 "Big Magic joins the laughter club")
A year into its launch, Reliance Broadcast Network Limited's (RBNL) national general entertainment channel is getting a make-over. Currently positioned as a light entertainment channel, it is shaping itself into a comedy driven entertainment platform with a distinct skew towards the male audience. With edgier shows, a dash of loud humour and a new look, the channel wants to target its audience more sharply, increase its reach and get the advertisers' attention.
The RBNL team led by CEO Tarun Katial has not only scheduled a new line-up of shows to reflect this new positioning, but have also revamped the look of the channel - from the logo to the on-air packaging. In its new avatar, the channel has bright blue and yellow as its lead colours (as opposed to the red and white previously) and uses a font with softer edges. It will also use big naught and laughter emoticons as part of the on-air packaging.
BIG LEAP
Big Magic is taking baby steps in the laugh-out-loud genre of television shows where Sab TV is the leader. Both want a slice of the comedy pie, but Big says its shows are differently positioned and there is enough for both to bite into
The changes are expected to help rope in advertisers and increase inventory rates. The channel is targeting a 25 per cent increase in ad-rates. "We want to get more of the news channel advertisers on Big Magic. They have a distinct male skew. We want to break away from the bulk buying that FMCG does. Of course, we won't say no to any good advertiser, but you will see more of auto, telecom, consumer electronics and handset advertisers on Big Magic," explains Katial.
Currently, Indian television has just one significant Hindi comedy entertainment channel, which is Multi Screen Media (MSM)'s Sab TV. It figures among the top five GEC's (general entertainment channels) in the national space and is way ahead of Big Magic on the ratings front.
Katial refuses to pitch his channel against the leader. He asserts his channel's new avatar will be nothing like the Anuj Kapoor led Sab TV's. "In fact, we have decided to be diametrically opposite to the genre leader. While Sab is positioned as a family centric comedy channel, we are consciously more male skewed. So the content will be naughtier, edgier and more in your face. It won't be lewd, but it will deal with content around bolder topics." He draws a comparison between the shows planned for the channel with movies like Vicky Donor saying that they were going in for 'adult' content presented tastefully, without being cheap. Additionally, the channel also plans to experiment with a season-based format for its shows. So they will greenlight projects with a minimum of 60 shows or at least two seasons. The other programming change being planned Katial says, would be to do away with comedy movies that currently air on the channel from time to time. Instead, the focus will be on developing a strong weekend line-up with non-fiction format led shows.
The channel is also contemplating breaking the mould when it comes to scheduling formats. Instead of running a show that airs daily or from Monday to Friday, it may run two sets of shows - one set on air from Monday to Wednesday and another from Thursday to Saturday. Paritosh Painter, creative head at RBNL explains that this is meant to break the monotony. "Comedy is a challenge in any medium. We want to be well prepared, especially if we are to churn out three to five episodes a week", he says. By doing this he hopes the pressure on the writers is eased and the quality of the content is not compromised.
Humour also helps the channel build a digital footprint. Comedy shows play well both in the short and long format and shorts work well in the digital space. The team at RBNL is focusing on maximising the opportunities here too.
Will this lead to better rates and revenues?
The channel is expecting a 25 per cent rate hike in ad rates. Planners however believe that this may be too ambitious. By targeting the adult Indian male, it will definitely get advertisers to bite, but only if the shows translate into a better reach and rating, especially during prime time, will the money follow, they say.
Katial knows that only programming won't help make the cut, reach is important too. For that to happen, he would have to unclog the distribution pipes. Today it is available across all DTH platforms (Tata Sky, Airtel and others) and on cable networks (Hathway, Incable, and others). It will broaden the reach by getting on to international OTT platforms in Australia, New Zealand and Canada. The channel is also planning to use the digital media to communicate with its audience in a big way. On-ground events will play a big role too. "Events will allow brands to interact with the target audience at a personal level. We are consciously looking at associating with brands that will look beyond the ad-spots on-air and invest in integrating at a deeper level," says Katial.
Big Magic is taking a big leap into the unknown, betting on humour and the fact that the television watching Indian male likes a good laugh. Katial observes that being a newcomer has given him and his channel the leeway to be irreverent, not being bound by legacy like some of his contemporaries. That has helped them experiment with the channel's image and positioning. The real challenge, however, will be to find the audience's funny bone.
The RBNL team led by CEO Tarun Katial has not only scheduled a new line-up of shows to reflect this new positioning, but have also revamped the look of the channel - from the logo to the on-air packaging. In its new avatar, the channel has bright blue and yellow as its lead colours (as opposed to the red and white previously) and uses a font with softer edges. It will also use big naught and laughter emoticons as part of the on-air packaging.
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The changes are expected to help rope in advertisers and increase inventory rates. The channel is targeting a 25 per cent increase in ad-rates. "We want to get more of the news channel advertisers on Big Magic. They have a distinct male skew. We want to break away from the bulk buying that FMCG does. Of course, we won't say no to any good advertiser, but you will see more of auto, telecom, consumer electronics and handset advertisers on Big Magic," explains Katial.
Currently, Indian television has just one significant Hindi comedy entertainment channel, which is Multi Screen Media (MSM)'s Sab TV. It figures among the top five GEC's (general entertainment channels) in the national space and is way ahead of Big Magic on the ratings front.
Katial refuses to pitch his channel against the leader. He asserts his channel's new avatar will be nothing like the Anuj Kapoor led Sab TV's. "In fact, we have decided to be diametrically opposite to the genre leader. While Sab is positioned as a family centric comedy channel, we are consciously more male skewed. So the content will be naughtier, edgier and more in your face. It won't be lewd, but it will deal with content around bolder topics." He draws a comparison between the shows planned for the channel with movies like Vicky Donor saying that they were going in for 'adult' content presented tastefully, without being cheap. Additionally, the channel also plans to experiment with a season-based format for its shows. So they will greenlight projects with a minimum of 60 shows or at least two seasons. The other programming change being planned Katial says, would be to do away with comedy movies that currently air on the channel from time to time. Instead, the focus will be on developing a strong weekend line-up with non-fiction format led shows.
The channel is also contemplating breaking the mould when it comes to scheduling formats. Instead of running a show that airs daily or from Monday to Friday, it may run two sets of shows - one set on air from Monday to Wednesday and another from Thursday to Saturday. Paritosh Painter, creative head at RBNL explains that this is meant to break the monotony. "Comedy is a challenge in any medium. We want to be well prepared, especially if we are to churn out three to five episodes a week", he says. By doing this he hopes the pressure on the writers is eased and the quality of the content is not compromised.
Humour also helps the channel build a digital footprint. Comedy shows play well both in the short and long format and shorts work well in the digital space. The team at RBNL is focusing on maximising the opportunities here too.
Will this lead to better rates and revenues?
The channel is expecting a 25 per cent rate hike in ad rates. Planners however believe that this may be too ambitious. By targeting the adult Indian male, it will definitely get advertisers to bite, but only if the shows translate into a better reach and rating, especially during prime time, will the money follow, they say.
Katial knows that only programming won't help make the cut, reach is important too. For that to happen, he would have to unclog the distribution pipes. Today it is available across all DTH platforms (Tata Sky, Airtel and others) and on cable networks (Hathway, Incable, and others). It will broaden the reach by getting on to international OTT platforms in Australia, New Zealand and Canada. The channel is also planning to use the digital media to communicate with its audience in a big way. On-ground events will play a big role too. "Events will allow brands to interact with the target audience at a personal level. We are consciously looking at associating with brands that will look beyond the ad-spots on-air and invest in integrating at a deeper level," says Katial.
Big Magic is taking a big leap into the unknown, betting on humour and the fact that the television watching Indian male likes a good laugh. Katial observes that being a newcomer has given him and his channel the leeway to be irreverent, not being bound by legacy like some of his contemporaries. That has helped them experiment with the channel's image and positioning. The real challenge, however, will be to find the audience's funny bone.