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Tag: Zee Café

  • Zee Cafe brings 3 of America’s biggest reality shows

    Zee Cafe brings 3 of America’s biggest reality shows

    MUMBAI: The viewers of Zee Café will become a witness to three of America’s highest rated reality series. The channel has signed an exclusive deal with Freemantle Media to bring the latest and multiple seasons of American Idol, America’s Got Talent and The X Factor to India.

     

    Come 19 March, Zee Café will air the 13th season of American Idol that starts in the US from 15 January with a revamped judging panel. While Keith Urban will return for the second time on the judging panel; Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj and Randy Jackson have been replaced by Harry Connick Jr. and Jennifer Lopez. Ryan Seacrest will return as the host. The last edition of the show was often in the midst of controversies because of the constant cold war between Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj.

     

    Interestingly, the finale of the show will be aired live on the channel along with US (Zee Café plans to catch up with US by airing the show on weekdays regularly) and soon after that the channel will air the 8th season of America’s Got Talent. Joining actor Howie Mendel and radio personality Howard Stern at the judges panel this year would be supermodel and host of Project Runway, Heidi Klum, along with former Spice Girls member Melanie Brown (aka Mel B), replacing Sharon Osbourne.

     

    And that’s not all! Following America’s Got Talent would be airing of The X Factor towards the end of the year. The X Factor judges panel will include Simon Cowell, singer and actress Paulina Rubio, former Destiny’s Child member Kelly Rowland and songstress Demi Lovato.

     

    Zee Café EVP and business head Anurag Bedi, said, “We believe in bringing the best and the latest content to our viewers. These shows are synonymous with entertainment and unarguably amongst the biggest reality shows on television. Having seen the affinity the audience here has for reality shows, we are confident that these shows will be amongst the biggest shows of 2014 and will strengthen Zee Cafe’s leadership position in the English entertainment genre”.

     

    Bedi thinks that these shows already have a huge fan following in India, considering the local adaptations on Hindi GECs have worked really well. However, it’s the channel’s marketing initiatives that would work in its favour, says Bedi, who is undeterred by the fact that the previous seasons of these shows were aired on different networks. While American Idol previously aired on two different channels in India – Star World (2004-2011) and Big CBS channels (2012-2013), X Factor aired on the Big CBS channels and America’s Got Talent was aired on VH1. Bedi said, “How a show does on one platform may be very different from how it will perform on another. The content itself is of par excellence and the buzz that we create will definitely bring in viewership. We will bring in appointment viewing with these shows.”

     

    Fremantle Media EVP of sales & distribution Asia Ganesh Rajaram, said: “These shows have become a global phenomenon, engaging audiences all over the world because of its ability to attract amazingly talented hopefuls with brilliant stories to tell. We’re delighted that Indian audiences will get to enjoy these shows on Zee Café.”

     

    Given the magnanimous reach of these shows already all around the world, the marketing strategies have been decisively planned. “Considering that these shows will be amongst our tent pole properties for this year, we will take an aggressive 360 degree marketing approach to promote them,” says Bedi, also adding that the shows will be aired in the prime-time slot and will target the young urban youth. “9 pm has a very high PUT among the TG 15-24 who is the viewer of this content. We are confident it will do well at this time band,” he remarks.

     

    While Bedi didn’t divulge any details about the sponsors on board for the shows, considering the popularity of the shows some interesting deals are to be finalised.

     

    The fans of these English reality shows have seriously something interesting to look forward to!

  • Zee Caf has a vibrant show line-up this December

    Zee Caf has a vibrant show line-up this December

    MUMBAI: With the holidays around the corner the English entertainment channel from the Zee stable – Zee Café – is all set to showcase an exciting new line up of shows for its viewers.

     

    The shows stacked up to unleash this December are: The Big Bang Theory (Season 7) that will be telecast on Sundays at 1:30 pm and 9:30 pm; The Vampire Diaries (Season 5) will follow suit on Sundays at 2:00 pm and 10:00 pm. Zee Café will also have the British crime series Poirot – based on Agatha Christie’s fictional eponymous detective Hercule Poirot -screening from Monday to Friday at 11:00 pm; the programme line-up also has Malibu Country – a sitcom starring the popular American country musician Reba McEntire – running from Monday to Friday at 8:30 pm.

     

    The channel is also digging back into some of the popular series aired earlier on the channel; it will air the newest seasons of the much loved Switched At Birth starting 11 December, Monday to Friday at 10:00 pm and Happy Endings beginning 23 December Monday to Friday at 8:30 pm.

     

    Keeping up with the spirit of the festive season, the channel has lined up some exciting content for Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Giving the viewer wholesome family entertainment on Christmas, it will air a marathon of the much loved sitcom The Middle on 25 December.

     

    Café’s New Year’s special will have both men and women glued to their TV sets as the Victoria’s Secret models sashay down the ramp for the Victoria’s Secret Fashion show 2013! The runway show will also include musical performances by Taylor Swift & Fall Out Boy, pink carpet interviews, model profiles and a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the show.

     

    So be ready to catch the world’s most gorgeous models walk one of the most coveted fashion shows, aired exclusively on 31 December. With so much entertainment packed into the month, Café has certainly ensured that December will be a viewer’s delight!

  • Not just couch potatoes

    Not just couch potatoes

    While watching television is the main source of entertainment for millions of Indians, the sheer number of channels and programs from which one has to choose makes for a rather mind-boggling exercise. But don’t fret for there’s help in the form of a new platform where people with similar viewing preferences can exchange views and stay updated with the latest developments.

    Founded by BIT-Meerut B.Tech graduates Rabi Gupta and Ashish Kumar in May this year, iCouchApp helps television viewers engage with the programs they are watching, get TV program alerts, and have loads of fun while they are at it.

    Audiences are attracted more towards a product that has official link-ups explain Ashish and Rabi

    Television enthusiasts Rabi and Ashish wanted more from TV shows than just nicely packaged programs, which is why they entered the domain with iDubba, a platform designed to bridge the gap between television and audiences. “We launched iDubba last year and it basically worked as a TV guide. Like viewers could set alerts for their favourite shows, movies, etc,” says Rabi, who not only was not satisfied with the existing shows but also curious to know more about them.

    Within sometime of launching iDubba, the duo noticed a change in the behaviour of their users, who started interacting on the platform about their likes and dislikes with respect to certain shows. “We came to the conclusion that while TV audience requires information, they also want an interactive platform. And that was the germ from where we started working on the iCouch app,” says Rabi about the genesis of the application, which has now found popularity among more than 25,000 android phone users.

    With very few contacts in the television industry, the duo first ran the idea through Zee Café and found it was taken in good spirit. “The channel was in the process of launching the new season of their popular show, Grey’s Anatomy and tied up with us for the same,” reveals Rabi.

    Zee Café found it an exhilarating idea as it would help them expand their viewer base. Business head Zee – niche channels Anurag Bedi says: “The rate at which various communication vehicles are seeing a decline, this initiative was taken to give the viewers a personalised bite into their TV viewing experience. This differentiated app has been developed in a creative and nimble way to get viewers talking about the show real time. With majority of the urban population now making a shift to smartphones, creating such an app was an obvious choice for engagement for this kind of a show,” adding that the app was meant to unite all fans of Grey’s Anatomy on a common platform and keep them glued to the show.”

        
    Before taking their plan ahead, Rabi and Ashish interacted with different TV channels to understand their problems in engaging with audiences. “It basically required building a kind of trust with the TV audience. Audiences are attracted more towards a product that has official link-ups. So we made sure to promote the app on the TV screen as a ticker while the show was on air,” says Rabi, adding that since the app is still new, their associations with channels are free of monetary give and take.

    After Zee Café, History Channel followed suit, partnering with iDubba for their series Ancient Aliens.

    Says A+E Networks TV18 VP and head marketing Sangeetha Aiyer: “We’re always on the lookout for ideas and activities which can help increase the overall engagement and help make the process of receiving viewer feedback more efficient. In this case, we were looking to integrate the social interactions with television directly, and iCouch solved this problem efficiently. Apart from being a novel experience for our viewers, it helped us receive direct feedback from the viewers – something that regular social interaction was not equipped to deliver efficiently.”

    Social analytics data derived from audience interactions helped the channel to analyse the mood and reception more accurately. “While the App helped us engage with viewers, the ticker playing live during the telecast helped the App accrue more downloads, making it a truly symbiotic relationship for both parties,” says Aiyer, highlighting that the business arrangement between both parties is pretty basic and their prime objective at the moment is to increase engagement.
    Rabi and Ashish were able to generate funds from many people in the industry like Ashok Kurien and Rajan Anandan.

    Currently, the app is really popular with audiences and is promoting few non-partner shows like Kaun Banega Crorepati and Bigg Boss Season 7 that are helping the duo increase their user base. “These are non-partner shows but they have become really popular and have picked up a lot of traction because of the interesting concept,” says Rabi, who has huge plans for the app in future. “It is not just exciting for viewers but broadcasters too. In the time to come, we are going to build a lot of things inside the app which would amplify engagement,” he concludes.

  • Zee Cafe not running scared of competition

    Zee Cafe not running scared of competition

    MUMBAI: Zee Cafe is unfazed by the entry of newer players in the English entertainment space. The reason being that one of the pioneers in what was once a niche category follows the simple mantra of gauging viewer appetite coupled with the right marketing to stay ahead in the game.

    Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (Zeel) senior vice president and business head – niche channels Anurag Bedi puts it as, “The year has been fantastic for Zee Café as we are the undisputed leaders of FY 2013. Zee Café has been the number one channel in the genre for an average of 28 weeks, beating competition with a share of 21 per cent. Our key strengths have always been a strong line-up of world class content and dynamic marketing campaigns.”

    Zee Café stakes claim of bringing popular international shows to Indian shores at the earliest. In keeping with this tradition, it plans to air Big Bang Theory season 7 and The Vampire Diaries season 5 starting November, very close to their US premiere, as well as House of Cards from early next year. The channel is aware that viewers today want to see fresh new shows as also the latest seasons of their favourite shows without much of a time lag.

    Agrees Maxus India national director – insights Priti Murthy: “Viewers don’t want to wait and usually prefer to watch the latest content online. Therefore, the whole genre has to work towards getting this audience to its kitty.”

    Earlier too, AXN’s business head Sunil Punjabi had told indiatelevision.com that people want to watch shows which are airing currently closer to their airing in the US and in the last one year, the channel has been doing this consistently – adding shows closer to their telecast in the US.

    Spelling out who constitutes the target group (TG) of the new channel, Star India business head Kevin Vaz had said it is the most premium audience in India, comprising the one per cent of top Sec, A+ and between the age group of 20 to 35, indiantelevison.com had reported when Star World HD was launched.

    To counter competition, Bedi believes in identifying what appeals to audiences and cushioning it with effective marketing. “Our competitors have lined up some of the best shows that America produces but no point if they are not marketed to Indian audiences correctly,” he says. Fragmentation is inevitable but “We have a strong relationship with our partners so we do not see competition as a threat and will continue to bring the best of English entertainment to Indian audiences,” he adds.

    Zee Cafe’s strategy is not only to bring in soaps but also movies and live and exclusive telecasts of events from across the globe. “Zee Café caters to a premium and relatively niche audience, hence, there is no fixed format and we will continue to experiment with shows that fit with our TG,” points out Bedi, adding there are plans for an HD channel.

    Speaking of marketing, the channel tied up with Eco roots to adopt trees for each pledge taken by viewers for the Green Turn initiative. Digitally too, it has undertaken several successful initiatives. “Our campaigns like Team Grey, Gossip Girl, Happy hour at 3,Tweet hour with the cast of The Mentalist built an immediate connect with our fans and have received tremendous response from them,” emphasises Bedi. The channel is looking forward to more innovative campaigns for upcoming properties like Big Bang Diwali and House of Cards. “We try to do something different each time to delight the audiences and we will keep on doing that,” says Bedi.

    Murthy however feels Zee Café needs to be more aggressive in its approach to marketing. “The way other channels push their content, I don’t think Zee Café does in the same manner. One must understand, in the genre, there are only a few shows for the whole channel, unlike the Hindi counterparts, which is the sad part. Therefore, aggression is needed to cash in more on the growing audience that wants to watch international shows,” she says.

  • Zee Cafe to exclusively broadcast Miss World in India for the sixth year in a row

    Zee Cafe to exclusively broadcast Miss World in India for the sixth year in a row

    MUMBAI: The English general entertainment channel from the Zee stable, Zee Cafe will yet again showcase Miss World 2013 Live, as stunning women from across the globe fight it out at Indonesia for the esteemed title.

    Zee Cafe will exclusively telecast Miss World 2013 Live in India on 28 September in the early hours at 5:00 am with a repeat telecast at 7:30 pm on the same night. Miss World will additionally be simulcast on Zee Studio. India’s very own Miss India World Navneet Kaur Dhillon will by vying for the crown with the most beautiful women for the title of Miss World 2013.

    “I was a child, and when Aishwarya Rai won miss world – my father was watching that show on TV and he said when my daughter grows up she will become miss world. So after that whenever anyone asked me about what I wanted to be I always said ‘I want to become Miss World when I grow up!” said a very excited and nervous Navneet who will represent India at the pageant on Saturday.

    The Miss World pageant is the oldest surviving major international beauty pageant. The dazzling contestants from all across the globe compete for a month in a series of events including top model and beach fashion before the winner is crowned on the day of the grand finale. The winner spends a year travelling to represent the Miss World Organisation and its various causes. The Miss World Organisation owns and manages the annual Miss World Finals; a competition that has grown into one of the world’s biggest.

    Speaking on the occasion, Zee Network business head – niche channels Anurag Bedi said, “After the success of the Live and exclusive telecast of the recent Emmys we aim to further raise the bar by bringing the 63rd Miss World pageant to our viewers. Zee Cafe is proud to be associated with the legacy of Miss World which is one of the most prestigious pageants in the world – sixth consecutive year in a row. Miss World has always generated a huge amount of interest amongst Indian viewers and is one of the flagship events that they look forward to on our channel.”

  • “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” returns in its eleventh season with happy hour at 3pm on Zee Café starting this September

    “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” returns in its eleventh season with happy hour at 3pm on Zee Café starting this September

    “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” is the daytime destination for laughter and fun on television. Slated to air weekdays at 3pm, Zee Cafe brings a refreshing perspective to daytime television. Voted the ‘funniest person in America’  Ellen’s charming personality and inimitable take on everyday life invite a relaxed and candid environment and allow her guests to engage in entertaining and thoughtful discussions on topical issues. The environment the host creates always leads to having moments of unpredictable fun, illuminating celebrities “in the moment,” and saying and doing things viewers won’t experience anywhere else! When members of Hollywood’s A-list and Ellen get together, anything can happen—from dancing with First Lady Michelle Obama to Christmas Caroling with Britney Spears to catching George Clooney after setting numerous “Clooney traps.”

     

    The show features a diverse mix of celebrity interviews, musical performers, audience participation, and segments spotlighting everyday people with extraordinary stories and talents. “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” continues to be a destination for the world’s biggest stars. In addition to Clooney, guests have included Brad Pitt, Reese Witherspoon, Justin Timberlake, Penelope Cruz, Halle Berry, Drew Barrymore, just to name a few.
    In addition to celebrity interviews, the show includes chart-topping musical performers and breaking new acts. The show has featured an eclectic catalogue of performances ranging from music legends Cher, Madonna, Paul McCartney, Prince, and Sir Elton John to pop superstars Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Pink, and Mariah Carey to smooth R&B and hip-hop artists Kanye West, The Black Eyes Peas, and Mary J. Blige .The show continues to prove itself as a leader in the daytime talk show genre by blending genuine warmth, humor, and unparalleled celebrity interviews.

     

    With the eleventh season Ellen DeGeneres continues to deliver uplifting, inspiring, and hilarious experiences to viewers. Ellen’s talent, personal warmth, and insight have earned her recognition as a global entertainer and household name. Through her show, she brings her humor and talent for tackling topical issues into viewers’ lives with her distinctive style touching every aspect of the show.
    “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” was launched in September 2003 to great success and critical acclaim.  In its launch year itself, the show won four Daytime Emmys, while Ellen has won ‘Outstanding talk show host’ four years in a row! Premiering on the 10TH of September, in its eleventh season the show airs Mondays to Fridays at 3pm exclusively on Zee Cafe.

  • Times TV’s plans to romp ahead with Romedy

    Times TV’s plans to romp ahead with Romedy

    MUMBAI: Indian audiences already have a good list of channels to choose from if they want to turn to English entertainment. Keep switching channels and you will whisk through Star Movies, Movies Now, Star World, Zee Studio, Zee Café, HBO, World Movies, Comedy Central, CBS Spark, CBS Love etc. and what have you. Does there seem to be a dearth that needs to be filled? Is there space for more? According to the Times Television Network (TTN) there is absolutely space for another fighter in the league. With that, it has added a companion Romedy Now to its existing movie channel Movies Now which is expected to be launched in the next 15 days.

     

    Feeling the need to make people happy, the genres Romance and Comedy will be seen on the new channel as both movies and series. A new format is also being experimented with that is being outsourced and is still under process. “We are in talks with foreign distributors to acquire content but we will edit them in a different style,” says Romedy Now business head Harsh Sheth. Going with the tagline ‘Live. Laugh. Love’ it aims to target the urban affluent masses in the major metropolitan cities at first and gradually extend to the one million+ towns, targeting SEC A and B in the age group 15-44.

     

    70 per cent content will be movies and the rest shows. The movies will be contemporary on the lines of Devil Wears Prada, 27 dresses, Bride Wars, The Ugly Truth etc. Its target is to get about 20 million viewers. Enough content is in stock to be utilised for eight months. These include offerings from big studios such as Warner Bros, Fox, Regency, MGM and Sony as well as another 40 small ones from the US and Europe. New shows will have first runs on Romedy Now.

     

    Romedy Now will be available in both HD and SD on cable TV, satellite, DTH and IPTV as a pay TV service. The SD channel will be available in eight metro cities on the launch day at a price of Rs 17.66 while the HD channel called Romedy Now Plus is priced at Rs 149. The content team is common for both the sister channels while the exclusive team consist of 45 people.

     

    Romedy Now will see 10 minutes of advertising while, just one or two minutes of air time has been kept aside for Romedy Now Plus.  The start time of shows and movies will be the same on both the channels while the gap time on the HD channel will be filled with fillers. As of now no advertisers have been approached but plans are to first go to the top 100 starting with those being managed by Group M, Madison etc. The affluent audience is willing to spend and enough advertisers will be willing to target them, is what the management believes.

     

    A grand marketing plan is being chalked out with the support of the whole Times of India Group. A comprehensive rollout will take place closer to launch including print, sister and other channels, radio, mobile, online and emerging markets. “Watch out for the TOI. You will see a new language of love and laughter,” says Sheth.

     

    So what do media planners have to say about the channel? Most of them seem to be optimistic about its success. “The trend of watching English channels online, which normally not seen here is gaining momentum and Romedy Now will make its mark among the urban audience,” says Mindshare Leader South Asia Ravi Rao.

     

    “Segmentation is always a good idea,” says Madison Media Group CEO Gautam Kiyawat giving a thumbs up to the new entrant.

     

    The whole English entertainment genre of advertising and subscription is valued at above Rs 1,200 crore out of which Times Group MD and CEO Sunil Lulla claims Movies Now has a 20 per cent share and he believes that Romedy Now will outpace it.

     

    “English entertainment is growing at a fast pace but it is highly under monetised and undervalued,” says Times Group English Entertainment Channels CEO Ajay Trigunayat.

     

    The economy is at its lowest currently and Lulla is aware of this. “There is a short term panic in the economy and a consumer slowdown so the effort we have put behind it is a little more than Movies Now,” he says. Although he did not mention an estimated time to break even he pointed out that in the current situation three years is the minimum for any channel. “Television business is not about a break even. It’s about an enduring economic progressive journey,” he adds.

     

    As far as the television industry is concerned Lulla is positive that it will keep growing because currently 140 million homes are served, which means another 80 million are left out. Calculating the money, a consumer just pays 50 paise per hour for it. “This is the cheapest social service industry in the world. The price better go northward or else this social service industry will shut down,” he says.

     

    The team’s research showed that there is definitely space for Romedy Now to fit into the existing gargantuan list but whether the viewers will take a liking to it will be seen only after its launch.

  • Zee Café to air 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards on 19 September

    Zee Café to air 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards on 19 September

    MUMBAI: English GEC Zee Café will air the 63rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, presented by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in the US to honour the best in primetime television programming on 19 September at 5:30 am with a repeat at 9 pm and on 24 September at 9 pm.


    The Primetime Emmy Awards celebrates excellence in national primetime programming, awarding top honors at the annual creative arts and primetime awards ceremonies. Special honors, like the Governors Award and the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award, are bestowed during the Primetime Emmys.


    The show will have presenters like Will Arnett, Don Cheadle, Kaley Cuoco, Zooey Deschanel, Ashton Kutcher, Rob Lowe and Julianna Margulies.
     
    Shows with multiple nominations include Mildred Pierce, Mad Men, Boardwalk Empire, Modern Family, Saturday Night Live and Glee.


    Zee Cafe business head Anurag Bedi said, “Primetime Emmy Awards is the most prestigious Award in the English GEC space and Zee Café is proud to be the exclusive television partner for the third consecutive year. The fact that our shows Mad Men, Parks and Recreation, Grey’s Anatomy, The Big Bang Theory, Mike And Molly and Californication have claimed nominations in various categories speak volumes about the quality of content on Zee Cafe.”

  • English GECs: Localisation and variety the road ahead

    For the English general entertainment genre, 2007 was the year when they looked at increasing variety in their offerings and breaking out of a mould.

    The aim was also to increase relevance in some cases through local shows. Besides, the channels brought in the latest shows at the same time as their US premieres.

    Tam data for C&S 15+ shows that among the three channels – AXN, Star World and Zee Café – AXN‘s channel share has been well over 50 per cent. In August, it touched a peak of 66 per cent. Zee Café has managed to close the gap on Star World to an extent. In March, Star World‘s channel share was 34 per cent versus 24 per cent for Zee Café. In April, the gap came down, and for the month May Zee café overtook Star World. Its share was 21 per cent versus 15 per cent for Star World.

    Since then while Star World has been ahead, the gap was close. This was until September. After that, the gap widened again. In December, while Star World has a share of 29 per cent Zee Café has a share of 13 per cent.

    In terms of the top 20 shows, AXN has got 16 in that list. The top entry interestingly enough is a film Spiderman 2. Other shows that made it include Guinness World Records, Ripley‘s Believe it or Not and David Blaine.

    Still, it is not as though all was smooth for the leader. In January, AXN was banned for a month by the I&B Ministry for what it termed as “objectionable content.” The ministry had taken issue with the channel repeatedly telecasting such programmes such as World‘s Sexiest Commercials. The ministry found these programmes to be against good taste or decency that could adversely affect public morality.

    AXN India business head Sunder Aaron puts on a brave face, saying that no corrective measures were really required as all programming conforms to Indian norms and guidelines for content. “As with any new season, we had new television series and programmes which we refreshed the channel‘s schedule with,” says Aaron.

    In terms of the highlights of 2007, Aaron notes that there was a strong mix of local and international fare. “We had the gorgeous Sameera Reddy host the second AXN Action Awards. This is an on-air award show that felicitates the action heroes from Bollywood.

    “We also satiated the viewers‘ needs with the premiere of the internationally acclaimed series –Damages and new seasons for the loyal fans of CSI: Miami, Alias and CSI: NY.”

    AXN also strengthened its focus on the reality genre. The highlight here was the second season of The Amazing Race Asia. To break out of the mould, the channel aimed to showcase diverse content within the reality genre. So the likes of Top Chef, Top Design and So You Think You Can Dance were featured.

    To hook viewers to its fare, two timeslots were created. “The Reality Stash” slot showcases reality content from 9 – 10 pm. This is followed by “Elite Weekdays,” showcasing international drama series at 11 pm.

    Aaron adds that the non-primetime band has grown in importance for the channel. “Our scheduling of programmes across non-primetime is also well-thought-out, keeping in mind the viewing pattern of our target audience.”

    He offers the example of “Elite Weekends” which is the non-primetime slot on Saturday and Sunday from noon to 3 pm. The aim is to allow the dedicated fan base to sit back and enjoy catching up on their favourite international series which they have missed out over the week. “We have, therefore, ensured they get to watch all the series back to back and have clearly positioned the band as – ‘Catch all the week‘s action on AXN Elite Weekends‘.”

    As always localisation plays a key role for the channel. Besides the earlier mentioned The Amazing Race Asia initiative, the channel also finished the shoot Magic Asia. This showcased two street magicians Chris Korn and JB Benn. Aaron notes that the show actually touches a chord with the real spirit of Mumbai and is slated to go on air in March this year. One show done at a pan-Asian level was the boxing show The Contender Asia. The show produced by the czar of reality television Mark Burnett emulates the original concept with Muay Thai fighters.

    Over the years, localisation has been playing a huge role in positive brand-building as it showcases the channel‘s endeavour to identify and fulfill the viewers‘ needs. The main value is in sustaining a loyal fan base besides helping manage and create an ideal mix of original and acquired content that facilitates long-term brand-building.

    Aaron attributes AXN being ahead constantly to firstly having a clear brand positioning. “I think that we follow the very basic principle of being absolutely clear of our target audiences‘ needs and showcasing the kind of content that they wish to see. We have also been dynamic enough to not get stuck in a mould and constantly showcase fresh and innovative programming. This prompted our move to broadbase our reality offerings. We have also been the only international channel to create so many original productions.”

    For Zee Café, the strategy has been different in that it decided not to focus much on local shows. In the past, it had done shows like Bombay Talking but the channel‘s business head Neil Chakravarti feels that Indian audiences are not ready for Indian fiction. The focus rested on showcasing the latest from the US. Since September, it started to bring in shows from the US at the same time as their premiere there.

    The aim was also to pick and choose shows that Indians would find the most relevant. Therefore, four of the shows including The Big Bang Theory and Aliens in America have South Asian characters. The new programming strategy had been decided after six months of intensive research among Indian viewers who said they learnt a lot about new shows from the internet or sites like YouTube. They did not want to wait several months or years later to watch them.

    Star World‘s focus, meanwhile, rested partly on the tried and tested shows like Desperate Housewives, Heroes and Ugly Betty. Complementing this were special events like Miss World and the Grammy Awards.

    Star World tried to break out of the mould as well. To identify the need of the market it revamped its schedules. For instance, it created an afternoon slot for youth/women with shows like Bold and the Beautiful, General Hospital, etc. The block is called essential afternoons. Star VP content and communication Prem Kamath says, “We‘ve seen a change in the genre preference for English entertainment wherein comedy is the flavour of the season.”

    “We have strengthened our late prime slot with male skewed programming starting 11 pm. We believe that the day prime/early prime bands are equally important, there is a definite audience in these bands and our endeavour is to bring in quality programming to build these slots. For example we have a line-up of the best of comedy shows during weekday evenings,” adds Kamath.

    When asked as to whether Star World took any preventive measure to ensure that it did not suffer a similar fate like AXN, he maintains that Star World has a social responsibility and has stringent internal censorship guidelines prior to broadcast.

    In terms of local initiatives, Star World has the property Koffee With Karan. The channel is exploring other local concepts.
    Kamath says that on the advertising front, clients belonging to different categories like telecom, computers, mobile phones, electronics, financial, automobile, net portals are with it.

    “English entertainment is evolving in India and more new audiences are tuning in to the genre. Clients find English entertainment a very important differentiator in the content arena and a strong association for their brands with evolved audiences. We have new launches every month and give a variety of programming mix to our viewers and advertisers that give a light viewing environment,” avers Kamath.

    At the same time, he concedes that it is really challenging to retain clients amidst a bouquet of channels in the English genre per se at the time of evaluating a media plan.

    Star World offers customised packages to advertisers in partnership with their media agencies based on their brand brief. Packages consist of the shows that are associated with advertisers for sponsorships and a mix of other programmes that have synergies with the brand environment and commercial creatives. All sponsored programmes consist of sponsors commercials to derive strong brand connect with the association. RODP and ROS also form a certain component in the overall package.

    From general to more specific entertainment:

    As digitisation grows, more players are looking to enter this space. Last year, this genre got a new entrant in BBC Entertainment. As of now though the channel is only available on Tata Sky. The channel brings shows from the UK such as Spooks. The British sensibility is the starting point for this channel in terms of its USP. The programming strategy is such that there are horizontal and vertical strips.

    In the evening, it is more family oriented. There are shows like the comedy My Family, My Life In Film so that viewership is widespread across the family. Later on, it gets more specific with shows like Waking the Dead which the channel says is a more realistic version of CSI. Murder mysteries are solved using the latest forensics technology and old-fashioned police methods.

    At the same time, English entertainment will move from general to more specific. For instance, later this year, AXN is expected to launch another channel called AXN Beyond. The focus is on science fiction and the supernatural.

    US media conglomerate NBC Universal, through its tie-up with NDTV, will launch two channels Sci Fi and Universal. The former specialises in science fiction, fantasy, horror and paranormal programming; the latter has movies and TV series in the thriller, drama, horror, crime and investigation genres.

    More specific entertainment could come from E! which might launch in India this year. This channel focuses on Hollywood extensively through news and specials around the industry. The challenge for it is to find a distribution partner.

    Viacom has a JV with TV18. If digitisation moves at the expected speed, one could see the likes of the male channel Spike TV entering the country. Comedy Central might also figure in the scheme of things. So expect a lot of activity in this space.

  • Government warns of stiff action against erring TV channels

    Government warns of stiff action against erring TV channels

    NEW DELHI: Even as the AXN channel has been allowed to resume telecasts in India following an apology, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry has expressed its unhappiness at the fact that the channel should have ignored warnings about its content.

    Sources in the ministry tell Indiantelevision.com that the channel, which was banned on 17 January for two months (till 15 March), “did not even acknowledge the notices of the ministry in this regard, leave aside responding to them.” AXN had been banned for telecasting programmes like The World’s Sexiest Advertisements, which the ministry felt “were against good taste or decency and were likely to adversely affect public morality.”

    I&B Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi had said recently that the government was concerned about the content being aired on electronic media and has warned of suitable action in case of violations of the Cable Television Network (Regulation) Act 1995.

    He had noted that some of the programmes being telecast on TV on different channels had poor quality content and women were depicted in a degrading fashion in advertisements etc. “We have to be very tough in this regard,” he had noted. Though he did not name any channels, it is learnt that they included FTV and Zee Café, apart from AXN.

    The ban order under Section 20(2) of the Act was lifted in view of the assurance by AXN that it would put in place a more effective self regulatory mechanism to ensure that the programmes and the advertisements telecast on the channel are in compliance with the Act.