Exclusive | New primetime with new shows at Comedy Central this summer

It is a fairly new member in the English entertainment genre, but Comedy Central India has grown to be synonymous with fun, comedy and laughter. From popular sitcoms to exclusive show launches and stand-up comedy, Comedy Central brings to its viewers content that tickles the funny bones via shows from across the world.

Coming from the Viacom18 bouquet, the channel has recently announced a new line-up for this month. Starting May 5th, viewers can brace themselves for an all new level of comedy with the launch of nine new shows on the channel like the Golden Globes winner Brooklyn Nine-Nine, globally acclaimed Suits Season 3 (finale) and the extremely popular game series Wipe Out which will feature as part of the new line up. The channel has upped their game to promote this new line-up and added to the fun element by creating unique activations by associating with brands to engage with consumers on a ground level. The objective, we are told is to create buzz around the new shows and new seasons of the popular shows to be aired on the channel in May 2014.

Adgully caught up with Ferzad Palia, SVP & GM, English Entertainment, Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd. to know more and get deeper insights on the same.

Speaking about the new line-up and new shows, Palia said, “Comedy Central India is bringing nine new shows and season on the channel and with the launch of nine new shows, the channel is bringing a new prime time of 9:00pm – 12:00am to strengthen appointment viewing. Audiences will also the internationally acclaimed and Golden Globe award winning series Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Sean Saves the World for the Indian viewers for the first time.”

When asked about the rationale behind the same, he said, “Our philosophy at Comedy Central has always been to bring fresh and funny content to viewers. With such a programming line-up, we want to ensure that the fans are entertained throughout, be it on air, on line or on ground. We have some unique and fun activation coming up, which I am sure will leave the audiences wanting for more.”

Palia mentioned above that the channel is focusing at strengthening appointment viewing by bringing a new prime time of 9:00pm – 12:00am as he believes that though ‘prime time’ has never been a focus but it plays an important role in the channel’s programming; hence he believes in straitening the content which will ensure viewership by its own. “The usual 9-10 pm prime-time slot does not really apply to us, as we in general, get good viewership throughout the day. Having said that, our observation shows a surge in viewing from 10 PM onwards; so we kept this in mind to strengthen the slot while planning our content strategy”, he said.

In the past, the channel has managed to grab eyes and record good viewership of a lot of its international series adopted for India. Speaking on how this strategy would work going ahead, Palia said, “The fact is that we have always believed in experimenting and also we get viewership throughout the day wherein different sets of viewers are watching us at different times. There is a lot of viewership that we get at non-prime time as well, especially from the youth. Comedy Central offers the kind of content that they love, content which is not heavy because they are already stressed."

The channel is also offering the ardent audiences popular live game show like The Daily show with Jon Stewart and stand-up comedy act with Whose Line Is It Anyway? Owing to the popularity of the previous series of acclaimed shows, the channel continues to entertain the viewers with the new seasons of Suits Season 3, Citizen Khan, The Mindy Project and The Kumar’s at No. 42.

In terms of marketing and promoting the new shows, he told us that there will be a complete 360 degree marketing push for the same. Fans will get to experience the Wipeout thrill LIVE in their neighbourhood. The channel has partnered with popular hangout places like Crossword Bookstore, Oxford Bookstore, Amoeba bowling, Aura Thai Spa and Golds Gym calling out to the fans to participate in the most fun obstacles and laugh it off.

While Suits sees the third season coming to a close, the channel is making sure the fans take away with them a memory of a lifetime. Now fans get a chance to win a personally autographed DVD signed by the all-star cast of Suits. All they need to do is watch the first episode on 5th May, spot the celeb guest on the show and answer the question on the channel.

Apart from this Comedy Central is also placing branding across many offices to create buzz on the shows and the activations. Post Wipeout activations, The Globes winner show ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ will take precedence and will see a similar nation-wide roll-out promotion plan starting Mid-May.

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