Exclusive | 10+2 ad cap will be good for viewers:Suvarna's Anup Chandrashekaran

Star Network’s Kannada General Entertainment channel Suvarna has created history by overtaking the undisputed Udaya TV to become the no.1 channel in Karnataka. The 19 year old reign of Udaya TV has ended with Suvarna being crowned the King of Kannada entertainment. Suvarna first dethroned Udaya in the weekday prime time space, later it conquered the Bengaluru market and now is a household name in all of Karnataka.

Expanding it’s reach further Suvarna has now announced the launch of 3 mega fiction shows “Priyadarshini", “Milana” & “Aragini” which went live in the state from August 5th 2013. The three shows went live on Suvarna at 8.00 pm, 8.30 pm and 9.00 pm respectively.

Priyadarshini, Milana & Aragini are additions to the many popular shows offered by Suvarna Channel. Shows like Kannadada Kotyadhipathi, Amruthavarshini, Chukki, Pancharangi Pom Pom, Pallavi Anu pallavi, Akashadeepa, Saraswathi, Karpoorada Gombe & Suvarna Super Jodi have become household names in every part of Karnataka. Suvarna Channel has set a trend with its variety of shows covering various genres and is offering a delightful experience for the entire family.

While in conversation with Anup Chandrashekaran – Business Head, Suvarna, he shared with Adgully how the channel has built a strong viewer base, their position in the KGE market, the three new shows launched recently, marketing plans for the same and more:

Some excerpts from the conversation:

Adgully(AG): Suvarna has announced the launch of 3 mega fiction shows viz. Priyadarshini, Milana, and Aragini. Could you elaborate and tell us how each of these shows though different from each other will appeal to masses all the same? What need gap would those shows fill?

Anup Chandrashekaran (AC): The 3 new fiction launches are different from each other in terms of the story plot, characterization & narration.
Priyadarshini is a story of two sisters (Kavya & Anjali) Anjali is a soft natured girl she falls in love with Gaurav who is very naughty. Kavya, a boisterous girl falls in love with Gautham who is very courteous. A joint family which has been split from many years comes together because of these four characters. Lively and crisp narration is the highlight of the show. High emotional drama narrated with light humour is sure to attract youngsters and homemakers alike.
Milana is an emotional drama woven by the three characters – Samarth, a successful corporate who has lived all his life as per his parents’ instructions. He is highly ambitious and is looking to break-free from the clutches of his strict parents. Prarthana is a simple girl from a small town in Shimoga. She believes in small joys of life and wishes a happy family life. When Samarth’s marriage is planned with Prarthana, he meets Aishwarya who is daughter of the maid in Prarthana’s house. Aishwarya is an opportunist and desires all the happiness in the world. The love-triangle between these 3 characters forms the crux of the story.
Aragini is a love – hate relationship between Sidharth Patil, an arrogant business tycoon and Khushi, a bubbly young girl from Bijapur. A series of unexpected incidents in their lives brings them together. The tussle between these contrasting characters forms the crux of the story.

AG : Suvarna as a brand has built a strong loyal viewer base, and your current fiction offering have made you the leader in week day prime time. How will these three new shows further strengthen your position in the KGE market? 

AC: These 3 shows are stories which have not been done before in Kannada television, have characters which will relate to the Kannada audiences. The core theme around these shows is Love which is very different from our current offering. We are confident that these 3 new shows will continue entertaining our loyal viewers and attract new viewers.

AG  : Could you share some of ‘mantras’ that have helped you reach the position that you are in today ?

AC  : We believe in story telling through younger protagonists. All the main characters in our fiction shows are new faces as we feel that the audiences would relate to fresh faces as a character more easily.
Offering new and different stories in our fiction shows and doing shows like Kannadada Kotyadhipathi (Kannada KBC) which touches the common people has helped us becoming the market leader today.

AG : Of all the shows that have been aired on the channel  which are the shows that have given you best results and helped the channel  make waves?

AC  : It’s an ongoing process, initially we had successful non fiction shows like – Halli Hyda Pyate Banda, Pyate Mandi Kadige Bandru, Kathe yalla Jeevana and others, these shows created disruption in the KGE space.
In 2012 we brought Kannadada Kotyadhipathi Season 1 which made us the leader in week day prime time, along with this show we launched Amrutavarshini @ 21:30 which is today the no.1 show of Karnataka. We continued launching fiction shows like Chukki @ 22:00, Pallavi Anu Pallavi @ 19:30, Akashadeepa @ 19:00, all these fiction shows made us the most preferred channel in week day Prime time.
In the current year we have launched shows like Karpurada Gombe @ 18:00 & Suvarna Super Jodi @ 20:00 (Fri-Sun) which are successful and popular among the Kannada viewers and with the season 2 of Kannadada Kotyadhipathi we have attained the nuemro uno position.

AG : Also please share with us the marketing plans for the three mega fiction shows that soon go live on the channel?

AC : We have planned a 360 degree marketing campaign to promote the 3 shows which include
- major outdoor activity with a door to door canter van activity covering 10 cities.
- there are about 100 hoardings across Karnataka communicating the launch of the 3 shows
- Radio spots across Red FM & Radio city
- Ad’s in magazines like Sudha and Taranga. 

AG : The different shows on the channel covering various genres are a delightful experience for the entire family. How has Suvarna become not only a household name in Bengaluru but whole of Karnataka today?

AC  : We have been offering differentiated content catering to the entire family which has made us the no.1 channel of Karnataka. We do a lot of consumer interaction sessions based on which we develop stories. We have built characters which have become the face of not only our channel but Kannada Entertainment. The production values of our shows are of National quality.
Quality content backed by adequate marketing push has made Suvarna the most preferred channel of Kannada.

AG  : Could you share your views on the latest controversy surrounding the 12 minute ad cap  and the ad rate hike that will be effective soon?

AC  : 10+2 ad cap will be very beneficial for the viewers. How it will impact the viewership and the ad rates is yet to be seen.

AG : Could you also share your views on the after effects of digitization on the television industry? 

AC : This is a milestone in Indian television industry, we expect a good positive hike in subscription revenues, this will help broadcasters in reducing their dependency on the ad revenues. It is also a way of organizing the supply chain of entertainment from Broadcaster to the end viewer.

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