Vast variety of content will drive the newest Hindi GEC, Shemaroo TV

Shemaroo have announced their entry in the General Entertainment space with the launch of their new Hindi GEC – Shemaroo TV. A Free to Air channel, Shemaroo TV targets the Hindi speaking markets of India with the tagline ‘Badalte Aaj Ke Liye’. With an aim to reach out to families and connect with them, Shemaroo TV will be available for audiences on all major DTH operators and cable networks from May 1, 2020.

TV continues to be the leading platform in terms of content consumption in India, though TV penetration is still low at 200 million. The overall TV market share is above 45 per cent. Shemaroo will be leveraging this and the fact that people are restricted to their homes due to social distancing and nation-wide lockdown and family TV watching is on the rise. The content mix for Shemaroo TV will have a strong focus on various genres such as comedy, drama, mythology, thriller, crime and animated shows for kids. Many shows like ‘Mahadev’ and ‘Zabaan Sambhaal Ke’ will see a return on TV via this channel. This content mix is targeted to entertain all age groups in the household.

BARC-Nielsen data for content consumption during the lockdown period shows how Mythology and drama shows have been the key drivers in GEC viewership. This genre will be a strong focus during the week. However, on weekends, comedy shows and movies will be a strong focus. Shows like ‘Great Indian Laughter Challenge’ are going to make a comeback.

The launch of Shemaroo TV is banking on the success of Shemaroo MarathiBana, which was launched in January this year and has already crossed the 100 GRP mark.

Commenting on the launch of Shemaroo TV, Hiren Gada, CEO, Shemaroo Entertainment, said, "We, at Shemaroo Entertainment, are constantly evolving and upscaling with the changing times. The content of Shemaroo is spread across different verticals through which we maintain a healthy relationship with viewers and advertisers equally. While we manage large digital platforms, entering into the broadcasting space will help us with reach and enable us to build a stronger affinity with the audiences. With the launch of our flagship channel, Shemaroo TV, we are excited to strengthen our presence in the industry and deliver our promise of entertaining the Indian audiences.”

Sandeep Gupta, COO - Broadcast Business, Shemaroo Entertainment, added here, “If we see the current TV space and particularly the Free To Air space, there is large consumption of content, but with less variety of shows and genres. Shemaroo TV will be enhancing the entertainment needs of the Indian audiences by its vast offerings of iconic shows, along with original shows across various genres. We have worked extensively to understand the needs of our consumers and have sharpened our insights based on what will appeal to them. Shemaroo TV will have an extensive reach and we aim to become one of the most popular destinations in the Free To Air General entertainment space.”

The channel is going to offer 6.5 hours of content and TV and Digital are going to be a strong focus in terms of marketing. There are many media partnerships in the pipeline to spread the messaging of the channel.

Talking about advertisers, Rahul Mishra, AVP - Marketing, Shemaroo Entertainment, said, “We’re trying to partner with like-minded brands across digital, TV and other media brands. Idea is to reach out to more audiences leveraging each other’s strengths. Very shortly we will announce the partnership we have planned.”

Talking about advertisers, Gada mentioned that “There is a strong interest among the advertisers, however nothing has been finalised as of now. We will take it as it goes. Revenue outlook has changed in the ultra-short term.”

Gada further said, “While certain content goes on TV daily, anything produced on TV will also be present on digital via Shemaroo Me. Our OTT platforms and partner platforms will be fuelling both digital and TV. TV will also drive our digital platforms and a synergy will be seen across digital and TV.”