With Colors Tamil, we say Vanakkam to a market with Rs 2,000-cr ad spends: Sudhanshu Vats

Viacom18 is all set to launch its latest regional GEC – Colors Tamil – next Monday, February 19, 2018. Viacom18 already operates general entertainment channels in 5 regional languages under the brand name Colors – Kannada, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali and Odia, apart from Hindi and English. 

At launch, Colors Tamil will be available in all leading cable networks catering to an estimated 11 million homes in rest of Tamil Nadu through Tamil Nadu Arasu Corporation, and 3.5 million homes in Greater Chennai through SCV, TCCL, among others. Furthermore, the channel will be available on all DTH platforms – Sun Direct, Tata Sky, Airtel, DishTV and Videocon D2h – reaching out to ~5.5 million households. 

Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO, Viacom18, decided to ditch his usual sharp business suits for the traditional white Veshti and Angavastaram for the Colors Tamil launch event. “It is indeed my pleasure to say 'Vanakkam’ to Tamil Nadu as we enter the biggest regional market, both from the viewership and monetisation point of view as the ad spend is nearly Rs 2,000 crore with a daily time spent per viewer at 3 hours,” he said. 

Bullish on the launch, Vats called it a “momentous day for Viacom18” as it entered the Tamil Nadu market. Continuing further, he said, “We believe in opening new worlds, and while Viacom18 may not be the first to the party, but as I often say, the party begins as we enter! Thus, we have always managed to change the format and disrupt the way things were being done and make a mark for ourselves. There are five areas of business – Viacom18 is the youngest and fastest growing full play media company in the country and we have grown more than 40 times in the last 10 years. So, it’s been an incredible journey. And I am blessed with such a wonderful team at Viacom18.” 

Vats further said that Colors Tamil would be known for its content, which is designed to disrupt and would be differentiated, thought provoking and socially conscious. “Our shows celebrate the inner strength of women as they tackle larger social issues. While most shows are focused on kitchen politics and domestic quarrels, our women protagonists will tackle those issues head on and create an example in the society.” 

He also stressed on the cinematic quality that Colors Tamil will be bringing to the television screens. “For this, we have the best writers on board to create the stories and the best camerapersons to shoot the scenes. Each frame will be a visual delight and will be the first of its kind on the television screens. I believe it will change the way television content is shown in Tamil Nadu,” he affirmed. 

Speaking about the other business areas of Viacom18, Vats spoke about the immense popularity enjoyed by the kids’ toon characters such as Motu-Patlu and Dora. The media conglomerate has also seen great traction for its merchandise products. “We also have a café called FLYP by MTV which is very popular in Mumbai, Delhi and Chandigarh, and we will soon bring this to Chennai as well,” he informed. 

As far as Viacom18’s films business is concerned, Vats said that while the group’s latest offering, ‘Padmaavat’, had gone through a trial by fire, it emerged victorious and had done extremely well. He claimed, “The film has crossed more than Rs 235 crore in India and has created a record in many countries across the world. In fact, it has become the biggest Hindi film in the US, Australia and some parts of Europe.” He also mentioned other film’s from the group’s bouquet that had succeeded in pushing the envelope and set trends – be it biopics like ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ or women-centric films like ‘Queen’. “We have also successfully adopted films from the South, for example, ‘Drishyam’, which was a hit film. We have also launched a Marathi film called ‘Aapla Manus’ starring Nana Patekar. We are also looking at films in other languages and we will definitely look at Tamil Nadu as well,” Vats concluded.

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