Laaunched in July this year, Mastiii, the Hindi music and comedy channel from Sri Adhikari Brothers, has made it to the top slot in the music television genre across Hindi-speaking markets. It has garnered 16.5 gross rating points amongst viewers of 15 years and above in socio-economic categories A, B and C, according TAM India data for week ended August 14.
In June 2009, Sri Adhikari Brothers conceptualised it with an initial investment of Rs 75-100 crore. (It was first decided to be named either ‘Dhamaal’ or ‘Masti only’; but finally, it became ‘Mastiii’.) In the next three months, it got a team of 100 people in place. And production work started in January this year. How has it managed to reach the top slot? Sri Adhikari Brothers Television Network Managing Director & Vice-Chairman Markand Adhikari says: “We have got a different concept, and Mastiii is not a vanilla music channel. It’s an electronic radio with fun as well as songs. We play complete and unabridged songs unlike other music channels. The content is two-thirds music and one-third comedy. There is a gig (musical performance) after every two songs which runs round the clock. We produce 500 gigs a month, and there are 15 different concepts.” Adhikari explains, the method of the gigs: “Our laughter ambassadors such as Raju Srivastav, Sunil Pal and Suresh Menon, among others, present four concepts each on Mastiii.”
What has clicked for Mastiii, says Adhikari, is the short gigs (one to one and a half minutes) as the viewers of today don’t stick to a channel for long. The channel is also in talks with mobile service providers and internet companies to develop a new technology where content can be shared.
The Indian music television industry is growing at 20-22 per cent year-on-year, and is estimated at Rs 225 crore with a dozen music channels in the fray, according to industry sources. The main players in the market are B4U Music, 9XM, MTV and Channel V. Now they face serious challenge from Mastiii.
Does 9XM see any competition from Mastiii? 9XM’s head of programming, Amar Tidke, says: “It has adopted the 9XM format that is humour plus hit Bollywood numbers. The difference is that while 9XM has animated characters, Mastiii has got real ones. People are trying to ride on our popularity. Mastiii is scoring high as it is driven by a strong distribution system and novelty. But every week the television viewer ratings keep changing. We are also ready with some new content that’s coming up next month. It’s for the viewers to decide.”
Like 9XM, Mastiii also plays only Bollywood songs. “It’s only Bollywood music that works. International music still has small following in India because it’s too fragmented in its genres: Pop, rock, jazz, rap, R&B (Rhythm & Blues), country music and so on. And for Indian music, Bollywood seems to be the right platform. Any song that the actors perform on the silver screen is going to run in the long run,” Tidke adds.
According to sources, more music channels are coming up. “The space will soon get crowded, and the advertising pie will just get higher,” Tidke sums up.