Race for TRPs hots up among movie channels

Two movie channels in the offing look set to win over home audiences. Meanwhile, existing movie channels like Star Gold have adopted more aggressive marketing strategies to target new audiences and retain the existing viewers.

With TRPs mostly dependent on the kind of movies a movie channel shows, channels like Star Gold are focusing on doing 'tent poles' that the channel officials believe are giving primary support in maintaining viewership.

"We have been doing tent poles like Sabse Favourite Kaun, Humse Dosti Karoge, Zabardast Janamdin and Gold Preview of the movies before they are released in the market. These programmes give channels very high visibility as they are interactive in nature. No other program can be as interactive as these," says Puneet Johar, vice-president, marketing and communication, Star India Private Limited.

He was in the city to announce the results of Sabse Favourite Kaun.

Johar feels that in movie-obsessed India, where the battle for the booming TV film market is huge, movie channels need to compete for movie titles.

"We will continue to show big movies and we have built up a library for the same purpose, coupled with tent pole programmes. Last year, we were number three, this year we are competing for the top slot. For example, if we take last week's TRP, it was 4.5% for Star Gold and 4.8% for Zee Cinema. We have reached very close to them.

"For us, the northern region is a very different market, as people here prefer to celebrate special occasions by watching movies with family, he says, adding that movies are a big source of entertainment for them. The coming of the mall culture in big cities is good for the movie channels, Johar continues.

"We feel that there cannot be growth in isolation and there is a direct correlation between the growth of movie channels and various platforms of movie watching. The more the platform, the better it is for the industry," Johar says.

On how programmes like Sabse Favourite Kaun help in connecting the channel with the viewers, Johar says, "We have received a huge response from the people for our programme Sabse Favourite Kaun, where people vote for their favourite starts under various categories. We have travelled across the length and breadth in the region, ranging from Amritsar, Dehradun, Yamunagar, Shimla, Agra, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Gurgaon and Jaipur. We have witnessed huge excitement among the viewers and it has got bigger and better. This helps build a relationship with our viewers that goes beyond airing of movies. Such programmes will further help us in feeling the pulse of the people. They also help us in deciding the kind of movies we show. The rural markets in Punjab include some of the most dedicated fans of the Bollywood movie industry."