MUMBAI: Zee TV will promote Hum Paanch on MTV and a few news channels. The channel is initiating this 'cross-border' promotion to lure younger audiences.

Zee TV marketing head Tarun Mehra explains, "We had earlier adopted this strategy for Time Bomb to attract male audiences. Now the same strategy for Hum Paanch targets youngsters. We have to create a certain kind of awareness among the young viewers (who have just started watching television seriously and are probably unaware of the soap's past glory) about this show and hence we will be promoting it outside the Zee Network."

Hum Paanch from the Balaji stable had been a tremendous success during its four year stint on Zee TV, from 1996-2000. On its second coming, the channel hasn't adopted any heavy-duty promotional strategy for the sitcom because it feels that the past success will definitely play a crucial role in driving the numbers.

"The soap itself is a strong brand in Indian television and hence there is no real need to go for some hardcore promotions. The patrons of Hum Paanch will surely be there to watch it and make it a huge success," says Mehra adding that traditional promotional strategies such as outdoors, print and network promotions will surely be explored.

Said Zee TV programming head Ashwini Yardi on the launch of the serial, "Hum Paanch has had a very fruitful stint in the past and we are equally optimistic of its performance this time around. The serial is a Balaji offering and serves as an opportunity to us to reconnect after the hiatus."

'Hum Paanch will kick off from 5 November. The half-hour serial, which will run Saturday-Sunday, is placed in the 8 pm slot. Movies, which presently occupy the time slot, will be pushed ahead.

Yardi speaks on the strategy to strengthen the week-end programming with a soap, "We wanted to break the Monday to Friday soap pattern. We want the soaps to work on weekends as well and that is why we have brought a popular soap like Hum Paanch for the weekend prime time."

When asked about Zee's plans to prevent Sahara from asserting its position in prime time, Yardi said the channel was banking on the recently launched soap Saath Phere to make the comeback. "As per aMap ratings, Saath Phere has got an excellent opening," she pointed out.

Balaji is producing more soaps for Zee TV. The next venture Kasam Se is expected to hit the tube in December.