&TV all set for a high decibel launch...!!

And just a few hours are left to see a new channel to hit the TV screens....ZEEL’s (ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Limited) &TV is all set to make a splash into the GEC space with its healthy mix of fiction and non-fiction properties. A few months back, the channel that was announced with much fan fare is all geared up to catch the viewers’ attention with multi-dimensional content play and a strong line-up of fiction and non-fiction shows from 7:30 PM onwards today.

With a visual spectacle Razia Sultan, which will be the opening show of &TV, set to air at 7.30 PM includes the story of the first woman emperor of the Delhi Sultanate way back in the 13th century; followed by Bhaghyalakshmi at 8.00 PM, a simple story of an ambitious young girl who aspires to chase her dreams and at the same time strike a balance with the family; then get ready to be charmed by a feisty little girl Gangaa who is sure to make way into your hearts with her innocence, enthusiasm and the zest to live life to the fullest at 8.30 PM.

Taking centre stage at 9.00 PM is one of the most talked about game show – India Poochega Sabse Shaana Kaun? hosted by none other than the Badshah of Bollywood – Shah Rukh Khan. Next in line at 10.00 PM is Begusarai – a quirky town that has a powerful story to tell—of Thakurs, outlaws of the land.

Thus the most interesting fact is that the channel is well positioned with sound distribution and a list of marquee sponsors. The channel is available on all possible distribution platforms including Direct To Home or Anolog Cable operators or any other.

We at Adgully with an aim to get a deeper understanding caught up with Ashish Sehgal, Chief Sales Officer, ZEEL who shared some insights about the ad-rates, marketing push and much more.

Sehgal who seem to be really excited and happy for the D-day, said, “I am excited but nervous too. Our content looks promising for sure and this is one of the biggest launches of the year. I am hoping to grab viewer’s attention with the line-up of shows that we have.”

The fact that the channel has locked all the sponsors before its launch proves that the channel has surely managed to grab advertisers’ attention. Elaborating on the same, Sehgal said, “The response from the sponsors has been really encouraging. Both our fiction and nonfiction properties have enough sponsors.”

An industry expert opined that though initially the channel faced few challenges to attract advertisers as in the past a few new launches had been unable to draw the necessary attention but eventually when &TV custodians showcased the unique line-up of shows, they managed to draw the advertisers’ interest.

“There was a sign of worry among the advertisers initially but with the content that we have we managed to assure the mileage that they will get out of our shows. We have been marketing and promoting the channel at a much larger budget viz-a-viz any other channel hence we were able to build up the necessary buzz among both the advertisers and the audiences,” Sehgal added.

Also Sehgal mentioned that the selling-strategy was quite different for &TV. He said, “We started approaching different set of advertisers for different shows. And this helped us in getting desired sponsors on board. Also we left the choice on the sponsors whether they would want to pick up a fiction show or a non-fiction show.”

Non-Fiction shows have been sold at a higher premium as India Poochega Sabse Shaana Kaun is one of their anchor properties. So when asked Sehgal whether other properties too were sold at a premium, he said, “Yes, Non-Fiction properties involve high budget and are always sold at a premium cost viz-a-viz, fiction properties. India Poochega Sabse Shaana Kaun was sold at a much higher premium than Razia Sultan or any other show."

India Poochega Sabsa Shaana kaun has sponsors like Presenting Sponsor like Rin, is Co-powered by Pan Vilas and DHFL and has Associate Sponsors like Cartrade.com and Mahindra. While Ganga Ganga has Vicco as its Presenting Sponsor, Libero and Ghadi Detergent as Co- Powered By sponsors and Lux cozy as Associate Sponsor; Begusarai has Pan bahar as Presenting Sponsor, Quikheal and Ghadi Detergent as Co-Powered By sponsors and Lux cozy/Mahindra as Associate sponsors. Razia Sultan has Venus and Clean and dry as Presenting and Co-Powered By sponsors respectively whereas Bhaghyalakshmi has only Kinder Joy as a Presenting Sponsor.

  As it is quite evident that all the shows of the channel have a mix bag of sponsor categories, Sehgal said, "We did not face the fact than one category is showing high interest than other.”

Though Sehgal was not able to share the ad-rate figures but mentioned the fact that ad-rates of &TV are equal to any other top GEC. He also stated that initially the ad-rates will remain the same but going forward depending upon the channel's performance there will be alterations in the same. "As it takes couple of months for any channel to get settled in the market and once the channel makes its presence felt in the market we will take a decision to as to increase or decrease the ad-rates," he said.

Some time back ZEEL had also launched a GEC, Zindagi so on asking Sehgal whether Zindagi also managed to lock sponsors for its shows before the channel was launched, Sehgal said, "No… because in that case the strategy was different and for &TV the strategy to approach the marketers was different. During Zindagi we were never show focused while during &TV we were show focused and approached respective clients accordingly."

While talking to an Industry expert, we gathered that in today’s times &TV is one of the high-profile launches of the year and they have managed to create the necessary buzz in the market. He also shared that like KBC had turned around the fortune for a certain channel, India Poochega Sabse Shaana Kaun might also turn around the fate for &TV too, if the shows before and after are good enough to draw the necessary eye balls.

Well though it’s an encouraging response for the channel but the game is yet to start......| By Aanchal Kohli | Twitter:@aanchalkohli