MxMIndia

Tag: Viacom 18

  • Comedy Central, a serious contender in the English entertainment channels, has taken the No 3 position in the category in week 1

    It’s comedy time in English entertainment!

    By Rishi Vora

     

    English entertainment channels now have one more serious contender, which has already left an impact at its launch. Comedy Central, from the Viacom 18 stable, has taken the No 3 position in the category in week 1, with 14 per cent market share. It may be noted that Comedy Central is Viacom 18’s sixth channel.

     

    Comedy Central was launched in theUSinitially, and post 2006, extended its presence to other countries. InIndia, it has been launched in seven cities -Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata,Hyderabad,Bangalore, Pune and Ahmedabad, reaching 20 million households across analog, digital cable and DTH.

     

    It is said that the Indian version will have localised content apart from the international library of shows.

     

    Now that the channel is at a reasonable position, the challenge is to keep the momentum going and, slowly but surely, be the No 1 player in the genre. Yes, there are established players, such as Star World and AXN, but Senior VP and General Manager of English Entertainment channels, Viacom 18, Ferzad Palia is of the opinion that Comedy Central has a differentiated offering. It is the first 24-hour comedy channel in English which catersSECAB+ audience.

     

    On why there was a need of a comedy channel in the English entertainment category, Palia explained: “Comedy Central comes as a light hearted channel in an environment which is so much stressed and depressed; something which came up very strongly in our research.”

     

    He added: “Also, the audience which we’re catering to are not on the lookout for crime and drama. And the pattern of the TG which we’ve observed is seen to be non-decisive in a way, where there is not much clarity on what the viewer wants to watch. But, with Comedy Central he knows he is going to get light-hearted humour – all the more reason for him to stick around with the channel.”

     

    With the English speaking population on the rise, consumption of English content too will rise. It is said that 8 per cent of the total population understands English and a subset of that percentage can converse in English. Because English channels reach out to the premium audiences, there are advertisers and brands that look to advertise on English entertainment channels, and Comedy Central is already on the ball as far as tapping advertisers is concerned. It has already got Volkswagen on-board, and a few more premium advertisers will follow.

     

    Apart from advertising, the channel is looking to add to the revenue via subscription, events and merchandise. “We are catering to an audience which no advertiser can afford to ignore. They’re a bunch of aspiring people, very discerning and those who enjoy quality programming. And this audience looks at English entertainment as the only form of entertainment on TV, apart from sports and movies.”

     

    Though the channel seems to have carved out a niche within a niche segment (launching a comedy channel in the English entertainment category), Palia disagrees: “Comedy cuts across gender and age. So in that sense, it isn’t very niche.”

     

    The channel, in next few weeks, will see a full-blown marketing campaign covering, print, outdoor, radio, Internet. The channel was launched with a TV campaign which ran across network channels. Social Media will be one big thrust for the channel as far as marketing is concerned.

     

    Though the market looks a bit crowded with players like Star World, AXN, FX, Fox Crime, Big CBS channels – Spark, Prime, Love and BBC Entertainment, it will be interesting to see how the genre grows and which channels emerge on the top.

     

  • Viacom 18 signs up for capacity on Measat-3a

    Viacom 18 uses Measat for Asia beaming

    By A Correspondent

     

    Viacom 18 has tied up with MEASAT Satellite Systems Sdn Bhd to use the Measat-3a satellite for the international distribution of Viacom 18’s channels across the Asian region.

     

    “With wide coverage and a powerful Asian footprint, Measat -3a is the obvious satellite choice for distribution of our international services,” said Piyush Gupta, Chief Technology Officer, Viacom 18.

     

    “Measat is excited to be working with Viacom 18 to distribute its popular international channels via Measat-3a” said Yau Chyong Lim, Senior Director, Sales and Marketing, Measat. “The addition of Viacom 18’s channels further enhances the assortment of premium channels on Measat’s 91.5°E Asia video neighbourhood.”

     

    Viacom 18 is a 50/50 joint venture operation in India between Viacom Inc. and the Network 18 Group. The joint venture includes leading brands across television, film and digital media to build one of India’s leading multimedia entertainment powerhouses. The brands include MTV, Nick, VH1, Colors and Viacom18 Motion Pictures.

     

    The Measat -3/3a satellites distribute News, Lifestyle, Music, General Entertainment, Sports and Documentary channels across Asia over a bouquet of SD, HD and 3D channels.

  • After Comedy Central, Viacom 18 announces Sonic, a sci-fi entertainment channel TGing young 10- to 17-year-old adults

    Viacom18’s ‘Sonic’ plan to dominate TV-land

    By Rishi Vora

     

    After announcing the launch of Comedy Central, Viacom 18 has now unveiled yet another offering in its bouquet: Sonic, a sci-fi entertainment channel catering to young adults, falling in the age bracket of 10-17. The channel will bank on Action, Adventure and Animation – the three main areas around which the programming strategy will revolve.

     

    What Sonic’s launch does to the market is extend its scope a bit. With other channels in the kids’ genre typically falling in the age group, largely between 4- 14, Sonic extends that to slightly older kids, up to 17 years – a segment which constitutes 30-40 percent of the 4+ market, and the one which is underserved in India. For Viacom 18, it is a significant development, for now as a group it caters to every segment in the Indian entertainment industry. Colors – the Hindi GEC, MTV in the youth category, Nick catering to kids aged between 10-14, and Comedy Central – a comedy channel for 14 + audiences.

     

    But it is too early to tell, whether Sonic will make an impact. A senior member from one of the kids’ channels, who did not wished to be named, said, “While we welcome one more channel in the genre, these are early days to comment on what it does to the segment – will it succeed, will it not? So it is only fair to wait and watch. Coming from the Viacom stable, all I can say is it’ll be interesting to see how the channel progresses.”

     

    Nikhil Rangnekar, Joint CEO, Spatial Access said, “It’s going to be challenging for the new player to establish itself, with its new positioning of catering to young adults. It will be interesting to see what differentiation they bring to the genre, as animation and adventure is a game that existing players are already playing.”

     

    Viacom 18 execs, however, are confident of putting up a good show. Mr Haresh Chawla, Group CEO, Viacom 18, said in the official communique, “Sonic further expands Viacom 18’s presence in a demographic bracket that has remained un-tapped, but is probably the biggest influencer on family purchase decisions. Like our other businesses, we are confident of Sonic establishing a dominating presence within the first year of its operations.”

     

    He further added, “The next 12 months will see Viacom 18 in an expansion mode and Sonic is the first step in that direction.” Mr Bob Bakish, President and CEO, Viacom International Media Networks said, “The launch of Sonic is significant in many ways. Not only does it further expand the Viacom 18 Network in India but it also opens up an interesting category for both viewers and advertisers. The Viacom 18 Network can now take pride in being the only entertainment network that has specific brands to entertain viewers across every possible age segment.”

     

    Mr Chawla’s comment on reaching a dominating position is a clear indication that the channel will pump in distribution monies, and of course investments on content acquisition. The plan is to reach 40 million households in India. So distribution and content acquisition are two key areas of investments the channel is looking into, in its bid to be a significant player.

     

    Executive Vice President and General Manager, Ms Nina Elavia Jaipuria said that the channel’s efforts will be to have a large set of loyal viewers and keep them engaged through never-seen-before digital initiatives. Elaborating on the TG, she said, “It is going to be a challenge to hold the attention of our TG – the young adults – ones who are on the cusp of adulthood. They’re rebellious, impatient, tech-savvy, hyperactive, confident and competitive. They’re early adapters, experimental, extremely opinionated and big influencers on matters such as purchase decisions.”

     

    Revenue-wise, it will be both advertising and subscription. Though digitization will help, the channel’s foremost challenge is to bring a wide variety of advertisers, from different categories on the channel.

     

    The tagline for Sonic is ‘Thrills. Guts. Glory.’ For presentation and packaging aspects, UK-based company – Red Bee has been hired. Scarecrow is the creative agency and Vizeum will handle media duties.

     

    December 2011 is when Sonic will go on air. The marketing will roll out soon, it’s going to be a 360-degree campaign to start with and digital initiatives as an on-going strategy to engage and interact with tech -savvy young adults.

     

    As history suggests, in other categories of course, many channels have launched with a bang. On being asked what her expectation were at launch, Ms Elavia Jaipuria chuckled, “Wish I could get 30 percent share and even surpass Nick. On a serious note, it will be only be right to review the channel’s performance post four to five weeks of launch.”