Regional

Marathi TV market: Expansion key to survival

Published

20 years ago

November 19, 2005

The Rs 750 million Marathi television market will have a new player as brothers Markand and Gautam Adhikari prepare for launch of their channel in December.

Markand says Mi Marathi, with its low-cost operations, will break even in six months. His reason: he already has a bank of 3000 hours of programming which ran on Doordarshan‘s Marathi channel with popular hits like Damini.

"For us, the running cost is the bare minimum. Even for the news content, we can amortise costs as we will be sharing the common infrastructure which we have created for the current affairs and news channel. Besides, our brand is already popular among Marathi viewers who have seen our shows on DD Marathi," he says.

Mi Marathi will be locking horns with three established regional channels – Zee Marathi, ETV Marathi and DD‘s Sahyadri. Besides, it will have to confront with strong market realities that have hindered the fast growth of Marathi channels.

NEWS GAINS FOCUS
News is a very crucial component to the success of a Marathi channel. This is where ETV laid focus early on and has scored over rivals.
Zee Marathi now is trying to hit back. The channel, for instance, recently introduced two extra half-hour news bulletins (5 pm and 12 am) to its line-up. And in the pipeline is an afternoon bulletin, targeted at women.
Zee Marathi has also spruced up its news infrastructure by connecting seven cities of Maharashtra live to Mumbai, apart from extending the coverage to neighbouring Goa. Besides, new regional studios have been set up in five cities: Nagpur, Pune, Aurangabad, Nasik and Kolhapur.
The channel has got a facelift, both in terms of content branding and channel design. Says Zee Marathi business head Nitin Vaidya, "The growing importance of news has inspired us to carry out these initiatives. We want to tap this market more seriously. We are localising our news content. While national news channels are concentrating on tabloid journalism, we want to provide news that is relevant to the local viewer."

No such expansion is planned by DD Sahyadri which already runs four news bulletins. Among its current affairs content offering, the talk show Maha Charcha is a long running property. The channel also caters to farmers and the Sindhi community with development news as the main focus.

DD Sahyadri director Mukesh Sharma doesn‘t think the channel‘s news strategy requires a review. "We have no plans to incease our news content," he says.

On the ratings front, as per Tam data (CS4+, 9 October to 5 November 2005), ETV‘s 10:30 news bulletin Aapli Mumbai is among the top 10 programme list with an average rating of 3 TVR in the Mumbai as well as all Maharashtra markets. Sahyadri‘s 7 pm bulletin Batmya is also popular in the CS4+ all Maharashtra market.
SOAPS: V‘SHIP UP, MATCHWINNER NOT YET
While news provide the cutting edge to Marathi channels, soaps are showing a slow rise in viewership. Says ETV chief producer Manvi, "Earlier the ratings stopped at 3 TVRs. Now soaps are throwing up ratings in the region of 6 TVRs."

The fight, though, is restricted to the prime time. And this is where the programming costs are going up. Admits Vaidya: "We have to raise the production quality as we are competing against the Hindi general entertainment channels to rope in viewers. Marathi producers are, thus, hiking the budgets."

Part of the hike is due to a higher remuneration which senior Marathi actors are demanding. These artistes have been playing roles in Hindi serials as well. "They prefer Hindi over Marathi soaps and you have to play the money card to attract them," says Vaidya.

The programming budget for Marathi soaps is approximately in the region of Rs 50,000 to Rs 75,000 per episode, according to industry estimates. But, as Vaidya says, there is no drastic increase in content costs.

DD Sahyadri‘s programming budgets, in fact, are comparatively smaller. "We spend about Rs. 40,000 per episode for our prime time shows. Soaps cost us about Rs 30,000 per episode," says Sharma.

Marathi channels have not found it feasible to expand the three-hour prime time block (7-10 pm) with high-cost programming. No channel has really invested in soaps to build blocks beyond the 10 pm slot.

Says Manvi, "After 10 pm, we have only low-cost programming. We haven‘t gone beyond our day one strategy of three soaps because we have realised that investing in more fiction content doesn‘t suit the market realities." ETV telecasts soaps till 9 pm, then breaks away to news, and at 9.30 pm shows a daily crime-based non fiction programme.
Zee Marathi, on the other hand, telecasts four prime time soaps (8 to 9:30 pm). Early this year the channel, in fact, replaced its 10 pm soap with weekly shows which is a mixed bag of fiction and non fiction content. Vaidya‘s argument: this was to have variety in programming and had nothing to do with lack of viewership.
"We had initiated an experiment in 2004 to evade the Hindi prime time band by launching a soap at 10 pm. We have gone back to our original strategy of having soaps till 9:30 pm. We needed to offer variety," he says.
The prime time for Zee Marathi, according to Vaidya, begins with the 7 pm bulletin. This is followed by an interactive game show Home Minister at 7:30 pm.
Soaps, however, do not figure in DD Sahyadri‘s prime time. The channel has a line up of music shows, gameshows and film-based programmes in this block.
"Our prime time is from 7 pm to 8 pm. The 7 pm to 7:15 pm band belongs to our popular evening news bulletin Batmya. Music-based shows, gameshows and film-based programmes fill the remaining duration. We have kept soaps out of our evening prime time. We telecast them in the afternoon band, between 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm," says Sharma.

ETV soaps are ahead of competition in the market according to the last four month TAM data (CS 4+ Mumbai, Maharashtra markets excluding Mumbai, and all Maharashtra). While ETV‘s channel driver soap Char Divas Saasuche has been leading the race consistently with an average TVR of 5.5, Zee Marathi‘s driver show Vaadalwaat maintains an average rating of 3.3 TVR. The channel, though, is attempting to fight back with movies and events which are fairly successful on the rating charts.

Private Marathi channels have not put their focus on the afternoon band with fresh programming. Both Zee Marathi and ETV Marathi repeat their prime time properties in this band. DD Sahyardi, however, telecasts original programmes (soaps) in the 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm band, as it takes advantage of the terrestrial feed on the channel between 3 -8 pm.
EVENTS KEY TO REACH & INTERACTIVITY

Marathi channels use events as an important strategy to penetrate into the interiors of the state. Depending on the size of the event, the spends range from Rs 1 million to Rs 3 million.
DD Sahyadri offers about six to eight event properties a year with the big ones being the annual DD Awards, Hirkhani Awards (felicitating women achievers) and the Navaratan Awards.
Zee Marathi‘s strategy is to organise various on-ground activities, have reach-building programmes and line up small events. Zee Gaurav Awards is a top rated show in this segment.

"We have been using our Zee Gaurav Awards and the game show Home Minister as reach building programmes since the concepts require large scale viewer participation. We make it a point to plan our activities well in advance so that we can plan various things around the property. The entire schedule and event calendar for 2006 is already in place. The 2006 Zee Gaurav Awards will be held on 4 February," explains Vaidya.

Events also play a crucial role in ETV Marathi‘s strategy. According to Manvi, the channel conducts about six events per year. "The idea is to get different audiences from different parts of Maharashtra. We do festival as well as theme-based events," he says.

MOVIES: ZEE MARATHI MORE AGGRESSIVE

Zee Marathi has an edge over competition in the movie segment. The channel boasts of a collection of about 400 Marathi films. Every year, Vaidya says, it acquires most of the new movies released. "We acquired about 40 films in the last fiscal including the Oscar nominee Shwaas."

Zee Marathi recently created a monthly slot, Mahaa Cinema, to telecast popular Marathi movies. Looking at the last four month Tam data from all the three Marathi markets (CS4+), films telecast by Zee Marathi figure in the top ten list consistently. Films, according to Tam data, record about 3.5 TVRs on an average while the Oscar nominee Shwaas crossed ratings of 6 TVR.
ETV Marathi has created a bank of about 250 films. The channel telecasts films daily in the morning slot while Zee Marathi has devoted weekend slots in the evening.
DD Sahyadri has a Sunday afternoon slot for movies. According to Sharma, the channel will be acquiring movies and self-marketing them as per its newly introduced sponsorship arrangement.
According to industry estimates, ETV Marathi spends about Rs 4 to 5 million on movies per year. Vaidya, while not disclosing the rates, claims that the channel pays the best rates in the industry for acquisitions.
RATINGS: ETV MARATHI CLEAR LEADER

ETV Marathi is the most highly rated channel, according to the last seven-month Tam data (TG CS 4+) ended October 2005. ETV Marathi holds 52 per cent channel share in Mumbai while in all Maharashtra it is 51 per cent. The share is 49 per cent in rest of Maharashtra excluding Mumbai.

Compare this with Zee Marathi which holds 32 per cent channel share in Mumbai, 30 per cent in all Maharashtra and 27 per cent in the Non-Mumbai market (all Maharashtra excluding Mumbai). DD Sahyadri fares better in the non-Mumbai segment with 24.4 per cent while it holds 16 per cent share in Mumbai and 18.8 per cent in all Maharashtra.

WILL THE MARKET EXPAND?

The question that arises is: how will a slow-growing market accommodate a fourth player. As the gap between content cost and earnings is alarmingly close, Marathi channels who almost share the same advertising revenues realise that expansion of the market is key to their being profitable.

"A new player and fresh investments will definitely expand the market. Competition can also contribute significantly to raise the quality of content," says Vaidya.

Manvi agrees. "Initially, the size of the market was very small. Since the last four to five years, it has shown a gradual increase. There is potential to grow the market," he says.

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Deepak CR joins BIG TV 24×7 as Chief Manager – Media Solutions

Published

1 month ago

February 2, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

Kerala: Deepak CR has switched channels and pace. The broadcast-industry hand has joined Big TV 24×7 as chief manager, media solutions, betting on sharper monetisation as regional television and digital video chase the next ad dollar.

The move caps a steady climb across ad sales, digital strategy and distribution. Deepak CR brings experience spanning OTT, product analytics and management, UX, web development and hosting, digital marketing, and television and digital ad sales, a toolkit built for a market where content is plentiful but revenue is fought for.

He arrives from Bharat Media & Entertainment Group, where as senior manager, business development he worked the ad market and client pipeline. Before that, at Reporter Broadcasting Company, he handled media solutions and ad sales, from client onboarding and pitch proposals to payment cycles and yield management, helping the channel hold share in a crowded territory.

The longest stint came at Flowers TV, nearly seven years in digital ad sales and time sales. There he chased new business, worked with agencies, built cross-platform media plans and ran display and video campaigns through Google Ad Manager. He also developed working knowledge of web hosting, SEO and digital marketing, increasingly useful as broadcasters blur into digital publishers.

Earlier, at WebMobi Network Solutions, he sold content delivery network services, managing client relationships and hunting fresh revenue in the streaming ecosystem.

The timing is telling. As broadcasters juggle linear TV, streaming and hybrid ad models, media solutions roles are becoming commercial nerve centres. Big TV 24×7 is signalling it wants a bigger slice of that pie.

New chair, same game. Find the clients, grow the yields and keep the ads flowing. In a market that never sits still, neither does Deepak CR.

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Brand house Bigg Boss Marathi Season 6 turns the spotlight on sponsors

Published

2 months ago

January 14, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: When the house fills up, so does the brand roster. Bigg Boss Marathi Season 6 has signed on nine leading sponsors, underlining the franchise’s pull as one of Maharashtra’s most influential entertainment properties across television and digital. The latest season once again positions the show as a magnet for brands looking to blend scale with cultural relevance in a market that rewards regional nuance.

The sponsor lineup is spread across multiple tiers. Danube Properties and Santoor Soap come on board as co-powered partners, while MYK Laticrete, Pitambari, P. N. Gadgil & Sons, Gemini Cooking Oil and Cotton King have joined as special partners. Society Tea and Tunwal E-Motors complete the lineup as associate sponsor.

For returning sponsors, the appeal lies in the show’s ability to deliver repeatable impact. Danube Properties, which previously partnered Bigg Boss 19, said the Marathi edition allows it to deepen engagement with regional audiences built on aspiration and trust. Santoor Soap echoed that view, pointing to strong recall and engagement from past integrations and highlighting the show’s value in reinforcing its progressive woman narrative within culturally rooted storytelling.

Other brands see the show as a platform that goes beyond visibility. MYK Laticrete described the association as a way to build trust through sustained presence, while Pitambari said the partnership coincides with the launch push for its Dishwash Gel, leveraging the show’s reach into everyday households. Jewellery major P. N. Gadgil & Sons returns for a second consecutive season, citing the programme’s cultural stature and the added appeal of host Riteish Deshmukh.

From kitchen staples to clothing and EVs, the diversity of categories reflects the show’s broad audience base. Gemini Cooking Oil called the partnership a natural alignment between two No.1 brands in Maharashtra, while Cotton King sees the association as a springboard to build recall and relevance. Society Tea continues its long-standing relationship with the franchise, and Tunwal E-Motors is using the platform to push its message of affordable electric mobility to mass audiences.

With Season 6 assembling a crowded sponsor house, Bigg Boss Marathi once again demonstrates why regional entertainment has become prime real estate for marketers. In a cluttered media landscape, the show’s mix of scale, loyalty and cultural currency continues to make it one of the safest bets on the brand board.

Danube Group founder & chairman Rizwan Sajan said, “After the overwhelming response to our association with Bigg Boss 19, we are delighted to extend our partnership to Bigg Boss Marathi. At Danube Properties, we believe in meeting our audience where they are, and this collaboration allows us to connect more deeply with regional audiences who share our values of aspiration, trust, and progress. This partnership reinforces our commitment to building meaningful relationships across cultures and communities.”

Wipro Santoor (Wipro Consumer Care) CMO Prasanna Rai said, “Santoor’s growth to become the largest soap brand in India, has been driven by deep consumer connections. High-impact regional programs like Bigg Boss Marathi allow us to build these bonds authentically with culturally rooted audiences in ways that broader national properties miss. Our integration last year delivered strong engagement and exceptional recall. We are excited to partner with Bigg Boss Marathi once again, continuing to weave Santoor’s progressive woman narrative into the show’s storytelling and further strengthening our presence in every Marathi household.”

MYK Laticrete president of sales & marketing Amarbir Palta said, “Bigg Boss Marathi offers a deeply regional and culturally rooted audience. Our partnership with this show goes beyond visibility, it’s about connecting with culture and building trust through sustained visibility. This association reinforces one clear promise: Any tile, any surface, MYK LATICRETE delivers unmatched excellence in tile adhesives.”

Pitambari Products Pvt. Ltd. DGM Priya Prabhudesai said, “We are proud to be associated with Bigg Boss Marathi, a platform that truly connects with millions of Indian homes. Through this association, we are launching Pitambari Dishwash Gel with the aim of reaching every household. With its unmatched reach and strong entertainment value, this collaboration allows us to engage with consumers in a fresh and impactful way.”

P. N. Gadgil & Sons Limited CFO & COO Aditya Modak said, “We are proud to associate with Bigg Boss Marathi Season 6 for the second consecutive year. The show commands a distinct cultural stature with a loyal following, and the presence of Riteish Deshmukh as host has further elevated its appeal and scale. This partnership enables us to engage meaningfully with a new generation of discerning audiences while reinforcing our legacy of trust across Maharashtra.”

Cargill Foods India senior director for GTM Retail Shailesh Khurana said, “Gemini has always been the first choice of Maharashtra’s kitchens. Partnering with Bigg Boss Marathi, the state’s most loved show, is a natural fit when two No.1 brands come together, it creates a winning story for millions of households.”

Cotton King Pvt. Ltd. managing director Koushik Marathe said, “Cotton King is proud to associate with Bigg Boss Marathi for the first time. The show offers a powerful platform to connect with millions of viewers and strengthen brand recall. We’re excited to drive visibility, relevance, and deeper consumer affinity through this partnership.”

Society Tea senior marketing manager Chandrashekhar Bhosle said, “Our association with Bigg Boss Marathi has been a strong and rewarding journey. With the show’s growing scale and engagement, we are confident Season 6 will deliver an even bigger impact for Society Tea.”

Tunwal E-Motors chairman and managing director Jhumarmal Tunwal said, “Tunwal E Motors Limited has always been committed to making sustainable and affordable electric mobility accessible to the masses. This association reflects our vision of driving Bharat towards a cleaner, smarter future by bringing reliable EV solutions closer to consumers across the country.”

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Celebrating World Hindi Day: Guess which country besides India officially speaks Hindi?

Published

2 months ago

January 10, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Every January 10, millions of Hindi speakers pause to celebrate a language that is far older than its official tags and far wider in reach than its South Asian origins might suggest. World Hindi Day honours the cultural legacy and expanding global presence of Hindi, a language that connects people across continents and generations.

The idea for World Hindi Day was born more than four decades ago at the first World Hindi Conference, held on January 10, 1975, in Nagpur, Maharashtra, with delegates from around 30 countries gathering to promote Hindi beyond India’s borders. Two decades later, in 2006, the Indian government formalised the observance, giving the language its own annual moment on the global calendar.

A language without borders
Hindi’s reach today is remarkable. Spoken by hundreds of millions, it ranks among the most spoken languages globally, trailing only behind Mandarin Chinese and English in sheer number of speakers. Estimates suggest that roughly 600 million people use Hindi in some form, whether as a first or additional language.

While India remains the heartland of Hindi, its influence stretches far beyond. Fiji stands out as a singular testament to the language’s overseas journey: in 1997, Hindi was enshrined as one of the island nation’s official languages, recognising the linguistic heritage of its Indo-Fijian community, whose ancestors carried Hindi dialects with them more than a century ago.

Across South Asia and beyond, Hindi resonates in everyday life. In Nepal, it is widely understood and spoken, especially in border regions; in countries such as Mauritius, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname and Guyana, it lives on through generations of diaspora communities, where Indian traditions remain woven into the cultural fabric. In the United States, the UK and Singapore, Hindi classrooms and community hubs reflect a growing appetite among younger generations to engage with the language of their forebears.

Roots in history, wings in culture
Back home, Hindi’s story predates modern nationhood. As a descendant of Sanskrit and a mosaic of dialects such as Awadhi, Bhojpuri and Khariboli, the language evolved and spread over centuries, absorbing influences and adapting to local cultures. Its script, Devanagari, is recognised for its phonetic clarity and literary heritage.

In India, Hindi was adopted as an official language under Article 343 of the Constitution in 1950, written in Devanagari, and today it serves as a major medium of communication, administration and education across much of northern and central India.

World Hindi Day celebrates these roots and the vast cultural landscape built upon them. It is marked by seminars, workshops, poetry recitals, youth contests and academic exchanges not only in India but in embassies, universities and cultural centres worldwide. The aim is simple but ambitious, to honour Hindi’s heritage while encouraging its use as a vehicle of global communication and intercultural dialogue.

A language in the digital age
Hindi’s rise has not been confined to temples, lecture halls and diasporic festivals. In the digital age, Hindi content has exploded across the internet, from social media to video platforms, blogs to online publications. Hindi is now one of the most visible languages on the web, with millions of users creating and consuming content daily.

This digital presence reinforces Hindi’s living nature, it is not a museum piece but a language that continues to grow and adapt. Whether in informal chat, academic discourse, cinema, television or social media, Hindi remains vibrant, expressive and deeply connected to the lives of its speakers.

More than words
World Hindi Day is not merely an ode to vocabulary or grammar. It is a celebration of identity, memory and community. For many, Hindi is a bridge between past and present, home and diaspora, tradition and innovation.

Across classrooms in India and cultural forums abroad, the message is the same: Hindi is not just a language of heritage, it is a dynamic force in contemporary culture and global conversation.

Hindi in popular culture and entertainment
Hindi’s influence extends far beyond classrooms and diaspora communities; it thrives in everyday entertainment and global pop culture. Daily soaps on Indian television have played a major role in spreading the language, not just in India but across the world. Many popular serials are dubbed into local languages or subtitled to reach international audiences, airing in countries such as Nepal, Mauritius, the UAE, the UK, the USA, and parts of Africa and Southeast Asia. Diaspora communities often tune in to these shows to stay connected with Indian culture, while local audiences are drawn to the stories, music, and traditions portrayed. These soaps bring Hindi into homes daily, reinforcing vocabulary, idioms, and cultural references, while shaping social conversations and entertainment habits. From family dramas to mythological epics, Hindi television has become a vibrant vehicle for both cultural preservation and global reach.

The language has also captured the attention of global celebrities and influencers. Stars like Nick Jonas have been spotted jamming to Hindi tracks, while other international musicians and social media personalities incorporate Hindi music into performances and content. This crossover into mainstream global entertainment highlights Hindi’s appeal as a vibrant, expressive language that resonates across cultures, making it not just a language of heritage, but a dynamic force in contemporary global culture.

On January 10 each year, as events unfold from Nagpur to Nairobi, from Suva to San Francisco, that force is recognised and celebrated. Hindi’s journey from village speech to global stage continues, nuanced, powerful and unmistakably human.

In nations such as Mauritius, Hindi enjoys cultural significance and is commonly spoken, but it is not listed as a constitutional language. Similarly, in Nepal, Hindi is widely understood and used, yet Nepali remains the official language. In Suriname, the Indian-origin community predominantly speaks Sarnami Hindustani, a variant of Hindi. Other countries, including Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, South Africa, the UAE, the USA and the UK, also have sizable Hindi-speaking populations, and in some cases, Hindi is recognized in limited contexts, such as court proceedings in Abu Dhabi, but it does not hold national official status.