Movie Channels
HBO stakes its all on ‘Band of Brothers’
Hoping to turn conventional wisdom as to what sells in India in the movie business on its head, HBO tonight premieres its $ 120 million epic miniseries, Band of Brothers, to the hail of a veritable media blitzkrieg across the country.
According to Shruti Bajpai, director, marketing of HBO South Asia, it is the most heavily promoted event for HBO India in 2001. There is a multimedia campaign planned around the launch of the show, involving outdoor presence, press ads in various publications in major cities, Internet, radio and cinemas in all metros.
Says Bajpai: “We also have an on air promotional plan which is the most expensive on air promo ever being done on the channel.” The teaser campaign, programmes on the “making of” behind the scenes, exclusive interviews with Hanks, critics’ reviews, audience reactions and a ten day countdown were all part of the promotion. In addition, the Band Of Brothers book is also being promoted at leading bookstores across the country.
After tonight’s launch of Band Of Brothers, there will also be episodic recaps of all episodes. The channel is also pushing the series on MTV and Discovery Channel, Bajpai says. Apart from vantage point hoardings in Mumbai and Delhi, HBO has gone in for interesting media innovations with some leading English newspapers in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata and Bangalore. An example: today’s edition of Mumbai’s top-selling Mid Day tabloid had a double page centrespread foldout devoted to the launch.
Ad spend on the 10-part miniseries, the most expensive original production by HBO till date, is approximately 25 per cent of the channel’s overall marketing budget, Bajpai revealed. Industry sources say HBO’s ad spend for the year is roughly Rs 150 million so that would indicate a figure of Rs 37.5 million or thereabouts as the promotional spend on Band of Brothers.
If Band of Brothers does succeed as HBO expects it to, the prevailing wisdom that viewership on movie channels is title-driven and made for television productions cannot succeed will have been effectively disproved.
As for the episodes themselves, for 10 Mondays beginning tonight 9.30 pm, Band of Brothers will tell the story of World War II from the viewpoint of Easy Company, an elite team of American paratroopers who were among the first to land in France on the fatal D-Day morning and played a vital role in the capture of the Bulge. They also freed a concentration camp in Germany.
Based on Stephen Ambrose’s book, the series is produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg. The series is refreshingly free of the usual cliches associated with a war drama, according to the official release. No fake Pearl Harbour romantic triangle, no sickening patriotic rah rah. Just raw gritty drama that examines the human condition at the time of a war. Hanks has also directed Brothers’ fifth episode called Crossroads.
Production for the series started last April and finished in November. The series has 500 speaking parts and 10,000 supporting actors were involved. The cast was trained on the usage of the weapons. They also had to undergo the hardships of a boot camp and each working day lasted 16 hours. They were trained in movement both during the day and night, hiding in foxholes and jumping from an aeroplane.
Tonight’s episode is Currahee and shows how the members of Easy Company train. David Schwimmer of sitcom Friends’ fame plays the nasty Lieutenant Sobel whose bullying attitude causes the men under his command to despise him.
Movie Channels
Zee5 launches five free FAST channels on Samsung TV Plus India
New genre-led channels bring comedy, drama, horror, classics and South films to Smart TVs.
MUMBAI: Zee5 just turned Samsung Smart TVs into a free entertainment buffet because when premium content costs nothing, even the remote control starts smiling. Zee5 has launched five curated free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels on Samsung TV Plus India, making high-quality, genre-specific entertainment available subscription-free to millions of Samsung Smart TV owners across the country.
The five channels now live are:
Zee Comedy Nation – Popular comedy shows and movies
Zee Dil Se – Compelling drama series
ZEE Horror Nights – Horror and supernatural content
ZEE Cine Classic – Timeless Indian films
ZEE South Flix – High-energy South Indian films dubbed in Hindi
All content is drawn from Zee5’s extensive library and programmed in a lean-back, always-on format ideal for large-screen viewing. This launch strengthens Zee5’s Connected TV strategy at a time when 64 per cent of its premium content watch time already comes from connected devices.
Zee5 chief business officer Siju Prabhakaran said, “At Zee5, we believe accessibility and scale will define the next phase of digital entertainment growth in India. Our presence on Samsung TV Plus strengthens our Connected TV strategy, enabling viewers to discover curated, genre-led content in a seamless, free, and premium environment.”
Samsung TV Plus India head of partnerships Kunal Mehta added, “Local partnerships are at the heart of how we grow Samsung TV Plus in India. Zee Entertainment is one of India’s most iconic media brands, and bringing their channels to our service means millions more Samsung Smart TV owners can enjoy premium local content, subscription-free.”
The channels are available directly through the pre-installed Samsung TV Plus app with no login or subscription required. This marks another milestone in Zee5’s CTV expansion and builds on its growing international presence, with Zee channels already available on Samsung TV Plus across Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
In a streaming world where paywalls often block the fun, Zee5 and Samsung have quietly opened the gates, proving that sometimes the best things in life (and on your TV) really are free especially when they come with a side of comedy, drama, horror, classics and South Indian blockbuster energy.
