Comments
Despite being a late entrant to the high definition (HD) space, Sony Max, the Hindi movie channel from the MSM stable, is confident of soon reaping revenue from its latest foray.
The company plans to have a completely different brand proposition for its HD channel.
“Unlike other channels whose HD broadcasts mirror their standard definition (SD) formats, ours will have completely different branding and packaging. Additionally, the offerings will also induce freshness in its content,” Neeraj Vyas, Senior EVP and Business Head, Sony Max and Max2, told BusinessLine .
Multi Screen Media has been revamping its flagship Hindi general entertainment channel, Sony TV.
The network is also looking to increase its offering from 18 to 27 channels.
Vyas said the HD feed will be largely targeted at the top eight cities. The company expects to break even with the new launch within a year, he added. Asked if the HD feed will have any implication on Broadcast Audience Research Council’s (BARC) monitoring, Vyas said that currently the TV rating agency monitors only about 34 out 500 odd channels.
“There is a growing market for HD and we expect the monitoring to grow big and provide adequate data,” he said.
BARC, which started operations in April, calculates separate data for HD channels on a weekly basis.
It uses a watermarking technology that not only gives an opportunity to the respective operators to establish their HD channels, but is also expected to open up prospects for broadcasters to monetise their HD channels.
Advertiser stickinessAsked about advertiser stickiness to the new HD channel, Vyas said it is being populated with lifestyle advertisers unlike the mass market brands in the SD version.
According to Sony Max, it has already sold a large chunk of its inventory for the HD version.
There are four million HD subscribers accounting for 10 per cent of total DTH subscribers, said a FICCI 2015 report.
Sony Max competes with Star Gold and Zee Cinema — which also have HD channels — in the movie space.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.