MxMIndia

Tag: BIG Ganga

  • The objective: bring migrant workers closer to employers who are looking forward to a new pool of talent

    Big Ganga partners Lowe Lintas for KaamWapasi initiative

    By Our Staff

     

    Big Ganga, the Zee Entertainment channel, has joined hands with Lowe Lintas for its KaamWapasi that aims to cater and resolve the on-going unemployment issue amongst migrant workers in India.

     

    Prathyusha Agarwal

    Said Prathyusha Agarwal, Chief Consumer Officer, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd said: “As a responsible media & entertainment platform, we at ZEE believe in serving the community to the very best of our capabilities, coming together with like-minded partners to create extraordinary solutions. The KaamWapasi initiative in partnership with Lowe Lintas is a purposive step in that direction enabling our Big Ganga audiences to take active charge of their livelihoods for a tomorrow that’s better than the pandemic-hit today. Providing a tech-enabled tangible route to employment, we see the platform perfectly complementing the government’s efforts to fuel the economy by accelerating the unlock on a greater scale. This initiative we hope, will not only set the bar for what could be done to serve society in one the most-difficult times but would also further encourage brands and people to come together and take ownership of improving the situation.”

     

    Samrat Ghosh

    Added Samrat Ghosh, Cluster Head East, Zee Entertainment:, “The initiative in partnership with Lowe Lintas is a perfect amalgamation of what Big Ganga stands for. Staying true to our brand ethos of upholding and enhancing regional pride the brand understands that employment is a key social pillar towards ensuring the same.  The association with KaamWapasi serves as an endeavour towards the same restoring the same that caters towards the pressing issue of unemployment and bridges the widening gap between employers and workers in a tech-led effective manner. As a brand our philosophy apart from offering inspiring and aspirational content, we intend to enrich the lives of our viewers through multiple initiatives & the said initiative will help to enrich and brighten their lives.’

     

    Added Shantanu Sapre, Executive Director, Lowe Lintas: “It’s really wonderful to collaborate with a brand like BIG Ganga who has always come forward to support and help people in the hour of need. Through the KaamWapasi intiative, we are trying to re-build the strong foundation for the workers who have lost their jobs unfortunately in pandemic.  The initiative not only aims to re-connect them with urban employers but further propels growth and development in the economy taking it towards the road of recovery.”

     

     

  • The creative idea was to rejoice every moment of your Bhojpuriya life to its unabashed best just like Bhojpuri movies do

    Publicis India rolls out integrated ad campaign for Zee Biskope

    By A Correspondent

     

    Publicis India has conceptualised a unique campaign for Bhojpuri movie channel Zee Biskope. It epitomizes the three main genres of Bhojpuri movies: action, romance and drama which are essayed by Zee Biskope’s brand ambassadors Pawan Singh, Khesari Lal Yadav and Niruaha respectively.

     

    Highlighting the marketing idea behind the campaign, Amarpreet Singh Saini, Business Head, Zee Biskope and Big Ganga said: “The idea behind the campaign was to capture the essence of Bhojpuri movies albeit with a clutter breaking rendition. The films were meant to connect with audience and at the same time establish the brand as a unique offering in the category. Each film takes a distinct and stand out route to introduction of the conflict, reveal of mega star and culmination into celebration of brand promise in three distinct styles. The high uniqueness score’ in brand survey corroborates the efficacy of this well thought out campaign. The collaboration with Publicis ensured authenticity and finesse across films, given their keen eye for detail and high thrust on sophistication in execution.”

     

    Added Ajay Gahlaut, MD & CCO, Publicis India: “We wanted to appeal to the sensibilities of the delightful people of Bhojpuri belt – witty, funny and unapologetically over-the-top. We are giving the people what they want with this campaign – unlimited entertainment at all hours of the day. We are happy to see our messaging having a great impact with the audience it is intended towards.”

     

     

  • ZEEL has acquired the exclusive rights for both linear and non-linear formats for all the seven movies

    Big Ganga collaborates with Ravi Kishan for a 7-movie deal

    By A Correspondent

     

    Bhojpuri channel Big Ganga has joined hands with Bhojpuri superstar Ravi Kishan in an exclusive seven-movie deal over a period of 2.5 years. As a part of the deal between the two, ZEEL (which owns Big Ganga now) has acquired the exclusive rights for both linear and non-linear formats for all the seven movies.

     

    Speaking about the same, an unnamed spokesperson of Big Ganga said: “Big Ganga offers differentiated and dynamic content for family viewing which resonates well with the masses. With its popular movie slot brands, Ganga Talkies and Family Talkies’, it makes us the only channel to go beyond movies and offer high-quality non-fiction, fiction, devotional content for the region. We have the exclusive rights to some of the biggest titles of Bhojpuri’s Cine Stars. Big Ganga’s movie library is quite vast and garners the highest rated World Television Premieres in the market. The 7-movie deal with Ravi Kishan Productions is a step towards bringing in Bhojpuri cinema to newer audiences and continue to grow the industry with compelling storylines. We are confident that each of these movies will resonate well with the audience and provide a push in the right direction to the growing demand for Bhojpuri cinema.”

     

     

  • The show will felicitate and honor the best singing talent from the country

    Big Ganga to launch its reality show ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Rang Purvaiya’

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Sa Re Ga Ma Pa franchise needs no introduction to Indian television-watchers. Now Big Ganga is set to launch its own version of the singing reality show – Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Rang Purvaiya. The started airing over the weekend and will air on Saturdays and Sundays from 8 to 9 pm.

     

    The show’s promotion will be driven by a 360-degree marketing approach to reach out to the target markets through its various campaigns across TV, radio, on-ground and digital platforms.

     

    Speaking on the launch of the show, a channel spokesperson said: “Big Ganga’s innovative show formats have time and again leveled it as the No.1 regional GEC in Bihar, Jharkhand and Purvanchal. Our association with Zee will further amp up our show offerings through apt integrations between the biggest brand in Bihar and biggest singing reality show, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Rang Purvaiya.  It will make for a perfect entertainment led time band for the viewers.”

     

  • A focus on non-fictional and devotional content plus ensuring parochial pride is part of the secret sauces Tarun Katial has formulated for Big Ganga

    Quiet, but strong flows Big Ganga

     

    Reliance Broadcast Networks’ regional channel Big Ganga, which was launched in 2014 to cater to the Bihar, Jharkhand and Eastern UP markets, has become a leader of the pack in this region after BARC data found that it commands 58 per cent of the viewership here. CEO Tarun Katial speaks with Pradyuman Maheshwari about what has worked for the channel, the focus on non-fiction and devotional content and ensuring parochial pride.

     

    It’s interesting that we’re doing an interview about Big Ganga because until now while weve discussed the channel, it’s almost always been either Big FM or Big Magic.

    Quietly but surely, we’ve created a brand that resonates so well with one of the biggest regions of this country. That makes it worthy of some adulation, or at least some highlighting.

     

    Having worked on GECs over the years, what are the specific characteristics of a Hindi GEC versus a Bhojpuri GEC?

    One of the things you have to be careful about is to not show a state and its people in poor light. They are very proud of who they are. Regardless of how the state is represented by the national media or viewed by people on the outside – in terms of crime, poverty or underdevelopment – the people of the region are very proud of what they are. And you’ve seen the transformation that’s taken place in the last 10 or 15 years, right? So we were very careful to not look down upon the region in any way, but project it in a positive manner. Parochial pride is one of the things we [promoted] with our initial tagline ‘Apna Pradesh Apna Magic’, which actually helped us a lot. It was like saying that we have magic in our region. Since then, we’ve stuck to the philosophy of giving people a platform, and showcasing the best of the culture and the best of the talent, and giving people respect, through all the formats that we’ve built around the channel. We’ve put in all sorts of filters to ensure this.

     

    You’ve obviously gone beyond Shatrughan Sinha and Ravi Kishan…

    Yes, much beyond them because we believe that there is so much more to this region than just a couple of icons. Like, the latest show that we’re doing, called Birhadangal, takes all the Birha stars from the region — from eastern UP to Bihar and Jharkhand — and gives them pride of place. I was amazed with the kind of response it got in terms of timespend.

     

    How is a channel like this different from a large-format Hindi GEC?

    The one thing that we did not do was venture into fiction, because fiction then causes friction, right? And we didn’t want to go down the path of social issues; we wanted to showcase the positive and the uplifting in the Bhojpuri region rather than the social challenges and issues that exist. People are living those challenges every day, so if you fictionalise and exaggerate them, that doesn’t really help, does it? So the channel is primarily based on non- fiction content, and that is the difference.

     

    Doesn’t that affect the economics of it, because fiction is slightly cheaper?

    Yes, but you have to find a way of balancing out the economics, and this has worked very well for us. The other different thing we did was make the Morning Time band bigger than Primetime.

     

    Obviously the Prime Time in those regions is different from what we have here in Mumbai…

    Correct. While primetime in middle India is from 6 to 8 pm and in Indian metros it’s 8 to 10 pm, here it is at 7 to 10 in the morning. Our largest volume comes from viewership between 7 and 10 am. That was something completely different, so we’ve invested in regional content from 7 to 10 in the morning, every single day and through the year, for this reason.

     

    So that means your competition in that region is not another GEC but a news channel like Aaj Tak …

    No, [some of the viewership] in the morning actually goes to devotional [channels] — devotional fiction, devotional non-fiction and devotional music. We realised that faith is a very big pillar of society in this part of the country, and people live by it. Yet, there wasn’t really a platform for people to evoke their faith beyond what they do themselves. So we invested in a lot of original content around music, around singers, around events, around the Panchang, which, in this region, is between 7 and 10 am. It’s a significant investment we made, which has shown significant results.

     

    There’s a significant population of Muslims in this region but your devotional content is all geared towards Hindus. Does this alienate a section of your viewership?

    So during big Muslim festivals, we do go down the route of celebrating it in any form or fashion. Unfortunately devotional music, as we know it, is more popular, and prevalent in Hinduism. Apart from this, we’re doing a show on Buddhism, so we acquired ‘Buddha’ from Zee and dubbed it into Bhojpuri, and it’s done exceedingly well for us in this region. After all, this is seat of Buddhism in the country, with Bodhgaya being a part of this region. So we realised that Buddhism is another thing to tap into. For us, the [religious] colour of region doesn’t matter; it’s about celebration and whatever gets people to celebrate together — and faith is one kind of outlet for that.

     

    How about the synergies, when you launched there were, you know, since you had a existing Big FM presence there, how about the synergies worked for…

    Big FM and?

     

    Big FM and Big Ganga and how possibly you could…

    So like Birhadangal is simul-=cast on Big FM and Big Ganga. It’s unique for a TV show to be actually simulcast on radio. So all the content through the year, is uniquely simulcast between Big FM and Big Ganga. And a lot of the outsourcing on the ground for local talent for some of these shows, is done through Big FM. Listeners get an opportunity to come on television, and finally the show ends up on Big Ganga, which is again simul-cast on Big FM. So it’s a fairly 360 degree reach.

     

    Do you also integrate with a lot of ground-level events?

    We integrate as well as do a lot of ground level events of our own in Patna, Ranchi and Varanasi. These are the three big hubs that we’ve created for ourselves.

     

    And you know, you’re not the first player in this region…

    It’s really crowded, but we have over 15 per cent of the market share, which is good for us.

     

    You had a successful run with a channel like Mahua, before it went under. And for a while Bhojpuri cinema was also doing well. Is there a secret sauce that you use to make sure you’re more successful than [others]?

    The secret sauce is consumer insight and local connect. We don’t rely on movies as the staple to reach out to audiences. Movies don’t contribute more than 20 per cent of our entire GRP across the channel, whereas in some of these Bhojpuri channels? it’s 100 per cent, which leads to a lack of differentiation between you and the next guy on the block. So our content is all original IP that is locally produced, locally shot, provides local people opportunities and is built on local insights. We don’t want to go down as a generic content channel either of music or movies.

     

    Non-fiction and a fair bit of devotional…

    Yes, we’re looking at a fair amount of mythology with [shows] like Ganga Shaurya, which actually showcases the life of achievers from this region, which does extremely well. Then there are comedy shows like Comedy Tanatan and Litti Chokha, which are all locally shot in the cities of this region. There’s a lot of work you have to do at the ground level, to be able to get this right. It’s not something which is so easy to put together, sitting in Bombay. That’s why we have a fairly big team in the region…

     

    My last set of questions…. First, what happens with Big Ganga post the Zee acquisition? I know the final touches are still being put on that…

    Nothing, really. It will be business as usual; we continue to retain the brand Big Ganga, and it continues to operate the way it does. [The channel] benefits from Zee’s ad sales momentum, which are done by Zee Unimedia, and it benefits from Zee’s distribution momentum. It also benefits from cross promotion across platforms, so those are things that will help the economics of the game even more.

     

    In the case of Big FM, you’ve hired some new people for marketing and such. Will they now be merged with Zee?

    No. Big FM continues as is.

     

    And for Ganga?

    As for Ganga, this is a very unique part of the business, where the marketing and all that is done out of Patna. It’s not done out of Mumbai. The region demands its own marketing people and that will continue to be the case.

     

    Zee also has a news presence in this region…

    Yes, and we try to coordinate things as much as we can together.

     

  • While Big Magic & Big Ganga and the four licences will be part of ZEEL, 49% of 92.7 Big FM becomes part of Zee Media

    Reliance ADAG exits television, 49% of radio. Sells to Zee

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Zee group has acquired the Reliance Broadcast Network Limited’s entertainment channels (plus four other licences it owns) along with 49 per cent stake in 92.7 Big FM. The transactions will help reduce exposure in non-core businesses and work towards further reducing debt under Reliance Capital, said Sam Ghosh, Executive Director and Group CEO, Reliance Capital.

     

    Radio:

    The Board of Directors of Zee Media Corporation Limited has approved acquisition of 49% stake in 92.7 BIG FM, the radio broadcasting business of Reliance Broadcast Network Limited.

     

    Reliance Broadcast Network Limited runs the largest network of FM radio channels in India – 45 operational licenses (issued under Phase II and migrated to Phase III) and 14 new licenses (issued under Phase III). The FM channels are being broadcast under the brand “92.7 BIG FM”, reaching to 45 cities, 1200 towns and over 200 million people. It reaches out to around 43 million listeners per week and engages with a large number of national and local advertisers.

     

    Reliance Broadcast Network Limited shall be transferring the 45 operational and 14 new licences into two SPVs respectively along with the assets and liabilities. ZMCL shall acquire 49% stake in each of these two SPVs. ZMCL and Reliance Broadcast Network Limited shall also have a call/put option to acquire/sell the balance 51% after the lock-in provisions on the permission holder of these licenses expire. As per MIB regulations, at least 51% shareholding needs to be held by the permission holder for a minimum period of three years from the date the channels were operationalised. The lock-in period for the 45 operational licenses shall expire on March 31, 2018, whilst the lock-in period for the 14 licences shall expire after the expiry of three years from the day all 14 licences shall have become operational, which is expected to be around March 2020.

     

    Said Rajiv Singh, COO, ZMCL: “We are pleased to announce this acquisition which shall not only be complementary to our current business but accelerate its growth too. We are currently running successfully a bouquet of 11 news and current affair channels and with the addition of 59 radio licenses, we will be reaching out to a much increased audience base and will keep them engaged on different media platforms. This acquisition shall bring about the desired business diversity and will help in achieving the sound financial objectives at an accelerated pace. We are confident that this investment will enhance value for all stakeholders and looking forward towards this exciting journey to take the company to the next level.”

     

    Said Sam Ghosh, ED and Group CEO, Reliance Capital in a statement: “We are happy to bring in Zee Media as our partner in the Radio business. This transaction is part of our strategy to reduce exposure in non-core businesses and work towards further reducing debt under Reliance Capital”.

     

    The proposed transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals including Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of CY2017.

     

    Television:

    Meanwhile, the Board of Directors of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (“ZEEL”) has also approved the acquisition of the general entertainment broadcasting business undertaking of Reliance Big Broadcasting Private Limited, Big Magic Limited and Azalia Broadcast Private Limited, all part of Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group entities through a scheme of demerger and execution of definitive agreements in relation to such proposed acquisition..  The TV Broadcasting business of Reliance Group Entities currently comprises two operational general entertainment channels (“BIG Magic” and “BIG Ganga”) and 4 other TV licenses.

     

    BIG Magic is a Comedy channel catering to Hindi Speaking Markets. BIG Ganga is a leading Bhojpuri entertainment channel catering to audiences in Bihar, Jharkhand and Purvanchal. The channels are available on all major MSOs and DTH operators.

     

    The General Entertainment TV Broadcasting business undertaking along with its assets, liabilities, licenses, trademarks etc. shall get demerged from “BIG Magic Ltd”, “Reliance Big Broadcasting Private Ltd” and “Azalia Broadcast Private Ltd” into ZEEL through a court-approved scheme.

     

    Said Punit Goenka, MD & CEO, ZEEL: “We are pleased to announce this acquisition which further adds to our expanding universe of general entertainment channels. Big Magic gives us access to comedy genre enhancing our customer offerings. Big Ganga, a leading Bhojpuri channel syncs with our strategy of expanding into the regional markets which offers attractive growth potential. I am confident that these two channels will make the Zee Network channels more enriching for the audience and for the Company.”

     

    Said Sam Ghosh, ED and Group CEO, Reliance Capital: “We are happy to divest 100 per cent of our general entertainment TV business to Zee Entertainment. This transaction is part of our strategy to reduce exposure in non-core businesses and work towards further reducing debt under Reliance Capital.”

     

    The proposed transaction remains subject to approval of the shareholders and requisite regulatory approvals including stock exchanges, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting and the Bombay Hight Court. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of CY2017.

     

  • Region favourites Ravi Kishan & Madhu Sharma will be anchors with Malini Awasthi and Aman Verma as judges

    Big Ganga begins airing ‘Hindustan Ka BIG Star’

    By A Correspondent

     

    Hindustan Ka BIG Star, a rural talent-based show has begun airing from Saturday, 6th August every weekend from 8 – 9 pm on BIG Ganga. Popular actors Ravi Kishan and Madhu Sharma will be seen anchoring the show while Malini Awasthi and Aman Verma will be on the judging panel. In its eighth season, the channel took the property to the next level by targeting not only melas, but also added cities, thus increasing participation as well as growing the reach.

     

    With an attempt to unearth talent from the grass root level, Hindustan ka BIG Star not only invites participants who are passionate about any talent, but also encourages those who have an aptitude for singing, dancing, mimicry, stunts, stand-up comedy, painting and much more.

     

    Harkawal Singh, Category Head –Oral Care, Dabur India Ltd said, “We are delighted to partner with Hindustan Ka BIG Star for the third year in a row. The show is a great platform to communicate about the importance of oral hygiene in a relevant way. Dabur Red Paste from the house of Dabur is always known for complete oral care. Dabur Red Paste is a unique blend of traditional Indian Medicine and modern pharmaceutical technology bringing out the best of both, the side effects free, effective formulation useful for maintaining oral hygiene and keeping the gums and teeth healthy.”

     

    Speaking about the property, a spokesperson from BIG Ganga said, “The eighth season of Hindustan Ka BIG Star was a great success with auditions across UP, MP, Bihar & Jharkhand and we are looking forward to the telecast from Saturday, 6th August. With region favorites like Ravi Kishan and Madhu Sharma as anchors, and well known TV personality Aman Verma and the immensely talented Malini Awasthi as judges, we are sure viewers will enjoy watching India’s first and only rural talent based show.”

     

    The show has already travelled to some of the biggest melas of the Hindi heartland including Kumbh, Sonepur, Meerut Nauchandi, Aligarh Numaish etc. More than 10,000 performers have lived their dream on Hindustan Ka BIG Star’s (Mele Ka BIG Star) unique platform.

     

    In addition to this, the high decibel marketing approach to the show will facilitate an extensive forum for marketers to directly connect with their consumers. The show will be heavily promoted through TV, radio, digital and print mediums.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    BIG Ganga is distributed across all cable operators across the states of Bihar, Jharkhand & UP and spread across the likes of DEN, Digicable, WWIL, Hathway, Darsh and Maurya amongst others and DTH players like Airtel, Dish, Reliance Digital, DD Direct and Videocon.

     

    About Reliance Broadcast Network Limited

     

    Reliance Broadcast Network Limited is a media and entertainment company with interests in radio, television and television production. The Company houses: 92.7 BIG FM – India’s No.1 FM Network with 45 stations, reaching over 4.3 crore Indians each week; BIG Magic – which has built strong brand equity as a Comedy Channel and is positioned as the one stop destination for humor, with higher affinity in the Hindi heartland; BIG Ganga – the No. 1 regional Channel of Bihar and Jharkhand; BIG Magic International – a channel targeted at the Indian Diaspora in North America. For more information, log on to www.reliancebroadcast.com.

     

  • Premiering on April 25th, children will enjoy watching their favourite animation series and movies every Monday-Sunday at 4 pm

    Big Ganga launches animated series in Bhojpuri

    By A Correspondent

     

    BIG Ganga islaunching a dedicated one-hour time bandof animated movies and series in Bhojpuri, from 25th April, every Monday – Sunday at 4 pm.The animation series and movies are handpicked especially for kids. A treat for them during their summer vacations, children will enjoy animation series such as ‘Vikram aurMunja’, ‘Stories of Tenalirama’ and animation movies such as ‘Little Krishna’, ‘BalGanesha’ in Bhojpuri.

     

    Starting April25th, the animation band ‘Chhutiyon Ki Churchuri’is aimed at inculcating the right values in kids in a fun and engaging manner. The contentwill air for one hour, every Monday to Sunday at 4pm.

     

    The show will see a robust multi-media promotional plan across key markets. The channel will engage with viewers and trade partners locally and nationally through multiple platforms.

     

    BIG Ganga is distributed across all cable operators across the states of Bihar, Jharkhand & UP and spread across the likes of DEN, Digicable, WWIL, Hathway, Darsh and Maurya amongst others and DTH players like Airtel, Dish, Reliance Digital, DD Direct and Videocon.

     

  • BIG Ganga has a deep understanding of the socio-cultural fabric & reflecting the pride of people from the region

    Big Magic Ganga rebrands to Big Ganga

    By A Correspondent

     

    BIG Magic Ganga, the regional channel of Bihar and Jharkhand under Reliance Broadcast Network Limited has been re-branded as BIG Ganga. This change is in line with the brand refreshment exercise done for the network’s television and radio channel BIG Magic and 92.7 BIG FM, respectively. BIG Ganga, which recently became available to DD Free Dish viewers (Channel No. 16) adopted the new logo across all its channel programming and marketing collaterals from 1st January, 2016 onwards.

     

    Speaking on this new development, Ashwin Padmanabhan, Chief Operating Officer, Reliance Broadcast Network Limited said, “The essential regional flavor and the ethos of the channel remains the same with this change. Our focus is to continue exploring new opportunities and deliver quality original content, to give brands a bigger platform to garner more visibility.”

     

    With this move, the channel attempts to enhance the authentic regional flavour through locally shot programs, derived from local insights such as establishing self-identity and preserving local culture. BIG Ganga has a deep understanding of the socio-cultural fabric & reflecting the pride of people from the region. It has consistently offered entertainment and meaningful content which can be watched by the entire family.

     

    Apart from the popular shows, there are a number of new shows in the pipeline this year namely Makar Sankranti, Rasoi Ki Rani, BIG Memsaab Season 7, Mele Ka BIG Star, Shaurya Samman, Ganga Bhojpuri Cine Awards amongst others. BIG Ganga offers exquisite and dynamic content for family viewing which resonates well with the masses. With more unique shows to look forward to, BIG Ganga is poised to engage, enrich and entertain new audiences across the country.