Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Thursday, Dec 23, 2004
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Thursday, Dec 23, 2004 |
|
|
|
|
|
Marketing
-
Strategy Variety - Music & Dance VH1 music channel to target 16-44 age group Latha Venkatraman
Mumbai , Dec. 22 WITH the Indian television space already crowded, has Viacom's music channel, VH1, arrived a tad late in the country? The channel to be launched on January 1 promises to offer international music ranging from the 1970s to the most contemporary. MTV India believes that VH1 has something real to offer a section of the television audience. The roll-out of decoder boxes to cable operators has already commenced. For a media buyer, much would depend on the channel's ability to carve a niche for itself. VH1 is being positioned as a channel that caters to an audience in the age group of 16 to 44 and keen on international music. In effect, it takes over the slot vacated by MTV a few years ago, when the latter decided to add a considerable dash of Bollywood and Indipop to its programming. Today MTV is 80 per cent Hindi in content. Elsewhere in the world, VH1 is the mature version of MTV. While MTV caters to a teenage audience, VH1 offers music and shows that suit audiences past their adolescent years. The MTV official believes there is space for a channel such as VH1 in India. "It can find a niche akin to the ones where HBO and Star Movies find themselves," he said. In fact, unlike abroad, where VH1 is positioned as a music channel for those outgrowing the adolescent charms of MTV, here the prime difference will be the 80 per cent Hindi content MTV took on itself and the fully international fare VH1 promises to host. Media buyers may not be floored by the numbers that a music channel offers but they do not dismiss the opportunity either. "Media planners can advertise certain products catering to youngsters on music channels or English movie channels. An example would be jeans," Mr P.R.P Nair, Senior Media Advisor, Media Direction, the media buying arm of R K Swamy BBDO, said. "There will definitely be an audience for a channel such as VH1 if it is going to focus on international music from the 1970s till now," he said. This special audience will bring in some advertisers, he believes. "In a niche channel, advertisers are able to reach audiences more effectively. So there will be some advertisements that will find their way on to these channels," he said.
More Stories on : Strategy | Music & Dance
Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page
|
Stories in this Section |
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | Business Line | Sportstar | Frontline | The Hindu eBooks | The Hindu Images | Home |
Copyright © 2004, The
Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu Business Line
|