We want to create No 1 & No 2 in the block with MN & MN2: Vivek Srivastava

Movies Now 2, the fourth English movie channel from the Times Network bouquet, went on air last week. In conversation with AdGully, Vivek Srivastava, Senior Vice President & Head, English Entertainment Cluster, Times Network, speaks about the plans for the channel, the advertisers, the marketing and more. Excerpts:

With the launch of Movies Now 2, could there be a shift in viewers from more mass-based channel to exclusive viewing at some point?
Why one would move from a mass channel to a slightly more evolved channel at a personal level is because they have come to a point where they could identify with certain types of movies more than the other movies. So there will be a viewer which will become more evolved and get into a higher life cycle. At the same time, you know that there’s around 90 per cent of India’s population which is not exposed to English content at all. They will keep getting into the bedrock and start expanding the pie. And that is why I believe that two things are very important – English is mass and will get ‘massier’ in the next 3-5 years, and secondly, there is a significant need for segmentation, because the evolved audiences will start knowing what they want. And when they know what they want, they would want to experiment with platforms that they identify with.

When you are doing deals for ad sales, what is it that helps you in getting newer set of clients who are, maybe, not using the English pie?
Any network bundling cannot help if it is not profitable for individual clients. At the same time, certain brands reserve their own individual presence and presentation. Therefore, at Movies Now 2, specifically, we might have a separate team which is going into selling. There is a large advertiser base which prefers to buy all platforms. But that cannot happen at the cost of an individual platform. So, because the brand has a separate panel, we are spending specifically on that brand and the brand has to make money for itself. And therefore, it has to get the due it is entitled to.

While you are planning to air movies that are more edgy on Movies Now 2, targeted at the connoisseurs, at the same time are you also looking at targeting Tier 2 and 3 towns?
Currently, we are focussing on 1 million-plus towns. We are not focussing on the six metros for Movies Now 2. Our focus still remains on the million-plus towns and in those towns there will be these viewers who are slightly more new age, who understand the evolving needs of cinema, the cinema of tomorrow. It is this segment that we want to capture. So, I don’t think it is limited by geography. It is limited by the experiences that you get into your system, the evolution that you had with English content.

At this point in time, BARC rural ratings are not the reason why we have launched Movies Now 2. The reason why we have launched the channel is because we believe that there is a content vacancy which exists, which is not been utilised effectively and has not been given to the audience. BARC rural ratings are exciting for us. They are very indicative at this point of time. But if I would presume that BARC rural ratings have to work for us, that have to work for the mass brands first, that is, channels like Movies Now, Star Movies, HBO. If Movies Now and Star Movies can start scoring in those markets, then yes, there is scope for others. I think for us to use them in our content evaluation and for advertisers to include them in their advertising spends, that is still some time away.

What kind of incremental spends are you looking at from an ad sales point of view?
I think Movies Now 2 will be positioned in the lot. Movies Now is the No. 1 channel, while Movies Now 2 will be very close to Movies Now. We are trying to create a No. 1 and No. 2 in the block. It is a viewership driven channel. And if we are gunning for the top slots, then it has to garner that amount of viewership and advertising revenue as well.

Are you looking at a separate set of advertisers for Movies Now 2 since it will be targeting the connoisseurs?
Because the brand is mass, we would want to have a large bouquet of advertisers. From a target audience standpoint, it remains the same as Movies Now. So, the advertiser pool remains the same. Obviously there will be advertisers who will find themselves more suited for this brand than the other channels. For example, what they do with Romedy Now and MN+. I don’t see why an SUV brand would not want to consider Movies Now 2 more than other channels in the bouquet.

What is the TG for the channel? Is there an HD feed as well?
The TG is set at 15-35 years. But we could consider the 15-45 age group as well. We will be launching the HD feed in about a week or two. So, the channel will be available in both standard definition and high definition.

Which studios have you tied up with for the content?
We have existing long-term deals with Warner Brothers, NBC, MGM, Fox and Sony.

Any new partnerships that you have formed?
MGM was the latest that we have, which is our first output. So James Bond flick ‘Spectre’ and others will premiere with us.

What about the marketing plans for Movies Now 2?
We are going ahead in full flow with the marketing. Since the channel is youth-centric, digital forms a major part of the marketing plans, which means you will find a lot of ads and display ads, paid rolls, post rolls on streaming sites, a lot of display advertising on various ad and video networks. We will also have print, a fair bit of outdoor and TV network.