MxMIndia

Tag: Movies Now

  • The channel is a complete rebranding of Movies Now Plus, which will cease to exist post this launch

    Times Network launches MN+, an HD-only English movie channel

    By Dyanne Coelho

     

    The Times Network, which includes channels like Times Now, Zoom, ET Now, Romedy Now and Movies Now, has announced the launch of MN+, a premium movie channel, available only in HD. The channel is a complete rebranding of Movies Now Plus, which will cease to exist post this launch, Vivek Srivastava, Senior VP and Head English Entertainment Cluster announced.

     

    The prominence of Hollywood movies in India has gone up, Srivastava pointed out, and MN+ will cater to the intelligent aspirants, the ones who believe their time is valuable, he said. “The channel has been hand-crafted not just for the informed, intelligent and discerning movie lovers, but for the cineastes as well. It is designed to give viewers a Gold Class Experience of Hollywood.”

     

    Vivek Srivastava

    MN+ and Movies Now will co-exist, showcasing two entirely different sets of movies. It is not a simulcast, Srivastava stressed. Movies that will be available on the newly launched channel include Argo, The Shawshank Redemption, The Hurt Locker, Sherlock Homes, The Bourne Supremacy and the like. Advertising duration on the channel is set to be at six minutes per hour while on Movies Now it is 12 minutes per hour.

     

    “The MN+ extension of Movies Now comes at a time when viewers across our markets have responded extremely positively to the Movies Now brand. The rapidly growing reach and ratings of Movies Now over the past year bears testimony to this,” Srivastava said, adding, “Movies Now leads the category in BARC ratings. The channel commands a 26 percent market share and has the highest reach in the category.”

     

    The network is focusing on both metros as well as Tier II and Tier III cities. “Consumers are ready to pay a premium for HD because of the quality and if you give them what they want and the content is easily accessible, then they are likely to avoid resorting to illegal downloads to catch their favourite movie,” Srivastava said. The network is confident that MN+ will add to viewer and advertiser numbers. The implementation of DAS in Phase 3 and 4 is eagerly awaited and will help in terms of subscription revenues and availability, Srivastava added.

     

    The MN+ library comprises must-watch movies across genres that are universally celebrated and are discussed extensively in social gatherings of people who have an opinion.  The channel will not only showcase great titles, but will also package them in interesting on-air properties like Center Stage, Great Adaptations, Opening Night and Hollywood Select, among others.

     

    Discussing the target audience of the channel, Srivastava said, “MN+ is for those premium audiences that have the temperament to be choosy about what life has to offer and have evolved to value only the best.”

     

    Speaking about advertiser endorsement, he said, “Not just viewer delight, we are also pleased and humbled by the strong and enthusiastic response from advertisers and marketers. Over the past year almost all the major brands have been present on Movies Now and we are increasing that count every day.”

     

  • The marketing plan targeted relevant platforms to ensure high visibility and create an impact like never before

    Movies Now capitalises on Star Wars franchise

    By Ananya Saha

     

    Star Wars with its franchised series has grown to be so influential that it has grossed over $27 billion. The franchise has influenced generations for over three decades. This March, Movies Now took it a step further by showcasing six blockbuster movies for the first time in HD.

     

    The marketing plan targeted relevant platforms to ensure high visibility and create an impact like never before, which included over 3000+ spots on all national and regional channels, outdoor and OOH presence across Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai and Hyderabad, high-impact innovations to support the high frequency outdoor campaign, tie-up with Cafe Coffee Day, which enables an outreach to the youth across all 8 metros – Special Star Wars games designed to engage customers, engagement with over 5 million digital audience through Facebook, digital games, apps and digital plan. Apart from this, through a Facebook contest, Movies Now has special edition original Star Wars Darth Vader light sabres that will be up for grabs. While the creative agency for the campaigns was BBH, Posterscope handled the OOH.

     

    Ajay Trigunayat

    Star Wars, even though a very well-known franchise has been shown numerous times on television. Why did Movies Now make it a loud campaign this time? Ajay Trigunayat, CEO, English Entertainment Channels, Times Television Network reasoned, “While Star Wars is a very well known in the west, it is almost unknown to young Indian masses. The campaign objective was to introduce Star Wars in India.”

     

    However, this is not the first time that Movies Now undertook a large campaign for movie promotions. According to Mr Trigunayat, the English movie channel has undertaken a lot of innovative campaigns in the recent past. “A lot of first’s have been achieved during a short span of time in the English Movie Category and TV category as a whole. For Spectacular Spielberg we leveraged a new technology: augmented reality to maximize brand engagement. Thanks to innovative technology and a great idea shoppers in malls in Delhi and Mumbai could interact with dinosaurs. Avatar was the most stunning campaign in OOH where we used a relatively new technology in printing which gave the entire campaign a spectacular 3D effect. In our most recent property Movies Now had tied up with Skyfall and created the largest synchronized campaign with a Hollywood film.”

     

    To keep the engagement with its fanbase of over 2.4+ million on Facebook, there were daily interactions through posts, contests, games and polls. And as the channel insists, “We have got an overwhelming response for Star Wars. The property has been sponsored by Samsung Galaxy Grand and has a host of associate sponsors Airtel, HP, Asian Paints Royale, Standard Chartered, Nivea and Lux ONN,” he said while not revealing the marketing spends on the Star Wars series.

     

  • Ajay Trigunayat, CEO, English Entertainment Channels, Times Television Network tells MxMIndia what the year held for the network and plans for 2013

    Jaldi 5 with Ajay Trigunayat: ‘The aim is to set new benchmarks in 2013’

    Where brands or media properties are struggling to stay afloat through this tough economic crisis, two-year-old movie channel Movies Now has no such bitter experiences to share. After a roaring 2011, the channel – that completed its second anniversary this week, has an interesting tale to tell about its performance in 2012 as well.

    Ajay Trigunayat, CEO, English Entertainment Channels, Times Television Network tells MxMIndia what the year held for the network and plans for 2013.

     

    01. How would you analyse the year 2012, which also marks completion of two years for Movies Now in India?

    A lot has happened in the last two years:

    • The category has expanded exponentially with Movies Now witnessing a 50% jump in viewership reaching out to 56 million viewers per week.
    • In the past twelve months, we have effectively consolidated our leadership position, dominating the category with a phenomenal 30% in comparison to Star Movies (28%), Sony PIX (17%) and HBO (14%). (Source: TAM, CS 15+, 8 metros, wk 52 ’10 – wk 39 ’12)

     

    02. Could you share some of the highpoints for the network in India this year?

    • We have led the category since our launch & 2011-2012 has seen immense growth in terms of Reach, TSV, Audience Engagement & consequently Revenue.
    • In 2012, we built on the library-led movie concept by offering the viewers a plethora of blockbusters packaged as captivating properties celebrating the Best of Hollywood Icons – Best of Cameron, Best of Leo, Best of Spielberg and lots more.
    • Movies Now constantly keeps innovatively engaging with its fans and followers in the social media sphere. In the two years, the channel has jumped to the top spot with 2.3 mn fans on Facebook. In comparison, decade old players, Star Movies & HBO, stand at 1.4 mn & 1.5 mn respectively. Movies Now is in the top 5 leading brands on Facebook in India (in the media category) & in the top 3 fastest growing pages on Facebook in India (in the media category). The channel maintains a strong fan-following on Twitter with a lead of 13000+ followers.
    • Movies Now has significantly overshot international benchmarks in terms of the Brand Awareness & Brand Preference in just 2 years of its launch (Source: Millward Brown Study)

     

    03. Have you witnessed a spike in viewership and revenues over 2011? Could you elaborate the growth story through statistics…

    • Out of the top rated 100 English Movies in the last 2 years, 52% aired on Movies Now as compared to 32% on Star Movies, 14% on Sony PIX and 2% on HBO. (Source: TAM, CS 15+, 8 metros, wk 52 ’10 – wk 39 ’12)
    • Movies Now has also attained an astonishing 31 minutes of time spent per viewer which is a testimony of the audience stickiness on the channel. Star Movies stands at 27 mins, PIX at 21 mins & HBO at 20 mins (Source: TAM CS 15+, 8 metros, wk 52 ’10 – wk 39 ’12)
    • Consequently, Movies Now doubled the effective rate to ‘3600 per 10 seconds and seen an increase 60% in terms of revenue as compared to last year.
    • Movies Now achieved a phenomenal 30% channel share in comparison to Star Movies (28%), Sony PIX (17%) and HBO (14%). (Source: TAM, CS 15+, 8 metros, wk 52 ’10 – wk 39 ’12)

     

    04. What was the year like for the Movies genre in India – growth and challenges?

    • Our biggest challenge is the perception of our channel being niche. With Reach of 56 million viewers and TSV of 55 minutes per week which is almost the size of any possible European country, I don’t really think Movies Now can be called niche.
    • The English Movie Channel Category has been under-monetized. It would also be a challenge to leverage the urban affluent English movie viewing into the advertising revenue it deserves.

     

     05. What would be your focus for 2013 in the sphere of movie/content acquisition?

    • The idea is to consolidate our library further and bring in the Best Blockbusters for our viewers.
    • Starting January we present :

    > Sons of Guns: Brings the Bad Boys of Hollywood that will showcase movies like Ocean’s eleven, Bad Boys, etc.

    > Grand Masters: Legends of Shaolin featuring Jet Li, Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee along with the master of Bruce Lee himself in IP Man 2.

    > Badge of Courage: Line-up of some special movies this Republic Day like Iron Man, True Lies, Knight and Day, Quantum of Solace, Demolition Man and Robocop

    > Crack it Up: Rib-tickling comedies like Dude where’s my car, Austin Powers, Hangover, Aliens in the attic, Harold and Kumar, Not Another Date Movie and a lot more.

    • February:

    > Gods of Hollywood with the Best of Hollywood Icons like Bond, Spiderman, Rocky Balboa and many more.

    > For the first time on Indian Television, Movies Now will premiere the much talked about movie, ‘The Grey’ starring Liam Neeson.

    > Best of family adventure movies like Harry Potter, Narnia, Percy Jackson in Adventure Diaries

    > Valentine’s Day also has a special line-up including Monster-in-law, Date Night, I Love You, Beth Cooper..

    • In March, we will bring the complete Star Wars movie franchise which will be customized for the Indian audience in a big way. One of the property’s that has been appreciated well comes back with a bang with Shaolin Masters 4.

     

  • General entertainment channels needn't worry much about the big live sporting events

    Games on, but GECs not worried

     

    By Meghna Sharma

     

    The UEFA Euro Cup has made the Europeans forget all about the economic crisis; London, along with the whole world, is eagerly waiting for the world’s biggest sporting event – the Olympics – to begin. The world is buzzed about the various sporting events coming up in the next few months.

     

    Sports, around the globe, generate a major interest and channels – sports or otherwise – fight each other out for viewership and advertisements, and brands try to out-do each other through advertisements and activations to leave a mark on the public’s mind.

     

    The last event of such a stature in India was the recently concluded IPL which saw the entertainment channels fighting for eyeballs. With the next three-four months choc-o-bloc with sporting events, MxMIndia takes a look at how channels in the country are gearing up.

     

    Event Period Channel
    UEFA Euro Cup June 8- July 1 Neo Prime
    Wimbledon June 25-July 8 Star Sports
    India-SL series July 22- Aug 7 Ten Cricket
    Olympics July 27-Aug 12 DD/ESPN or Star Sports

    Time to worry?

    According to the media planners, for GECs and other channels, there is nothing to worry about. “Non-cricket fare is still appealing to a small niche segment and hence, its popularity is not reflected in ratings. India in the months of Jul-Aug has always been a moderate performer and not as high profile as some others and so this will also not have a major impact,” feels Shubha George, COO -South Asia, MEC.

     

    Suresh Balakrishnan

    And she is not alone. Suresh Balakrishnan, CEO, Brand Programming Network, agreed with her and added that though cricket is more than a sport in India, even IPL, which has both cricket as well as entertainment and was telecast at primetime, hasn’t been able to affect channels, especially the GECs in the recent past. “Lately, IPL has been able to get a rating of 2-3 which has hardly affected any GECs, so I’m sure other sports won’t matter to them at all. However, there is no denying the fact that viewership for other sports is increasing in the country. And major events might be able to at least reach the ratings which cricket gets, in the coming years.”

     

    Mr Balakrishnan, however, feels that sports channels don’t have much to worry about as there are many male-focussed brands which help them generate enough ad revenue. “Having said that, I also feel that channels showing sports other than cricket know that recovering money isn’t an easy task,” he added.

     

    The television behaviour showcases the interest of the masses which obviously tilts towards popular entertainment channels. However, most media planners agree that sports viewership is growing in the country and soon things might change but until then channels will have to make do with what they have/get.

     

    Amin Lakhani

    Amin Lakhani, principal partner, Mindshare said: “All leading newspapers and news channels have special coverage of important events, take Euro Cup for instance, but how much of it is being converted into viewership or readership? Even then, that hasn’t deferred them from covering the events because they know that, though tiny, there is a loyal following. Even brands are doing activations for sports which are gaining popularity in other sectors apart from Sec A&B – Pepsi is doing activations for football.”

     

    Business as usual

    Akash Chawla

    Entertainment channels continue to enjoy the largest share in the viewership pie. Although, they continue to compete with each other, when it comes to other genres, nothing has been able to write them off.

     

    Akash Chawla, Zee Entertainment Enterprise (ZEEL) marketing head – national channels, said: “Just like IPL, we are ready to combat any other sporting event. Our programming strategy does not depend on these events.”

     

    “For us, it will be business as usual. The channel is backed with strong and fresh content for its viewers, irrespective of the programming on competing genres,” said Hemal Jhaveri, general manager, Movies Ok.

     

    Hemal Jhaveri

    Other genres which focus on the same target audience as the sports channels are youth and news. But many in these genres believe that such sporting events don’t affect their viewership. Nikhil Gandhi, executive director, youth channels, media networks, Disney UTV claimed that most of the sporting events attract a majority viewership of urban youth, whereas they, as channels, focus on the HSM belt which includes 62 cities. Hence, such sporting events won’t affect their viewership.

     

    A broadcast veteran from a Delhi-based news channel too felt that news channels give enough coverage to the various sporting events, so there is no question that the events might eat into their viewership pie. He said that though both cater to the same TG, they are different genres and people might shift between the two, if needed.

     

    Nikhil Gandhi

    On the other hand, Neo Prime, the sports channel which is currently telecasting UEFA Euro Cup 2012, is aware of the competition within and between other genres and risk involved, but is still optimistic. “Sports is still a male-dominated genre, whereas other genres (read GECs) enjoy female viewership. But during big events, there are chances of a shift in the remote control. Sports do get eyeballs. And as for the advertisements, the brands which advertise on sports channels are different from the ones in GECs or other channels. Hence, nothing overlaps each other,” said Prasana Krishnan, COO, Neo Sports Broadcast.

     

    Prasana Krishnan

    Hopefully, as said by various media personalities, sports other than cricket in the coming years will be able to generate same interest among Indian citizens across sections and help sports channel to boom and enter the main TRP race as well.

     

     

     Imaging: Rafiq, Pictures courtesy: London2012.com

     

     

  • A new notification issued by the regulator on Monday limited the amount of advertising on TV channels and disallowed any shortfall in a particular hour to be carried over

    Broadcasters slam TRAI notification to limit ads

    By A Correspondent

     

    Broadcasters and advertisers have slammed Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) move to limit the duration of television advertisements to 12 minutes in an hour, and accused the regulator of exceeding its brief.

     

    A new notification issued by the regulator on Monday limited the amount of advertising on TV channels and disallowed any shortfall in a particular hour to be carried over. According to industry estimates, this could impact advertising revenues of broadcasters by 15-40 per cent.

     

    “Trai has no jurisdiction in the subject. Advertising is governed by the Cable and Satellite Act and the appropriate authority is the ministry of information and broadcasting,” said Uday Shankar, president of the Indian Broadcasting Foundation, and the chief executive officer of Star India. “The regulator is overstepping its brief,” he added.

     

    According to Mr Shankar, the low revenues from subscriptions give broadcasters no option but to rely on advertising inventory and revenues to survive.

     

    An Indian Broadcasting Foundation official said an earlier government guideline stipulated that Trai could issue an advisory with regard to advertising but not a notification.

     

    Sunil Lulla, managing director and chief executive officer of Times Television Network, which runs Times Now, ET Now and Movies Now channels, too criticised Trai’s decision. “This move is completely ridiculous. Self regulation is the best regulation,” he said.

     

    “This move will have an immediate impact because right now there is no other big source of revenue for broadcasters,” said Rohit Gupta, president of Multi Screen Media, the company which runs Sony Entertainment Television. The IBF will appeal against this new regulation, he added.

     

    Barun Das, chief executive officer of Zee News, questioned the timing of the regulation at a time when the entire broadcasting industry was going digital. “We have a limit mentioned in the Cable Act. If at all there is a need for regulating duration of advertising, it possibly could have waited some more time for the digitisation process to settle down.” he said.

     

    Mr Das said his channel had voluntarily cut its advertising inventory by 30per cent earlier this year. “We realise that too much advertising is a deterrent to viewership. We were not driven by regulations, rather we were driven by market forces,” he said.

     

    Mr Das said the viewers had choices not only of channels but also of media platforms. “I am not sure if advertising volume needs to be regulated. I would tend to believe that too much advertising would anyway drive away viewers,” he added.

     

    Sale of television rights have become an important source of income for sports bodies such as BCCI but the restriction on advertising will adversely impact the ability of broadcasters to recoup their investments, forcing them to scale down their bids.

     

    Source: The Economic Times
    Copyright © 2012, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

     

  • Avinash Kaul will now be Chief Executive Officer ET Now and Zoom, and Ajay Trigunayat will be Chief Executive Officer, English entertainment channels

    Times TV boost for Ajay Trigunayat, Avinash Kaul

    By A Correspondent

     

    Times Television Network has enhanced the responsibilities of two of its senior personnel: Avinash Kaul, who will now be Chief Executive Officer ET Now and Zoom, and Ajay Trigunayat, who will be Chief Executive Officer, English entertainment channels.

     

    Mr Kaul and Mr Trigunayat will continue to report to Sunil Lulla, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD & CEO), Times Television Network.

     

    Announcing the new organizational focus, Mr Lulla said, “2011 has been a significant year of growth for Times Television Network (TTN). As the channels consolidate positions, it offers opportunities for talent to develop. Mr Kaul and Mr Trigunayat will bring new ideas, energy and passion for the network’s ambitious growth agenda. We wish them great success.”

     

    During the course of 2011, TTN’s revenue has grown by over 50 per cent, its reach has spread to 26 countries besidesIndiaand its channels are in leadership positions.

     

    Speaking on his appointment, Mr Kaul said, “‘Bollywood’ and ‘Stocks’ are deep passions ofIndia. I’m delighted to have a blend of entertainment and information as part of my mandate. I look forward to ensuring that ET NOW continues to consolidate its position asIndia’s premier stock market channel.”

     

    Mr Kaul was previously the CEO of Zoom and prior to that has worked with Fulcrum (Group M), Discovery Communications, Star, NDTV Media and Sahara One in strategic and management roles.

     

    Mr Trigunayat, commenting on his new role, said, “Movies Now has just about completed one year of stellar performance and I am looking forward to consolidating and growing the franchise of Hollywood entertainment for Times Television Network”.

     

    Mr Trigunayat was earlier Channel Head of Movies Now. Prior to joining Times Television Network, he has been in theMiddle Eastin an entrepreneurial capacity. He has also held the position of Business Head of the Zee English Channels bouquet, built brands and strategies for Lintas, Contract and Rediffusion and was in Sales at Pepsi.

  • Currently the channel reaches out to 100 million households and the plan is to get to the 140 million mark by end of next year

    Movies Now: One year old, strikes gold

    By Rishi Vora

     

    Movies Now has completed a year. And the story of the channel’s progress since day one of launch is an exciting one, especially for the officials who’ve been running the show. Numbers of the past 51 weeks across eight metros indicate that Movies Now has garnered a market-share of 30 per cent and has increased the category viewership by 50 per cent (from 50 GRPs to 75).

     

    The reach too, increased from 46 million viewers to 56 million. And the average time spent has shot up from 42 minutes to 55 minutes. (Source: TAM, CS 15-34, AB, All 8 Metros, week 52’10 – week 50’11).

     

    The channel launched with a bang and shook up the otherwise dormant category, dominated primarily by Star Movies, and of course other players like HBO and Sony Pix, which had spent reasonable amount of time in the market.

     

    HBO has been in the market for more than a decade. Experts believe that with the right kind of content, marketing and distribution push, Movies Now wiped out every bit of complacency that had set in among existing channels. Now, as even other players would agree in the category, the market has become more competitive, and a lot of action can be expected in the genre.

     

    The strategy was to first set foot in the six metros and from there look at expanding their reach further. In fact, in its first month, the channel did not have a single DTH company on board. Currently present in eight metros, Movies Now will now look at getting to the 1 million+ market. With digitisation of TV, quite naturally the channel will look to move from analog to digital.

     

    Currently the channel reaches out to 100 million households and the plan is to get to the 140 million mark by end of next year.

    Ajay Trigunayat, Channel Head informed MxM India that the plan was pretty much to aim at the top. “We were clear right from the beginning that we wanted to bring a stellar brand to the viewers. We’ve challenged the status quo and reshaped the marketplace. 89 per cent of our viewership is library-led, and unlike other players, we cater to all eight metros. In the past one year, we have increased the category reach by 22 per cent and time-spent per viewer by 33 per cent.”

     

    He added, “In 2011, we are the most searched English Movie channel on Google India, we have about 5 lakh Facebook fans.”

    For Sunil Lulla, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Times Television Network, Movies Now is a super-smash-hit story of the year 2011.On what it means to the Times Broadcast Network, he said: “As a network we cater to the Urban Affluent audience. All our channels – Times Now, ET NOW, Zoom and Movies Now have been doing very well in their respective genres. These channels, put together, provide great value to advertisers; it generates a fantastic synergy.”

     

    On what he expects from Movies Now in the future, he said that the channel’s primary focus will be to achieve consistent growth and in the process widen the gap from its nearest competitor.

  • Latest additions include Movies Now, Suvarna News 24X7 & Zee 24 Ghante Chattisgarh.

    Tata Sky expands its channel offerings

    By A Correspondent

     

    Tata Sky, the leading Direct-to-Home service provider, has announced the addition of three new channels to its vast line-up of relevant channels for its subscriber base of over 8 million connections.

     

    A strong advocate of offering a wide range in every genre, Tata Sky has added MOVIES NOW to increase the Hollywood movie quotient on its platform. And continuing in the endeavour to offer channels that mirror the voice of the nation; Tata Sky has also launched Suvarna News 24X7, Asianet’s Kannada news channel from the heart of Karnataka and Zee 24 Ghante Chattisgarh, the only 24-hour satellite news channel in Chhattisgarh.

  • The channel has fired a category that was getting stagnant and all this by riding on popular and familiar titles. And on HD.

    Movies Now: Riding high on popular titles

    By Tuhina Anand

     

    It’s going to be a year since Movies Now from the stable of Times Television Network launched in December last year. Ever since its launch, the channel has managed to upstage its competition, some of which have been in the business for much more than a decade like Star Movies and HBO and the newer players including PIX. What has worked in favour of the channel is its promise of an enhanced viewing experience because of being available on the High Definition (HD) platform, relying on popular titles, getting its distribution correct besides the backing of the Times conglomerate that definitely has helped in marketing the channel.

     

    Amongst the English channel category, it is the English movie channels that comprise 30 percent of the market share. This is the highest reach in this category.  The English Movie category also has a reach of around 29 percent of the total television viewers. These numbers definitely moves the genre which was earlier seen as niche to be highly influential hence even catching advertisers eye especially those marketing premium products because this is the category where the potential customers are on.

     

    With launch of Movies Now last year the category underwent a change especially because of the performance of the channel thus putting competition on their toes. The launch of the channel had catapulted the growth of the category from 50 GRPs to 72 GRPs and witnessed growth of 43 per cent. The category reach increased by 20 percent and now reaches out to 5.5mn individuals every week. Besides, Movies Now enjoys the highest viewer time-spent in the category, which is nearly double of other English Movie Channels.

     

    Talking about the success, Ajay Trigunayat, Channel Head, Movies Now, under whose  leadership, the channel has been charting success shares that his firm directive towards the channel’s Audience Management Plan included Content, Brand & Marketing and that has helped Movies Now break-through the clutter and carve a distinct identity in the mind of its consumers and a firm place in their daily lives, culture and ethos.

     

    He said, “Movies Now India is witnessing an ever increasing English speaking audience. Also, the target audience is no longer residing only in the metros and is now moving into the Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. Thereby, we have a category which growing rapidly and demanding far more English content paving way for the new players in the market.”

     

    The talking point of channels success has been its limited but popular library. Kunal Jamuar, Head of West India and Executive Director, Mumbai at MPG India explains how he sees the channels growth. He said, “It has a limited library but good titles that has ensured first appointment viewing and later stickiness. I think they have consciously kept a limited library thus giving viewers the much more opportunity for stickiness so in that sense they have changed the paradigm for English movies category.”

     

    “However, I think going ahead they need to address larger demographics which I think is getting ignored like paying attention to various time bands and playing movies accordingly.”

     

    Rajneesh Chaturvedi of MEC Global, said, “Movies channel is primarily driven by its title where Movies Now has scored well. They have managed their distribution well so in a year’s time they have done well for themselves and the category. Going ahead, they have to keep on adding popular titles which they have been doing currently to get viewers to stick to the channel.”

     

     

    INTERVIEW

     

    ‘Providing the best to the viewer’: Ajay Trigunayat, Channel Head, Movies Now

    Ajay Trigunayat has been instrumental in conceiving & nurturing the launch of Movies Now – Hollywood in HD, the English Movie Channel from the Times Television Network. Prior to Movies Now, he has worked with Media Agency Middle East, Dubai as CEO (2006-07) handling Sales, Event Management & Broadcast, Brand & Marketing for the Arab Youth Football Championship. He has spent 4 years at Zee Telefilms Ltd. and was the driving force behind the re-branding of Zee English, Zee MGM to Zee Café and Zee Studio in 2004 – at the same time re-vamping the content through key strategic partnerships with Disney, Warner, Sony, Fox and Universal.

    Mr Trigunayat has spent a decade in Advertising agencies honing his Brand and marketing skills across Rediffusion Y&R , Lintas and Contract. Here, Mr Trigunayat in conversation with MxM India offers a peek into the working and success of Movies Now.

     

    Q: How do you see Movies Now poised amongst competition in this category?

    Movies Now has achieved category leadership from the very launch day itself; and is the leader across all channels, across weekdays, across weekends, across day parts and despite 2 key cricket events (World Cup and IPL) the category viewership has grown by a whopping 80%. Our reach has nearly doubled for the category from 36 mn viewers per week to 60 mn + viewers today and Time Spent per viewer has grown from 35 minutes per week to 55 minutes per week!

    We have excellent feedback from our viewers on the our HD picture quality, 5.1 surround sound, selection of titles and our overall look and feel.

     

    Q: What is the advantage that Movies Now has as compared to the other players in this category?

    Better Movies, Better Picture, Better Sound! Movies Now – Hollywood in HD is a

    complete sensorial treat. It is an exponentially better English Movie watching experience

    in India.

     

    Q: In terms of future growth for the channel, where do you see it coming from?

    Growth will come due to significantly better viewing pleasure, furnished through significantly better digital distribution; with government mandating CAS across all metros.

     

    Q: What has been the biggest challenge for the channel since its launch?

    Keeping up the good work and increasing the gap with competition!

     

    Q: How do you view the current trend of subtitling. Does it help in garnering greater viewership?

    No. Sub-titling does not lead to increase in viewership; but it does provide better comprehension to a large section of viewers who are not familiar with foreign accents.

     

    Q: In terms of acquiring new titles, what have been your top two priorities?

    Only one priority: provide the best to the viewer!

     

    Q: There are lot of repeats of a movie, what policy does Movies Now follow on this?

    We let the repeat pattern be decided by the viewer. Thus some movies have few repeats and some movies have many repeats.

     

    Q: To go beyond metros, what are the few pointers that the channel is following?

    Currently the significant chunk of viewership is delivered from Metros even though we are present across the 1 mn+ universe. We will extend distribution as the viewers across the country take preference to our category

     

    Q: What should we expect from the channel in times to come?

    Loaded Viewer Engagement with Hollywood in HD.