Movie Channels
Personal care brands dominate movies genre in 2020: TAM
NEW DELHI: Covid2019 impacted nearly every genre on television. People were forced to stay indoors and as a result they spent a lot of time watching news, movies, music and shows on TV, resulting in a massive viewership spike.
The movie channels leveraged this period and showcased the best titles from their library to ensure that they are able to attract audiences. A BARC report stated that there was a 14 per cent increase in impressions and 10 per cent spike in daily average reach.
However, during several webinars, meetings and discussions, industry observers clearly mentioned that the surge in viewership did not translate into advertising.
TAM recently released data that showed ad volumes on movie genre grew by 60 per cent in 2020, compared to ad volumes in 2016. Interestingly, the quarter ended 31 December saw the highest number of hours in ad volumes per day.
If we look closely at the data, we will notice an obvious trend where the average ad volumes per day steeply fell in the initial stages of lockdown, and then started picking up early May-June onwards. The trend was obvious because marketing teams at brands were still unable to gauge the depth of the crisis and not ready to bet money on advertising in that quarter.
Movies have consistently maintained a 20 per cent average in overall television advertising across the years. (since 2016). In 2020, it was at 23 per cent.
The top five sub genres in 2019 were – Hindi, English, Telugu, Tamil, and Bengali, while in 2020 the top sub genres were Hindi, Bhojpuri, Bengali, Telugu, and Kannada.
Personal care and food & beverages sectors were the leading advertisers on this genre, however, toilet soaps, shampoos and washing powders continued their dominance in terms of ad volumes in this category.
HUL and Reckitt Benckiser India were the leading advertisers, while Dettol Toilet Soaps and Clinic Plus Shampoo were the leading brands in the genre.
The report also highlighted that ad volumes had a split of 51:49 between national and regional. In 2019, this split was at 56:44.
During the Unlock phase, the movie genre saw nearly 280 hours of average ad volumes per day, which was 93 per cent more than the lockdown period.
Ad volumes were maximum on primetime band and the 20-40 seconder ad format still ruled the segment.
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.
