Channel [v] plays on the 777 formula, but media planners unsure

Following an extensive rebranding exercise in 2009, Channel [v] has now decided to revamp its programming strategy by launching seven new shows on seven consecutive days at 7 pm. These shows will be based on youth-centric interests such as Bollywood, relationships and campus updates, among others.

The first show, ‘Campus Top 10’, will be launched on Monday, March 29. This music countdown show will have college kids sharing their views on Bollywood stars and movies. ‘Deadly Dus’ will be aired on Tuesdays and it will be Channel [v]’s take on the top 10 Bollywood controversies, makeovers and rivalries. ‘[V] R Family’ will follow on Wednesdays, which will narrate true tales of Bollywood’s biggest families. ‘School of Cool’ will be telecast on Thursdays and will cover relationships, fashion, rants and gigs, among others. ‘Lovenet’, which will be telecast on Fridays, will see couples who are into online dating, meet in real life.

For the weekends there is ‘Truth Love Cash’, which will be aired on Saturdays and is a romance reality show that stars real life couples. The seventh new show is ‘Bollywood Nonsensex’, which will be telecast on Sundays. This show will provide some much needed comic relief with Bollywood stars being traded as stocks and shares on the ‘Bollywood Exchange’.

Commenting on the new shows, Prem Kamath, General Manager, Channel [v] India, said, “Keeping in mind the variety of interests and passions of our viewers; it has been our constant endeavour to try and reflect every aspect of these myriad interests in the edgiest, and the most interesting and entertaining form possible.”

Kamath further said that with the introduction of these new shows, there would be a change in the music and non-music content. He also did not see any threat from the ongoing IPL tournament. To promote the shows, the channel’s in-house team, along with its agency on record JWT, has come up with an online and offline campaign. The campaign will be across various media such as print, digital, television and outdoor.

Besides this, the channel has also partnered with Fame Cinemas and Café Coffee Day outlets in seven cities for on ground presence. Contest forms will be handed out at CCD outlets, there will also be digital screens informing visitors about the contest as well as tent cards on the tables.

Apart from this, there is also activation across 8,000 cybercafes, where the entire desktop will be branded and the user will have access to a contest. The exclusive contest will be hosted on Contests2win, which will offer one lucky winner a brand new Honda CBR 1000RR Fireblade bike for guessing correctly all the names of the new shows. The campaign will start on March 29 and will continue till April 9.

Media planners, however, feel that although the channel is introducing the new shows, other channels such as MTV and Vh1 already had shows in the same space of Bollywood, relationships and music.

Ashwini Kamat, GM, MediaCom, noted, “GECs are not really losing audiences to IPL as most of the IPL viewership is coming from the snacking channels such as movies, news and music. The new shows will work only if the content is really strong, as MTV and Vh1 are already tapping into the same TG.”

“The strategy to move from music to programming is a ‘me-too’ approach as MTV has already adopted that route and successfully too. The only thing that will help garner viewership for the channel is if their content is stronger than that of the competition,” she added.

Sushma Y Jhaveri, Senior VP, Carat Media India, felt that in the short run, the channel might get non-channel viewers, depending on the marketing of the channel/ programmes. “But in the long run, content and distribution will decide the viewer base,” she further said.

Like Kamath, Jhaveri too felt that IPL would have not any bearings on the viewership of the channels in this genre.

Talking about the competition with MTV, she said, “7 pm is a strong slot on MTV. Given the difference in viewership between Channel [v] and MTV on this time band, I doubt if Channel [v] can dent MTV viewership in the short run. There has to be a long term strategy for that.”