in India and also deliver immediate and accretive capabilities to QYOU’s India broadcast operations, said the company.

    Chtrbox, CEO and founder, Pranay Swarup said, “With QYOU, we gain access to massive distribution reaching millions of households, while we continue to power awesome creator-led content across digital platforms and apps. Our biggest stakeholders are influencers and brands and they now have the opportunity to positively influence millions more.”

    The Q India, chief operating officer, Krishna Menon said, “Chtrbox will also help strengthen our presence in the rapidly rising digital streaming space. Together, we are perfectly positioned to consolidate and advance influencer marketing, content development, distribution and engagement to the next level in India. We welcome Chtrbox to The Q family.”

  • Ashish Kotekar Heads The Q’s Ad Sales Regions

    Ashish Kotekar Heads The Q’s Ad Sales Regions

    Thiruvananthapuram: Hindi General Entertainment Channel (GEC) The Q has appointed Ashish Kotekar as Head of Ad Sales for the West and South regions. Under the new position, Ashish will be responsible for driving up sales in the two regions, and report directly to CEO Simran Hoon. 

    Ashish has two decades of sales experience in the media and entertainment industry. Before joining The Q, he was associated with the Zee Network as the zonal head for the west and south regions across Zee Live, Zee Cafe, and Living Foodz. He has also worked with Ten Sports, Star India, Turner, Reliance Broadcast Network, and Sony Entertainment Television in various positions. 

    “I am excited to embark on this journey with The Q. The Q has already had an exciting growth story in India with its differentiated content approach within a short span. I look forward to working with the team as well as to building new partnerships to help scale the company to newer heights,” said Ashish Kotekar. 

    The Q CEO Simran Hoon said, “We welcome Ashish to The Q India family. Ashish brings in extensive knowledge and experience across both mature and emerging clients. He will lead The Q’s growth in the Western and Southern markets. We are certain that with Ashish’s understanding and experience, we will be able to further deepen The Q’s presence and help the channel grow in these markets.” 

    A few days back, The Q had promoted Krishna Menon as its new COO. Menon has been working with The Q since 2018, and the company decided to promote him as the COO for his efforts in growing its business from a small independent channel into one of India’s fastest-growing media brands. 

  • From digital to DD Free Dish: All about The Q’s unique proposition

    From digital to DD Free Dish: All about The Q’s unique proposition

    MUMBAI: It won’t be a stretch to describe The Q India channel as a jack of all trades. A Hindi GEC at its core, it also offers digital programming from social media stars and leading digital video creators. On the back of this, it has become one of India's fastest growing youth entertainment brands reaching 4.4 Gross Rating Points (GRP) according to  Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) data for February 2021.

    Now, the Q has landed a spot on DD Free Dish and will be available as an FTA channel from 15 April. The channel is targeting one of Asia’s largest markets and its burgeoning young audience with an exciting new proposition – serving digital first content to TV audiences.

    The Q has been around since 2017, when it launched on DTH major Tata Sky. It was only at the close of 2019 that founder & MD Sunder Aaron decided to place the channel on a satellite transmitter and get the BARC numbers running. But as with everything else, their plans for 2020 hit a roadblock with the outbreak of Covid. As people were sitting at home, the advertising market dried up, he shared. Advertisers were somewhat hesitant to bet on the new channel.

    For him, 2020 was all about generating revenues, managing operations, growing the distribution of the channel, and expanding the team. Comprising 25 members, The Q team is currently headquartered in Mumbai and Delhi. 

    It was COO Krishna Menon’s strategy to get the channel on DD Free Dish to tap rural markets and not just metro cities. The brainwave hit after closely tracking BARC numbers and audience preferences; Menon realised that a large chunk of viewers is consuming content from rural India, as television is their only source of entertainment.

    While the channel currently caters to Hindi-speaking audiences, Aaron wants to tap into the regional market and launch offerings like Q Tamil, Q Telugu, Q Bangla and.

    Going it solo

    The challenges of being an independent channel vs a channel under the umbrella of a major network are completely different, remarked Aaron.

    “We don’t have resources to draw on, we have not done any marketing of the channel until now. But slowly with DD Free Dish we are hoping to build the brand in a big way,” he shared.

    Despite these challenges, the channel has also tasted success – in terms of viewership, it has grown 400 times in the past three months, claimed Aaron, adding, “We are nearly on the same level as Zoom or Bindaas but at the end of the day we consider ourselves as a Hindi GEC. We want to be seen as the next Star Utsav.  We want to become a channel that specifically caters to young India.”

    A new kind of broadcast network

    To this end, the Q is leveraging the power of social media influencers and digital media houses like Pocket Aces and Culture Machine to push their content to new audiences on television. The channel recently launched an original show Kya Bolte Insta but Aaron is clear about not creating a daily soap opera for The Q. Most likely, the programming line-up is going to be a mix of animation, music, devotional, comedy, lifestyle, digital content and more. He doesn’t want to compete with big broadcasters and hence he is creating a niche medium for young audiences.

    To Aaron, the demarcation between TV and digital content makes no sense because the audiences are watching both digital platforms and linear TV. The Q wants to cater to young India on every medium.

    “We are discovering the programming line-up as we go along, primarily as our viewership is going to change dramatically. With DD Free Dish we will also get non-metro audiences, we have to wait and see what they have to respond to,” he explained. “We are going to evolve our programming based on what viewers want.”

    In most households, both platforms co-exist, which makes it easier for young audiences to choose their content, he opined.

    Brands hop on the bandwagon

    The market has been quite receptive of The Q’s unique positioning, highlighted Menon. The channel has adopted a three-fold strategy – be as widely available as possible, build the brand, and get ad sales.

    The network wants its clients to get used to buying integrated ad sales. The aim is not just to sell reach on the channel. Apart from spot buy deals, the team is looking at sponsorships, brand integrated content and brands collaborating with influencers. Already, major FMCG brands have queued up to The Q party.

    Menon elaborated on this difference in offering to advertisers. “If we look at major linear broadcasters, they go and sell only air time. However, in our case it is just not airtime, we also pitch about digital sales as our channel is also live on OTT, we have multiple reach. We even talk about doing influencer marketing independently, we leverage the influencer to tweet about the brand and ensure the brand gets a million likes as engagement. The planning also depends upon the KPI that needs to be delivered.”