Movies Now 2 gets its own identity in MNX

After a year of successful run in the English movies category, Times Network has rebranded its latest channel Movies Now 2 to MNX. Vivek Srivastava, Executive Vice President & Head Entertainment Cluster, Times Network explains that this is a part of a corporate strategy to create a base for millennials and create slightly younger brands. He also feels the channel needs to have its own brand identity.

“The channel was under the shadow of Movies Now. For a brand to be relevant and move to the next level it needs to have its own name and identity. In the launch phase, all the positives of legacy brand were working and are now transferring to the new brand,” he says.

He adds, “From creating a vibrant viewership base out of its own existing library assets and distribution relationships, the channel has come a long way. With MNX, we look to bring the next level of Hollywood entertainment to India. As we move to the next stage of content with MNX, we plan to expand our viewership and capture the mindscape of the millennials; the change of brand name to MNX is an attempt to attract our audience to something that matches their definition of cool.”

The rebranding has been in works for quite some time. The channel leveraged the movie premiere of ‘Mad Max Fury Road’ to launch on July 16. The movie premieres will be simulcast on Movies Now. However, Srivastava ensures that its library and festivals are very distinct.

Its movie festivals will include Xtreme Nights on weeknights (Monday to Friday) at 9pm, Xterminator during Dussehra (September 21–30) which will showcase ‘Olympus Has Fallen’, ‘The Mechanic’ and ‘Hobbit’, WTF (What The Flicks) on weeknights at 7 pm and Badass Weekends at 9 pm among others. To involve the viewers, it has launched a contest called MNX Get Lucky Contest on digital and broadcast platforms.

Srivastava adds, “From a content stand point, MNX is going to talk to an audience set that is not your regular masala seekers (those who flock to any blockbuster content.) This platform is for those who are little evolved in their choice of content. They are intelligent enough to understand certain nuances.”

The channel’s TG lies between 15–30 years. He says, “We will certainly go beyond metros. A person in Bhopal, Indore and Jaipur is as important as the one sitting in Mumbai.” 

From an advertiser’s perspective, Srivastava feels it will be difficult to distinguish between old and new. Advertisers go in the direction of viewership figures and MNX is already in that path. Will there be new ad rates? The Executive Vice President is affirmative about it but didn’t choose to comment on it further.

Movies Now 2 led the English Movies category for Week 27 (July 1–7) with three million impressions on BARC. Srivastava shares, “We crossed 3000 TVTs in certain weeks. Last week, in six metros it has been number one.”