GECs
Channel Guide makes formal launch
Channel Guide, which started beaming its test signals four months ago, was formally launched earlier this week at the Club in the northern Mumbai suburb of Andheri.
Channel Guide India managing director Rajesh Jain says that loads of research has gone into the channel before its launch.
‘We are spending more on state-of-art technology and distribution, but the programming cost is almost nil for us. All the data is provided by the advertising channels themselves. I feel this will help us to break even in fourteen months,’ says a visibly relaxed and confident Jain.
The television channel is an innovation for the Indian market as it is hoping to serve as a promotional platform for the entire entertainment industry – namely, television, films, music and events.
‘It also provides programming info to viewers in a simple format. Any person will get to know maximum within six minutes what is going on on any of the channels,’ he points out.
At present, Channel Guide is not charging advertisers and partners for placing their promos. Channel Guide COO Ravi Deshmukh says that advertisers will be provided prime and non-prime time slots with rates for the former being on a par with the prevailing commercial market rates.
‘We will start charging from mid-October when our channel will be reaching 3 million homes,’ says Deshmukh. As of now the reach, is 2.1 million.
Deshmukh reveals that that three channels have already confirmed their partnership status with Channel Guide.
From 1:00 pm to 7:00 pm, time slots will be sold to advertisers – be they channels or event creators or producers – for shows/events that each of them wants to promote. The rest of the time will be allocated to promos of various channels in a format designed by Channel Guide programming executives themselves.
Each screen can have a maximum of 16 small windows, showing what is going on 16 channels at any point of time along with a live programming schedule which will change every few minutes. The management is planning to reduce the number of channels visible to four at a time.
Programming blocks in Hindi and English have been set aside. “In the near future we are going to dedicate separate time slots for regional languages,” says Deshmukh. “Marathi, Gujarathi, Bengali and Punjabi are the four languages on the cards.”
One of the shows that Deshmukh is extremely kicked about is Meet the Telebrity featuring a popular TV personality. The first episode features Amar (Mihir) Upadhayay.
Channel Guide is beaming off Thaicom-3 as a free-to-air service. The channel is looking forward to getting an Indian uplinking from either Delhi or Hyderabad.
Technical Specifications:
Satellite : Thaicom – 3
Downlink Frequency : 3554 MHz
FEC : 2/3
Downlink Polarisation : Vertical
Symbol rate : 13333 Kg Symbol/sec
Free-To-Air
GECs
Samsung TV Plus launches Kings of Comedy channel
New free FAST channel brings iconic Hindi comedy shows to millions of Samsung Smart TV owners.
MUMBAI: Samsung TV Plus has just turned up the laughter volume and it’s completely free. The leading free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) service in India has launched Kings of Comedy, a premium comedy channel featuring some of the country’s most beloved primetime shows. Available exclusively on Samsung TV Plus, the channel delivers back-to-back hits including Comedy Nights with Kapil, Khatra Khatra Khatra, and Comedy Nights Bachao, with no login or subscription required.
The launch marks a milestone for free streaming in India, offering audiences a dedicated comedy destination directly from their Samsung TV home screen. It arrives as Samsung TV Plus India celebrates its 5th anniversary, during which the service has grown its monthly active users by 42 per cent and more than doubled its total viewing hours. The platform now offers over 180 free channels across 14 languages.
Samsung TV Plus India general manager and head of business development Kunal Mehta said, “Comedy is the heartbeat of Hindi entertainment, and Kings of Comedy brings together the shows Indians already love, completely free on their Samsung TV. Our focus remains the same take the content people know and make it effortless to access.”
Globally, Samsung TV Plus has surpassed 100 million monthly active users across more than 4,500 channels, solidifying its position as one of the world’s leading free streaming services.
Kings of Comedy is now available on all compatible Samsung Smart TVs. For viewers seeking non-stop laughter without any cost, this new channel delivers a royal treat proving that sometimes the best entertainment really does come with no strings (or subscriptions) attached.
