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According to the 52nd week’s TAM report 2011, the GRP for BIG CBS PRIME was 4.23 which surpassed the GRP of AXN and Star World which stood at 3.69 and 3.35 respectively. The show Galileo Extreme ranks no.1 in TVR in the Action/Thriller Genre across all 7 metros. Also, the 10pm Mon – Thursday time band that airs The Jerry Springer Show has been garnering the Best TVR over the last few weeks. This unprecedented growth is attributed to the channel successfully identifying the entertainment preferences of its target viewers and providing fresh and engaging content.

Speaking about the achievement of BIG CBS PRIME, the Company said in a statement, “Despite high competition in this category we are happy with how the channel has shaped up in a year’s time. Given our content and programming, we were confident of taking the channel to great heights. We are now looking at introducing more local content along with some of the finest international formats keeping with the tastes of our discerning viewers.”

Living up to its promise, BIG CBS PRIME has freshest content lined up for their viewers for 2012. The channels will kick-off the latest season of one of the most adventurous series, Survivor and Hawaii Five-O soon.

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And if some of you thought action was fading away, think again! The last major hit bollywood offering was the Dabbang cop Chulbul Pande and Robot. Action as a genre will only grow more stringer with the sequel to these and the upcoming Shahrukh Khan starrer- DON 2. So, if there ever was a great time to vote for India’s action hero, it is now as AXN brings back the punching genre with AXN Action Awards, for anyone and everyone who loves action!

Says Rohit Bhandari, SVP, AXN and Animax, “Action as a genre has seen an amazing evolution in India. While there was a short phase where most directors were shying away from directing action films, the genre has returned in all its glory connecting majorly with the masses. AXN Action Awards, gives the genre its due credit which otherwise gets lost in the clutter of appreciation for the very serious intelligent cinema. The genre needs equal if not more creativity, planning and guts to execute and AXN Action Awards recognizes and appreciates the same. AXN Action Awards also provides you your dose of adrenaline as you choose and vote for your favorite Action Stars of 2011.”

AXN Action Awards is known to be one of the largest platforms for appreciating the work of Action Heroes’ and is a People’s Choice Award. Watch out for the power packed nominees and a very glamorous host. Stay tuned as we take the action to the next level for you only on AXN.

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Rohit Bhandari, Sr. Vice President, AXN says, “We were always focused with regard to our approach on marketing the show. And realizing the growth and potential of social media platforms in India, creating buzz about the show via these channels made tremendous sense especially when the main prize is Rs.1 crore.” In less than 15 days, the show has been able to achieve a fan base of more than 22,000 on its official Facebook Fan Page http://www.facebook.com/AXNIndia. And this is noteworthy, because engaging with your audience even before the show begins helps one to gauge the sentiment pertaining to the show, as consumers openly share their feelings and experiences. Bhandari adds, “Social media has given the opportunity for the consumer to interact with AXN and India’s Minute To Win It. And while they express themselves on platforms like Facebook; it has given us a chance to not only monitor their feedback but also use this as an opportunity to engage with them”. Media2win, a leading independent digital agency, has been rewarded the responsibility of creating the entire digital & social media strategy for AXN and India’s Minute To Win It.

Namrata Balwani, COO of Media2win says, “An innovative show like ‘Minute to Win It’ required a unique approach to social media. We wanted the TG to get intrigued with the game show by letting them experience similar games on the digital platform. There are 5 interesting games of a minute’s duration each on Facebook which require the user to do a particular task such as hit a ball with a bucket on the head, punch lights out with a ball etc & compete with others playing the games. Consumers have the option to play, share and invite their friends via these gaming applications on Facebook. We are also engaging consumers with behind the scenes footage of the shoot & more.”

Apart from Facebook, they have also created a presence on twitter http://twitter.com/axn_india. Bhandari adds, “We even got queries from enthusiastic consumers wanting to participate in the game show. But unfortunately, registrations were closed earlier. But our winning moments in this space will be defined by partners like Media2win who understand engagement in social media platforms”.

In the coming day’s one will witness more hype around the show across digital media platforms.

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In an exclusive interview, Adgully gets to know Dandekar as she speaks about the show and her experience working for the same, “It is such an amazing project. It is not your regular kind of hosting, you are involved with all the activities and the inventive sports and the places we travel to. This is a different kind of anchoring format. The concept of the show is great. It is different. I went for the audition and happen to get it. It is a very hands-on kind of experience. We will be travelling to different destinations and very involved adventurous sports. It is probably one of the best things I have done,” she said.

“It is a show for men. It is about men. We are bringing new alternative gadgets, latest mode of transport and taking you to different locations. We are showing you how to live the good life. It is for the men out there who already have an idea and know about the latest styles in the market. We are just taking them to the next level. We feature successful men on the show, how far they have come, what they have done with their lives and what kind of lifestyle they have. It is for a show that is targeted for men and about men. It is a concept that really hasn’t been pulled off before. It is a show with a very high caliber. I fit into it because I give a women’s perspective and Keith Sequiera my co-host gives you a man’s perspective. This is not done in a battle of sex’s way, we work together,” she further added.

According to Dandekar, Manhattan and Mumbai are similar in many ways, both being cosmopolitan cities. Her experience in Manhattan was amazing although now she is happy to be working in Mumbai. Having done various stints in modeling and essentially being a singer and dancer, Dandekar has her own fan following. However she says she doesn’t like being a part of the herd and wants to make a statement of her own. “This is because when people follow fashion blindly, you just become one of the pack. If it doesn’t look good on you and doesn’t suit you, then don’t wear it. The best thing to do is to find things you really like and make it work for you. It is all about feeling good. If you don’t feel good, you are not going to look good,” she explained.

Dandekar states that social media is crucial at this juncture for all of us. She goes on to explain how she makes use of the digital medium. “I am on twitter and am active on facebook. They are very important to me because it is a good way to interact and reach out to people who are interested in what’s happening. We have been tweeting quite a bit about MEN2.0. We have got fabulous feedback. It is great to be able to connect with fans and people who are following are the show. It’s a good way to keep in touch. It is at a personal level.”

Speaking of her sister, Anusha Dnadekar, she says they have similar mannerism and are alike in many ways. “As far as hosting styles are concerned, we have certain aspects about hosting techniques that are same and some that are quite different. I guess it depends on the show which we are hosting and the channel we are working for. We both cater to different audiences,” she further said.

Similar or not, Shibani Dandekar is already embarking on the ladder of success and is definitely creating her own aura. | By Janees Antoo [janees(at)adgully.com]

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The format of the show is very simple; each contestant is presented with a challenge that must be successfully completed within 60 seconds using everyday household items like buckets, empty cans, tooth brush, noodles, pizza tray, etc. Each game has a time limit of a minute and failure to finish the task on time will lead to elimination. Some of the challenges include “Bite Me” – picking up paper bags of different sizes using your mouth; “Blind Ball” – while blindfolded collect 2 balls balanced on card board tubes; “Bottoms Up” – knock over empty cans using Yo-Yo tied to the waist; “Bucket Head” – catch 3 balls in a bucket placed on top of your head.

On completion, the contestant wins the first level worth Rs. 1,000 and advances to the next level. After successfully completing the first, fifth and eighth level challenges, the contestant is guaranteed to leave with no less than the cash award for those levels. The difficulty of the challenge progressively increases throughout the game.

Ricky Ow, Senior Vice President & General Manager, SPE Networks – Asia, is upbeat about the show’s success, “ AXN has had previous successes with local productions like Who Dares Win – India Special and Magic Asia: India, as well as Pan-Asian productions like The Amazing Race Asia and Cyril: Simply Magic. I am sure Minute to Win It will also work very well in India, given the popularity of such game show formats – it is easy and fun for the contestants; and exciting and quirky for the viewers.”

Adds Rohit Bhandari, Senior Vice President, AXN & Animax (India), “AXN is committed to customize and provide fresh and exciting content to its Indian viewers. Minute to Win It is a fun game show in which anyone can participate and stand the chance to win cash prizes up to Rs. 1 crore. Participants need not worry about acquiring special skill set to be a part of the show, as it is purely based on simple activities that will have to be done in one minute. What also makes the tasks easier is that the participants will be given time to practice them before they actually perform. We are sure the format will be loved by the Indian viewers too.”

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The hosts will be seen performing interesting activities such as riding Harley Davidson bikes while visiting fantastic destinations like Goa. They will also try to inform the viewers about the latest gadgets; some must visit holiday destinations, introduce them to adventure sports and provide the audience with tips for a perfect date. Moreover, the show will also feature the Dream Riders, men who chased their dreams and turned them into successful businesses.

Speaking about his new association with AXN, Keith said, “Hosting this show was one of the best things that happened to me. It has been a fantastic experience. Exploring the nightlife in Mumbai, indulging in adventure sports, driving Harleys around picturesque locations, I couldn’t have asked for more. Of course my co- host Shibani made the experience even more memorable.”

Echoing similar views, Shibani said, “I think I am having an awesome time shooting and hosting Men 2.0 along with Keith. Keith knows very well how to charm a woman and is extensively knowledgeable on the latest. He is the perfect co – host.”

Speaking exclusively to Adgully, Rohit Bhandari, Senior Vice President, AXN & Animax, said, “AXN has always tried to provide newer and fresher content to their audiences. Moreover the Indian economy is looking poignant, the lifestyle of an average consumer is improving and more and more brands are entering the Indian market. So given this change in the market scenario, our new show will try to cater to the Indian men of today who are go-getters and have immense self-belief in themselves.”

The show will be marketed across OOH platforms and cross-channel promotions; the channel is looking at putting the message out there to its target audience and at the same time drive them towards the channel. The presenting sponsors for the show are Sony Bravia and Samsung Galaxy and the associate sponsors include Garnier Men, Woodland and Nescafe.

Since the show will have a special section on technological gadgets, it will have some sponsor integrated products too.

The channel in the past too has come out with programming that is indigenized and more relevant to the Indian viewers and has a lot of plans to come out with more original Indian content. However, the channel wants to take it slow now, and build on the “cost to return” analysis and probably a few years down the line the channel will have more Indian content.

“India is a vast market, there are so many show formats that have been tried and tested. But we at AXN believe in providing unique and exciting content to our audiences. Hence we would want to go slow at telecasting more original Indian content but at the same time we want to have a better, unique, acceptable and exciting programming,” Bhandari adds. | By Prabha Hegde [prabha(at)adgully.com]

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Now, AXN is bringing the show’s eighth season to India. The series opens on August 23 and features India’s Bollywood grandee, Anil Kapoor, in a key role. In an exclusive interaction with Adgully, Rohit Bhandari, senior vice-president of AXN & Animax, explained the salient aspects of the forthcoming ‘24’ season, whose finale was telecast in the US on May 24.

The show will run through 24 episodes, Bhandari said. When asked how many of those episodes would feature Kapoor, Bhandari said: “I don’t want to share that information because it is an integral part of the storyline and it is best if people watch the show and see how the story unfolds.”

It seems likely that the show will be telecast from 11 pm. “That is the slot which has been developed over the years for GECs,” Bhandari said. “And that is time slot we will be looking at.”

As for the promotional drive for the show, Bhandari said that Kapoor would play a significant part in it. “Mr Kapoor is going to be a part of everything,” Bhandari said. “He is one of the finest actors India has produced. Also, one has to hand it to him for his longevity in the business. After having worked for so many years in the Hindi film industry, the next step was Hollywood. And American television was the next big thing to happen to him.”

Bhandari said Kapoor delivers a spectacular performance in ‘24’, playing Omar Hassan, the moderate leader of Kamistan, a fictional and Iran-like country in the Middle East.

“I have only seen a couple of episodes. Mr Kapoor is an integral part of the storyline,” Bhandari said. “He is excited about this. And the fact that it is going to be seen in India for the first time is adding to the excitement. He is definitely going to be part of all the promotions.”

Adgully asked Bhandari if some tinkering had been necessary to make ‘24’ suitable for Indian TV. “We have done a couple of things,” Bhandari said. “Earlier, there were eight seasons of ‘24’, and one episode was relayed every week for 24 weeks. This time, ‘24’ will be played four times a week and will conclude in six weeks. We are planning to include subtitles, something AXN normally doesn’t do.” Bhandari said the inclusion of subtitles would increase the reach of the show.

“We are also going to re-look the break structure,” Bhandari said. “Normally, we used to have four breaks in the hourly show format. But here, we will have just one short ad break to persuade viewers to stay with the show. Our scheduling will be from Monday to Thursday. And the repeat will be from Tuesday to Friday, at 10 pm.” Bhandari said there would also be a weekend repeat from 7 pm to 9 pm.

Adgully asked Bhandari why AXN had picked up ‘24’ for India. He said the decision was consistent with the channel’s strategy of presenting the A-list of programmes in this country. “We have some the biggest shows on American television like ‘House’, ‘Lost’, ‘Numbers’ and others,” Bhandari said. “With a show like ‘24’, we want to give an opportunity to the audience to enjoy the show in an extended-period format. We just try to be a little innovative in scheduling the shows.”

The promotion for the show’s debut would be impactful, Bhandari said. “There is going to be an outdoor component where we want to announce to the world that ‘24’ is launching on the 23rd of August and that Anil Kapoor is debuting on American television,” he said. “Basically the highlights of the show will be featured. We will be cross-promoting by means of blind spots across like-minded channels. We are going online and using Facebook and Twitter. Last but not the least, Mr Kapoor has been doing a lot of press interviews and he will be doing more during this week.”

Bhandari said the channel does not reveal ad budgets. “But broadly speaking, this is one of our larger projects of the year,” he said. “This probably would account for 20-25% of our annual budget.”

As for the innovation of introducing subtitles, Bhandari said AXN had tried it once in the past. “For us, this is an experiment with a popular show with a popular star who relates to India very well,” Bhandari said. “We are doing this to expand our audience base. But today, all English-movie channels are using subtitles and some English-entertainment channels are also doing that.”

Bhandari concluded by saying that AXN had some reality shows coming up over the next two to three months. “Generally, we telecast reality shows between 9 pm and 10 pm,” he said. “Currently, it is a little premature to talk about the new reality shows. At any rate, we have a local show under discussion right now.” He said that AXN had acquired a new show called NCIS: LA (Naval Criminal Investigative Service: Los Angeles) which stars LL Cool J and Chris O’Donnell. “They are known faces in Hollywood,” Bhandari said. “These are the big shows that will be rolled out in the next couple of months.”

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Adgully: You have always been known for your expertise in finance, so how did you adjust to the role of leading an entertainment channel?

NP Singh: It has been an 11-year-long journey. I was the CFO for the first five years. For me, the transition from the CFO to the COO — who handles multiple channels — was smooth and easy because when I was the CFO, I played an active role in helping to manage the business. At that stage, the business was experiencing a flux, and that gave me a great opportunity to learn — especially the creative side of operations. And when I got the chance to get out of my comfort zone, I decided to take the plunge and immerse myself in the other side of the business. So, this has been a fantastic journey. When I started, we had two channels; now we have several.

AG: Which brings us to the next question. How has Sony evolved since you took over?

NPS: When I took over, it was a single-channel company, which was a GEC. Then we launched Set Max, which was a unique combination of movies and special events. A lot of cynics said that this combination would not work. But we were confident because Indians are crazy about Bollywood and, of course, cricket. The channel is now nearly 11 years old, and is a market leader. As we moved forward, we acquired the rights for ICC World Cup matches, in 2003 and 2007. Subsequently, we acquired the IPL rights. Meanwhile, we also acquired SAB from Shree Adhikari brothers. The channels, which previously held the 7th and 8th positions in the Hindi GEC standings, are now in the top-five league. In fact, Set Max has grown by 300% over the past one-and-half years. Then we also launched the Hollywood movie channel, Pix, which was a library service, in April 2006. It became an instant hit and started to surge ahead of established players, like HBO, in just a few weeks. Last year, we decided to hold the TV premiere of ‘Slumdog Millionaire’; that was a huge success. This year, we are going to showcase a Oscar-winner, ‘Hurt Locker’.

AG: A fierce battle is being fought between GECs; where do you see Sony heading?

NPS: Yes, it’s a highly competitive marketplace, but I can tell you with pride that Sony and SAB are in the top-five list of channels in the country. Look at the top-ten channels, and we have three of them there. So, we are very strong in the market. Going back to the GECs, yes, there is intense competition in this space and that poses many challenges. There is pressure to acquire good content and people. But so far we have been doing extremely well.

AG: What key areas will be your focus for the next two years?

NPS: We want Sony in the top-three list…that is our prime focus. But that is not going to be at the expense of other properties. As I said, Set Max has grown by 300%, and we want it to continue challenging other channels. As for Pix, as I mentioned, it has beaten HBO. But we want to make it a clear Number 2 and then Number 1. We are currently strategising to achieve those objectives. We are also preparing ourselves to capitalise on the looming digital revolution.

AG: As a finance wiz, do you keep an eye on costs?

NPS: It is not easy to run a business. We have to keep an unwavering eye on costs and, at the same time, we have to effectively monetise content. We are looking at not only the traditional means of advertising and distribution in India and overseas, but also at the possibility of licensing our software and content to other players around the world. We are working to exploit emerging spaces, including mobile and the internet. Managing costs and maximising revenues keeps us healthy.

AG: Any plans for new channels?

NPS: Yes, there are. We will announce the details shortly. Our parent company acquired a regional channel last year; it is now called Aath. We are looking at few more emerging markets too.

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Prior to this, Shermann was the management supervisor – account management for Ogilvy & Mather.

Shermann has over 13 years of experience in the advertising industry. He has worked with companies such as Barclays Bank, Axis Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Tata Indicom, AXN, Airtel, HBO, Hindustan Lever and Star Plus.

Shermann started his career with Primesite Outdoor advertising in 1999 and moved on to The Media Network in 2001.

He worked with Madison Outdoor Media Services and later, in 2002 moved to Portland India Outdoor advertising as group account director.