By A Correspondent
The three Cs which sell the most in our country are ‘Cricket, Cinema and Crime’. But let us keep aside crime for a while and focus on the other two. We already have an overdose of cricket with the Indian Premiere League (IPL) and other upcoming cricket fixtures. And, now for movie lovers out there, Star India, has announced the launch date of a free to air (FTA) Hindi Movies channel, Star Utsav Movies, which will be an exclusive offering for the rural market.
Said Hemal Jhaveri, General Manager – Star Gold, Movies Ok, Star Gold HD and Star Utsav Movies in a communiqué: “We are excited to announce the launch of Star Utsav Movies on May 28, India’s first ‘Truly Rural’ Hindi movie channel. With the advent of BARC, rural markets took the centerstage with more than half of the TV viewership coming from the heartland. Our analysis indicated that there was a clear need gap in this category since 25 per cent of the total viewership came from movies, but the Hindi movie genre share is a miniscule 5 per cent. This is because of the non-availability of good content from the existing Hindi movie channels in the FTA space.â€
According to Jhaveri, Star Utsav Movies has been designed with the rural viewer in mind. The insights from research gave the network a perspective about the triggers that dictate the audiences’ approach towards life and entertainment needs. The tag line ‘Har Din Utsav’ is indicative of the network’s attempt to offer viewers a reason to celebrate with the biggest and best stars on the channel
To drive reach and awareness for the new channel, a multi-media launch campaign has already kickstarted which will help Star India Network build awareness. Besides, the promotion also includes an aggressive radio plan besides unique brand experiences for viewers on ground across villages in key markets.