ITV

Tag: Venkat Giridhar

  • Zee Kannada explores animation genre

    Zee Kannada explores animation genre

    MUMBAI: Zee Kannada, the Kannada entertainment channel from Zee Network, is looking at the animation genre to beef up weekends.

    To start with, the channel will telecast an animation film Siddhi Vinayaka on 27 August.

    “We chose to telecast this particular movie because of the auspicious occasion, Ganesh Chaturthi. We have the intention to explore this genre aggressively,” says Zee Kannada business head Venkat Giridhar.

    Siddhi Vinayaka, with a duration of one hour, is slotted for 10 am. The film is a co-production between Zee Kannada and the Bangalore-based animation firm Media Tech. According to Giridhar, the channel will promote the film through a print campaign.

  • Zee expands South presence with Zee Kannada launch

    Zee expands South presence with Zee Kannada launch

    BANGALORE: Zee Group launched its much anticipated Kannada channel Zee Kannada on 11 May. The 24-hour channel hit the airwaves at 5 am.

    In an official release, Zee South said the new channel was slated to capture the needs, moods, sentiments and aspirations of Kannadigas. Zee Kannada is the second south Indian language channel that Zee is launching after Zee Telugu, which was launched in May 2005.

    Says ZTL director Punit Goenka, “It’s a real delight to be in Bangalore, Zee Kannada is a tribute to the spirit of “Kannadigas”. As Karnataka happens to be the gateway of South India, it will be our constant endeavor to make it the most admired channel in South. We promise to deliver you best service and quality programs throughout our transmission and aspire to be the number one Kannada channel within an year.”

    Zee was seen promoting the launch through outdoor advertising and direct contact programs with viewers across Karnataka. Kannadigara Kanmani will be the tagline for Zee Kannada.

    Speaking on the initiative, Zee South channels head Ajay Kumar offers, “The Southern region has always been our priority. Launch of Zee Kannada is in continuance with our Zee South initiative. This is the first time in the television history that a channel, whose programs are fine tuned as per the viewer’s feedback, is launched.”

    Zee Kannada business head Venkat Giridhar adds, “Zee Kannada is a dream come true for us .We are highly grateful to the viewers across Karnataka whose feedback has been of immense help in deciding on the content and quality of our programmes. We are sure that our people of Karnataka will be proud to see the channel of their choice.”

  • Zee Kannada to launch on 11 May

    Zee Kannada to launch on 11 May

    MUMBAI: Zee Telefilms’ proposed Kannada general entertainment channel Zee Kannada is now ready for launch. According to market sources, the channel will hit the airwaves on 11 May.

    Zee Kannada will target the general Kannada-speaking universe and the programming space will cover soaps, movies, gameshows, talk shows and current affairs programmes.

    The channel will be headed by Venkat Giridhar in the capacity of business head. He will report to Zee Telefilms South initiatives head Ajaykumar.

    According to sources, soaps and films will constitute 25 per cent of the channel programming. Gameshows and talk shows will make another 25 per cent. There will be a stress on current affairs programmes and film-based shows.

    Zee Kannada has acquired a combo package of new and old films to create its movie library. Having strong film content would matter a lot for the channel’s strategy in the movie-crazy market. “Since the TG is the same, Zee Kannada will have a head-on collision with Sun Network’s Udaya TV and its sister channels. In this context, having strong film content will be crucial,” says a market source.

    “We have conceptualised our fiction programmes with fresh themes and innovative concepts. The effort will be to give a new direction to this segment and thus get a foothold in the market,” says a Zee source.

    Zee Kannada’s positioning is in direct contrast to that of its South sibling Zee Telugu. The one-year old Telugu channel targets the young upwardly mobile viewer segment.

    “You can experiment a lot in Zee Telugu as the market is huge. You have various options to choose your TG in Telugu. Kannada is however a comparatively smaller market and we have to stick to the basic strategy,” adds the source.

    The Rs 1.4 billion Kannada television ad market is dominated by Sun Network’s Udaya TV. Another key player in the market is ETV Kannada.