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MUMBAI:
NDTV Group is set to bring four channels on air in September.
The package includes NDTV Lifestyle's Good Times, a news cum
infotainment channel in Kuala Lumpur for joint venture partner
Astro, a channel for the Middle East, and Metronation.
"We
are launching a channel in Kuala Lumpur on 4 September for
Astro, while NDTV Good Times will be up on 7 September,"
says NDTV Group CEO Narayan Rao.
 NDTV
has come together with the Kingfisher brand (Kingfisher has
the tagline 'King of good times') in a first of its kind media
alliance for the promotion of the channel. The logo bears
the characteristic Kingfisher bird at the top left corner
against a red backdrop.
Though
NDTV chairman Dr. Prannoy Roy did not divulge the details
of the deal with Kingfisher, it is understood that the advertisement
commitment would be Rs 1 billion over a period of five years.
"NDTV
Good Times will leverage the NDTV Group's proven programming
and broadcasting skills in partnership with the lifestyle
appeal of the Kingfisher brand. The strength of the Kingfisher
brand combined with NDTV's depth will give our new lifestyle
channel a distinct edge," said Roy while addressing the
press here today.
Added
UB Group chairman Vijay Mallya, "The Kingfisher brand
has come to epitomise a lifestyle that encompasses some of
the finest things in life and is synonymous with delivering
a premium experience. The NDTV Good Times channel would leverage
the editorial credibility of the NDTV group and the strong
lifestyle appeal of the Kingfisher brand and icon. The shared
values of both the brands are highly complementary."
The
lifestyle channel will be free-to-air. Said NDTV Lifestyle
CEO Smeeta Chakrabarti, "The channel will target a largely
cosmopolitan, socially upbeat audience and the programming
includes a wide range of aspirational lifestyle programming
on health, fashion, food, pets, travel and luxury."
When
asked over the necessity of a dedicated channel in this genre
in India, she replied, "India is young and increasingly
affluent. With money to spend on living better - on leisure,
travel, eating out and dressing stylishly - on having a good
time! Yet strangely enough there is no Indian lifestyle channel.
This channel has all the answers to your questions from food
to fitness, travel, leisure, gadgets and from marriage to
parenthood."
NDTV
lifestyle creative head Shibani Sharma said, "The content
creation is majorly inhouse and 40 per cent of the content
has been outsourced to production houses like Contiloe Films,
Miditech, and Camera Art, amongst others. We'll be going on
air with five to six hours of fresh content daily, which also
includes a reality show The Great Indian Love Challenge."
The
channel has roped in experts in various fields like tech guru
Rajiv Makhni, cocktail queen Shatbhi Basu, Rajat Kapoor, Manju
Malhi, spa queen Devika Anand and NDTV own 'Chhupa Rustam'
anchor Arun Thapar.
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