MxMIndia

Tag: RBNL

  • Chatterjee’s role of Chief Business Officer is in addition to his role of CFO

    RBNL CFO Asheesh Chatterjee is now also CBO

    By A Correspondent

     

    Reliance Broadcast Network Limited (RBNL) has announced the appointment of Asheesh Chatterjee in the role of Chief Business Officer, in addition to his current responsibility of serving as Chief Financial Officer of the company. During the last year, Chatterjee has been guiding the revenue and business support teams across the company apart from his usual role of managing finance, legal, IT and digital transformation.

     

    Commenting on taking on an additional role, Chatterjee said: “It’s a pleasure to be taking on the additional position of Chief Business Officer at the company with which I have been associated for 8 years. In keeping with BIG FM’s core ethos, I intend to give it my best in taking the company into its next phase of development.”

     

    Speaking about the appointment, Abraham Thomas – RBNL CEO said: “Since his appointment in 2011, Asheesh has been an asset to the company, significantly contributing towards developing practices that enhances business efficiency, manage costs effectively and deliver great value to clients. Over the last year, he has driven the Revenue, Finance and Business support teams to meet the company’s objectives.”

     

     

  • He has previously worked with Radio City, RED FM, Indian Express, Sony, Astro Broadcast and MTV

    Abraham Thomas joins RBNL as CEO

    By A Correspondent

     

    Abraham Thomas

    Reliance Broadcast Network Limited has appointed Abraham Thomas as its Chief Executive Officer. Thomas, or Abe, as he is known in the fraternity, comes with over two decades of experience with a proven track record. and has a proven track record of propelling businesses across print, radio, TV and digital to newer heights in India, China and South Asia. A multi-faceted media professional turned entrepreneur with One Network Entertainment, he has previously worked with Radio City, Red FM, Indian Express, Sony, Astro Broadcast and MTV.

     

    Speaking about his role at Big FM, Abraham Thomas said: “Audio entertainment is ever evolving and players are bringing formats that are new and engaging to drive listenership and enhance advertiser relationships. Big FM’s programmatic and tech-driven developments paired with content marketing offerings by Big Thwink, support the objective of pushing more original content and innovative brand integrated campaigns across platforms. In an evolving era where audiences are consuming audio content across multiple platforms, I am excited to join this evolving business and be a part of the successful transformation and growth that lies ahead.”

     

     

  • With the launch of additional 14 stations, 5 new stations will be added in Maharashtra and Goa (Pune, Nagpur, Kolhapur, Aurangabad and Ahmednagar), making it a total of 8 stations

    92.7 Big FM adds 14 new stations in one go

    By A Correspondent

     

    92.7 Big FMhas launched the test signals of 14 new frequencies acquired recently. On April 1, the network went live with the test signals in one day.

     

    With the acquisition of these new frequencies, the radio network is moving from strength to strength with a total of 59 stations now. In Maharashtra, there will be an addition of five new stations (Pune, Nagpur, Kolhapur, Aurangabad and Ahmednagar), bringing it to a total of eight stations in the state. The network will enjoy complete coverage in UP, Bihar and Jharkhand, with the additions of Lucknow, Patna, Varanasi, Gorakhpur and Muzaffarpur, bringing the total to 13 stations in the region.

     

    Additionally, Big FM will also increase its hold over Northeast India as the radio network will have the largest presence in border regions with new stations in Agartala, Itanagar, Shillong and Aizawl and existing stations in Jammu, Srinagar and Guwahati. With this the network ensures that it is present in all key cities and the state capitals in the North East.

     

    Commenting on the occasion, Tarun Katial, Chief Executive Officer, Reliance Broadcast Network Limited, said: “The launch of 14 new stations will further reinforce our position as leaders in the radio broadcast industry. This is a major step in expanding our presence in all our focus markets to ensure that we continue to grow in the space and deepen our market penetration.”

     

  • Appoints Atul Razdan, Nidhi Gulia and Sanil Suneja as National Programming Head, National Marketing Head and Regional Business Head (Delhi) respectively

    RBNL strengthens leadership team for Big FM

     

     

    Reliance Broadcast Network Limited has strengthened its core leadership team as it expands into the next phase of stations for Big FM.

     

    Atul Razdan, with over 14 years of experience in consumer insights, product development and communications joins RBNL as the National Programming Head. Nidhi Gulia, with over 13 years leading marketing communication for consumer facing online as well as lifestyle brands joins as National Marketing Head, and with over 12 years of business experience, Sanil Suneja takes charge as the Regional Business Head (Delhi). The three new appointees will drive new strategic initiatives as part of their respective roles, aligned to the key business goals of the organisation.

     

    Razdan, who has worked with scaled FMCG brands in the past, has worked with Hershey’s India and Cadbury India. Gulia, on the other hand, has previously worked with brands like Sodexo, Adidas, MakeMyTrip and Yahoo. Suneja meanwhile has had over a decade-long career at Asian Paints.

  • Marking its 10-year anniversary, 92.7 BIG FM is refreshing its stationality across 45 markets, whilst retaining its ethos of being a symbol of inspiration and love

    92.7 BIG FM refreshes identity across 45 markets

    By A Correspondent

     

    Radio station network 92.7 BIG FM is refreshing its stationality across 45 markets, whilst retaining its ethos of being a symbol of inspiration and love.

     

    A spokesperson from Reliance Broadcast Networks Limited said: “Being a network that has never shied away from taking bold steps, whether it is in the form of our music, our shows, or even through our campaigns, we look at the refreshing of our identity as a forward thinking move that will set a precedent for another glorious decade ahead. The new jingle is not a mere manifestation of this step, but a reinforcement of our intent to keep inspiring every generation of listeners. On the business side, we provide our advertisers a highly potent platform that has the power to penetrate not just far and wide, but also deep into the minds of their respective audiences. With a renewed sense of optimism, we are confident that the refreshed stationality will be embraced by our listeners, as well as our other key stakeholders.”

     

    The radio network marked its 10-year anniversary by launching the BIG Anniversary game last month, which witnessed the overwhelming participation of its listeners.

     

  • He will be reporting to Ashwin Padmanabhan, COO, Reliance Broadcast Network Limited

    Vikas Khanchandani joins Reliance Broadcast Network

    By A Correspondent

     

    Reliance Broadcast Network Limited has strengthened its leadership team with the appointment of Vikas Khanchandani as Chief Business Officer. With over 20 years of experience working across digital, television and ad/media technology, Khanchandani will be responsible for driving strategic business initiatives – new technologies and customer engagement. He will be reporting to Ashwin Padmanabhan, COO, Reliance Broadcast Network Limited.

     

    On the development, Ashwin Padmanabhan, COO, Reliance Broadcast Network Limited said, “We are happy to have Vikas on board who comes with a wealth of experience and domain expertise. With his extensive knowledge across the television and digital medium, we are confident that he will be able to further accelerate the growth story of the group.”

     

    Before joining RBNL, Khanchandani was the co-founder of AIDEM Ventures where he played the dual role of managing existing businesses of AIDEM even while he was aggressively driving the growth agenda of building a unique and valuable media sales and services company. Prior to that, Khanchandani was part of the core leadership team which set up NDTV Media. Under his leadership, the channel witnessed phenomenal growth, creating a benchmark within the news genre and leading the category. He started his media career with STAR India as a key member of the Strategic Planning and Management team which worked on sales strategies for the Network’s channels.

     

  • With shows like PMS, Boyz and the like, Reliance Broadcast Network Creative Director Paritosh Painter knows he taking a risk with risqué, but his research shows that it will work for Big Magic

    Big Magic’s over-the-top comedy gambit will work: Paritosh Painter

    When in February this year, CEO Tarun Katial announced the appointment of Paritosh Painter as Network Creative Director of the Reliance Broadcast Network’s slew of offerings, friends and broadcast insiders had seen the path RBNL would take. For, Painter is known for being a specialist with comedy – whether it’s on Mumbai’s hyperactive theatre circuit or television and even cinema. He has done over 23 plays in Hindi and English with some 2500 shows across the globe. Besides this, he has scripted Bollywood films like Dhamaal (2007), Paying Guest (2009) (also directed the film), and All The Best: Fun Begins (2009). Being armed with an MBA, he has the much sought after combo of a creative mind who can think numbers and can crunch them with ease. As Reliance Broadcast’s flagship television channel Big Magic, has gone on an offensive in the comedy route, MxMIndia caught up with Paritosh Painter in his office for a quick chat.

     

    Big Magic has seen a recent change of look and positioning. What was the thinking behind that?

    When I joined Akbar Birbal was the No 1 show for Big Magic…

     

    In fact, it had become the driver for the channel. Just when everything was going right, you changed it.

    Since that time Tarun (Katial) and I have been debating on the positioning of the channel.  What should the channel be? I come from a very strong comedy background. I have been doing comedy in my theatre and my films.  I was debating with Tarun about how we can explore the comedy space to the maximum extent possible in the Indian market. The biggest Hindi comedy channel in the market is Sab TV today. But again, we felt Sab is more on the Dramedy zone:  a mix of comedy and drama. So it is not like a hilarious out-and-out Comedy Central kind of comedy. We felt that there is a vacuum in that space. There was no point doing a regular GEC because it is already saturated. We thought we could do a lot more ha-ha comedy rather than the Dramedy. So, that’s how we decided to change the complete strategy and positioning.

     

    But this is the fourth time the channel has taken a new look. It started off as yet another GEC with a focus on the middle end of the market, then it moved to being a light-hearted channel, later more in-your-face humour, and now a kind-of over-the-top comedy channel?

    Yes, it has become over-the-top and edgy since the whole shift was towards youth. Then, we did a lot of research, in terms of watching loads of content available on the internet, watching international content. And, we felt that the edgy comedy or content works more for the youth. That’s how we got all the shows around this concept…whether it is Boyz, PMS, or Akbar Birbal to  Hazir Jawab Birbal. We need to target the youth, we need to do stuff that excites the youth. As per our research, we felt that the edgy comedy space was the space that we need to be in. That’s how we are now focussing and positioning ourselves.

     

    You mentioned over-the-top approach. Does comedy have to necessarily go over-the-top? You have been a practitioner of comedy for long?

    So actually, there is this thing about Indian audiences which I have seen. Fortunately, I have been doing theatre and tend to travel not only across the country but also abroad. And we do shows in the US, UK, the Middle East and all across the globe. What I have noticed that Indians somehow prefer loud comedy as compared to other parts of the world. In fact, within the Indian subcontinent also I find a difference in taste. For example, in Mumbai, when I do shows in the suburbs, folks prefer loud, in-your-face comedy; but the same loud stuff is not preferred by the townies; they prefer more subtle comedy. So there are a couple of jokes we keep reserved for the suburb audience as against the NCPA audience. Again, North Indians love the loud, insulting edgy kind of humour, When we do shows in South India they prefer a subtle, intelligent kind of humour. But since our audience is more from North India so that’s the space we are exploring for the moment. Most of them prefer loud humour.

     

    But edgy also means double entendre… risqué content.

    Yes. We do. People enjoy that. Not only youth, but a large number of men also. I feel shows like Bhabhiji Ghar pe Hain has given us a good start for the Indian television viewers. Or even Kapil Sharma, the kind of humour he uses, I feel it really works. We are looking at exploring that space.

     

    But television is still watched by families in single TV homes. Does the edgy humour work?

    In fact, that’s the reason why we have moved our primetime. On Big Magic, primetime will start from 8.30 pm all the way to 11 pm. That’s how we have planned our strategy.

     

    Some of this could see some problems with the content regulator

    We are ready to take this risk. And, we want to take that risk. We have debated and decided and that’s the way we want to go.

     

    With shows like Boyz, PMS, you seem to be going all out on that path.

    Yes, we are. And there is no point holding back. The AIBs and TVFs of the world are taking over internet by storm. Why should television not be delivering what people want? So we are targeting the TVF, AIB space. They are our direct competitors, not other television channels who have other different programmes. Our competitors are not Sab or MTV. We are the new internet television channel catering to the youth.

     

    AIB has intelligent, news-oriented humour…

    We are getting into that space. We are coming out with two unscripted shows by Diwali which will be unscripted, news-based and topical shows.

     

    For instance, Aktor Calling Aktor, does comment, or does have some suggestions on what’s happening.

    So Aktor Calling Aktor, are the short comedy-based formats. We are also breaking formats. We are breaking rules. That’s what we want to do.

     

    How is it working with potential advertisers?

    If you have the right content, advertisers will lap it up. They would love to be a part of it. And advertisers are looking for a different kind of content. So again, I am probably dragging the AIB and TVF comparison, it is because people want to align with them, because they are different. Today, I believe people are more attached to the shows than channels. I think channel loyalty is dying and show loyalty is coming up. If we can get people to be loyal to our shows, it is better than people just getting loyal just to the channel.

     

    The channel tagline has the word LOL? Would you go in for English or a mix of Hindi and English?

    Yes, we are very keen to get into the Hinglish space also. We want to get into late night comedies. We are looking at some of those formats also. We talk of things which people don’t usually talk on television.

     

    What about targets and TRPs?

    A lot of factors dictate TRPs. There is distribution, there is marketing, a host of other factors. Just because the TRPs meters keep moving up and down doesn’t essentially mean that the content is wrong. There are other factors which could influence TRPs. Right now our target audience is the urban youth.

     

     


  • The repositioning is in line with 92.7 BIG FM’s new and youthful logo as well as the focus to appeal to the younger audience

    Big FM Chennai repositions to play contemporary Kalakkal hits

    By A Correspondent

     

    92.7 BIG FM has switched to play Contemporary Top 100 Kalakkal Hits. The repositioning is in line with 92.7 BIG FM’s new and youthful logo as well as the focus to appeal to the younger audience. In order to welcome this innovative change, 92.7 BIG FM was joined by RJ’s Balaji, Ramya, Archana, Sarithiran, Vignesh Karthick, Giri Giri and Miruthula at a press conference in Chennai’s Hyatt Regency.

     

    In line with the makeover, the Chennai station promises new RJs, mesmerizing content coupled with innovative and engaging sessions for new and old listeners alike. The coming together of new and existing RJs with appealing content will take listeners on a memorable journey each day.

     

    Speaking on the occasion, Ashwin Padmanabhan, Chief Operating Officer, Reliance Broadcast Network Limited said, “Our idea behind the change in the Chennai stationality is to appeal to the younger audience. The content too has been modified in a way that it blends with today’s generation. We will play the current era’s Top 100 Kalakkal Hits.”

     

    Excited on being associated with 92.7 BIG FM’s re-launch RJ Balaji said, “The channel has crafted its relaunch carefully in sync with Gen Y, with a focus on hot picks and trending issues while playing beautiful contemporary hit songs. It is a fresh and revolutionized concept and we do hope that our listeners will enjoy our revamped look as well.”

     

    The popular breakfast show BIG Melody Mornings will be replaced by Jalabala Juckkamma and Tea Kadai Bench with RJ Sarethran and RJ Giri Giri, respectively. On popular demand, the channel will continue to air the popular show Take it Easy by RJ Balaji from 6 PM to 9 PM which promises to tickle the funny bone of listeners.

     

  • 92.7 BIG FM, today, ranks second at an all-India level

    92.7 Big FM unveils new logo

    By A Correspondent

     

    92.7 BIG FM has launched a new logo which is contemporary, young, optimistic and fun, both in content and design.

     

     

    Tarun Katial

    Speaking about the new logo, Tarun Katial, Chief Executive Officer, Reliance Broadcast Network Limited said, “At 92.7 BIG FM, our mission is to reach, engage and enrich the lives of India’s vast populace and we stand today as the largest and leading private FM Radio network with 45 stations. This logo is a step forward into a new world of excitement. We are very happy to enter this chapter and I am sure, we will set a new yardstick for success.”

     

    Ashwin Padmanabhan

    Ashwin Padmanabhan, Chief Operating Officer, Reliance Broadcast Network Limited said, “It has been an incredible journey for all of us at 92.7 BIG FM. We have consistently offered the best content to our listeners, associated with brands to create ongoing, far-reaching, cross-platform content driven by great entertainment and received recognition by the industry for our efforts. We continuously challenge our prowess with campaigns that are thought-provoking, entertaining and creating an impact socially. The new logo is a positive change and we are looking forward to creating yet another benchmark”.

     

    With its ground-breaking content and brand activations, 92.7 BIG FM, today, ranks second at an all-India level while reaching out to an astounding 43.2 million listeners per week. As the No. 1 radio station in 18 cities and at the No. 2 position in 8 cities, 92.7 BIG FM has successfully established leadership in key metros across the country.

  • The show will focus on topical and social issues

    Big Magic revamps Akbar Birbal, new show called Hazir Jawab Birbal

     

     

    Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd has revamped Akbar Birbal, the flagship show of its channel Big Magic and rechristened it Hazir Jawab Birbal. The channel has roped in actor Gaurav Khanna to portray the character of Birbal, the protagonist of the show. Launching today, August 16, Hazir Jawab Birbal will air from Monday to Friday at 9 pm.

     

    Elaborating on the new concept of the show, Paritosh Painter, Network Creative Director at RBNL said: “In our endeavour to provide fresh new content to our viewers, we have decided to revamp Akbar Birbal, one of our highest rated shows on Big Magic. Renamed as Hazir Jawab Birbal, this new show will be relatable, fresh, surprising and unpredictable with a high degree of humour. By introducing a new, younger star cast, our focus will continue to build popular iconic characters which are stand out, quirky and funny.”

     

  • Our attempt with the new identity is largely to be able to capture urban India and to make India laugh, says CEO Tarun Katial

    RBNL’s Big Magic goes for a new look and identity

    By Dyanne Coelho

     

    Comedy in India is a serious business and as a genre is picking up at a fast pace. Keeping this in mind, Reliance Broadcast Network Limited has rebranded its comedy entertainment channel Big Magic with a fresh new look and channel identity. Viewers can look forward a renewed focus original content, sitcoms, non-fiction shows, among others.

     

    Speaking at the unveiling of the new brand identity, Tarun Katial, CEO, Reliance Broadcast Network Limited said, “It’s going to be topical, it’s going to be contemporary, it’s going to be refreshing. We believe that comedy as a factor will predominantly factor in males and we believe that male entertainment is starved from anything but news and sports. Our attempt with the new identity is largely to be able to capture urban India and to make India laugh.”

     

    The logo unveiling earlier this week at the Canvas Laugh Factory witnessed the presence of popular Big Magic stars including Kiku Sharda who plays the role of Akbar in Akbar Birbal, Dalnaz Irani aka Rani from the same show and Saloni Daini, Ami Trivedi, Iqbal Azad, Dharmik Joisar and Sushant Mohindra of Tedi Medi Family as well as Upasana Singh and Gaurav Sharma from Total Nadaniyaan.

     

    “The plan is to make Big Magic the ultimate comedy destination of India. We’ve been getting a great response from viewers, and hence we’re moving to better sets etc, to improve our content. ‘Tedi Medi Family’ is an adaptation of the Warner Brother’s show ‘The Middle’, Akbar Birbal has also received a lot of praise, and we have many more shows planned for the future,” Paritosh Painter, Network Creative Director, RBNL expressed.

     

    Shalini Gupta, CMO, Big Magic TV Network, RBNL revealed the marketing mix behind the channel, “Comedy is a relatively new genre in India, at the same time it is extremely popular and is growing. Our marketing strategy targeted areas where people don’t laugh, because we wanted to make people laugh. Hence we do a lot of BTL activations. Digital marketing is increasingly becoming a very important part of our strategy. Earlier it was a meagre two to three percent, and it has now grown to about six to seven percent of the budget and will be improving a lot more.”

     

    The channel was a light entertainment channel a year ago, but the team at the front wanted to sharpen the position of the channel to a comedy network. “There is a definite vacuum in the comedy space in India aside from a few shows on Colors and &TV. We wanted to cater to the absolute comedy market, to the audience that loves comedy. So we’re making sure that all our shows even in the future have got a lot of LOL moments,” Painter explained.

     

    The content offered on Big Magic will be platform based agnostic with a large play in the digital and mobile medium. The channel is available across all DTH players including Tata Sky, Videocon, DD Free Dish, Dish TV, Reliance Digital TV and with all cable operators as well.

     

  • The change happens with effect from April 27 with several other new shows planned to start alongside a revamp of Uff! Yeh Nadaniyaan as Total Nadaniyaan

    Big Magic goes in for a revamp, will turn into a 24×7 comedy channel

    By A Correspondent

     

    Laughter, the Relaince Broadcast Network management believes, is seriously good business. So from light-hearted humour offerings which Big Magic was at pains to underscore a year back, it’s now going to be a 24×7 comedy channel, in Hindi.

     

    This happens with effect from April 27 and the timing, one media planner put it, is just right given that BARC ratings are scheduled to be unveiled on April 29.

     

    The change will see popular show Uff! Yeh Nadaniyaan going in for a revamp and coming back as Total Nadaniyaan on April 27 at 9.30pm.  Several other new shows are also planned to start alongside.

     

    Talking about the changes and more comedy on the channel, Paritosh Painter, Network Creative Director at RBNL, said: “At Big Magic, we strive to offer content that is only fresh and full of over-the top comedy. Total Nadaniyaan, will bring in a sense of absolute LOL comedy followed by quirky characters represented by the madness of each character.”

     

    Says Chief Strategy Officer Sunil Kumaran: “We believe comedy is emerging as a very relevant genre and we as RBNL shall be tapping into it more extensively across our TV and Radio media platforms.  Big Magic as a  channel promise is to refresh, rejuvenate audience and this new show re-launch is  a step in that direction – poised towards the objective of creating an ultimate comedy destination.”

     

    According to information available, Big Magic is going in for a significant content upgrade with new scripts, characters. There will also be reality and non-reality shows based on international formats. A 360-degree marketing blitz is also planned with a heavy emphasis on radio and the existing RBNL network of media entities.