Movie Channels
The battle is on, Star Movies fires the first salvo
MUMBAI: Its only two weeks into the new year and the battle for supremacy in the English movie channel space is already on the boil. Star Movies has fired the first salvo, asserting its dominance.
Quoting Tam data c&s 4+ SEC A,B 5 Metros (excluding Chennai) the channel has stated that its New Year’s Eve initiative, the premiere of the Bond film Die Another Day, which aired twice on 31 January 9 pm onwards successfully captured four million viewers.
For the week 26 December 2004 – 1 January 2005 the channel had the top eight movies among English movie channels – HBO, AXN, ZMZ and Hallmark. While the legendary spy flick Die Another Day clicked a rating of 0.82, the monster power of the dinosaur didn’t prove as strong as ever. The Lost World on HBO, which aired for the umpteenth time, squeaked at 0.64.
HBO makes an entry at number nine with a 0.34 rating for a Spiderman rerun. AXN is at number 10 with the show 30 Seconds To Fame.
An overview of all India scenario reflects Star on the top with its top five titles. Speaking on the performance Star India senior VP, content and communications Ajay Vidyasagar said, ” Inspite of all the hype of going out on New Years’ Eve, Star Movies did manage to entice a chunk of its viewers to catch the blockbuster premiere. We had a 70 per cent channel share for that week. And when I say four million viewers tuned in for Die Another Day it means that those many people saw the film for at least five minutes.
“And being a Bond flick the ‘stickiness’ factor has to be high. Therefore not many people would have switched us off. We also held a contest for Die Another Day across Asia and have so far counted over 400,000 entries. A rejig in our programming strategy in October with The Big Two initiative has started to bear fruit.”
Vidyasagar added that each year the channel airs at least 24 new titles that ride on the blockbuster variety. He added that negotiations for Gurindher Chaddha’s Bride And Prejudice were still on.
As had been reported last year by indiantelevision.com Star Movies is targetting a 40 per cent growth in ad revenue for this fiscal. Vidyasagar maintained that most of Star Movies’ inventory is sold independent of the other channels including Star World.
It remains to be seen as to what kind of a rejoinder HBO, which had won the Indian Telly Award for Best English Movie Channel last year, offers.
Movie Channels
Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat Premieres 14 Feb on Zee
Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat world TV premiere 14 Feb at 8pm passion meets politics.
MUMBAI: Cupid’s arrow just got a plot twist and it’s heading straight for your TV screen. This Valentine’s Day, Zee Cinema is turning up the heat with the world television premiere of Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat, a raw, rule-breaking romantic drama that proves love doesn’t always come wrapped in roses.
Set to air on Saturday, 14 February at 8pm, the film stars Harshvardhan Rane and Sonam Bajwa, directed by Milap Zaveri. It dives headfirst into obsession, heartbreak, and the kind of unconditional love that leaves scorch marks. Rane plays Vikramaditya, a powerful politician whose all-consuming passion for actress Adaa spirals into chaos when his feelings go unreturned unleashing a storm of emotion, misunderstanding, and life-altering consequences.
The timing couldn’t be sharper. Audiences are clearly craving intense love stories over sugar-coated ones, and this film taps straight into that vein. Harshvardhan Rane already has a loyal fanbase from his cult hit Sanam Teri Kasam, which cemented his status as the go-to guy for heart-wrenching romance especially among younger viewers who keep the film on repeat.
Milap Zaveri captured the film’s beating heart, “This film is about love that doesn’t follow rules. With Valentine’s Day being a time when audiences gravitate towards romantic narratives, the television premiere of Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat on Zee Cinema felt like the perfect fit. The continued love for intense romances shows there is a strong emotional appetite for such stories.”
Rane himself called it a story rooted in messy, honest emotion, “Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat explores love in its most intense and vulnerable form where emotions are messy and deeply human. It’s a story that doesn’t shy away from passion or pain on Valentine’s Day making it even more special as it reflects the many shades of love people experience.”
Sonam Bajwa added her take, “Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat is not a conventional love story, it’s raw, intense and emotional. Valentine’s Day is usually associated with happy romance but this film explores love in its most vulnerable form.”
So if your Valentine’s plans include more than chocolates and clichés, tune in to Zee Cinema at 8pm on 14 February. Because sometimes the most unforgettable love stories aren’t the ones that end neatly, they’re the ones that leave you questioning just how far passion can push before everything changes.
