GECs
Sahara One aims ‘Kituu…’ at prime time
MUMBAI: November sure seems to be a month for new launches. Hardly has the dust settled on the announcement of new shows from the Sony and Zee stables, comes the news that Sahara One is launching a programme on 14 November in the 9:30 pm slot.
Kituu Sabb Jaantii Hai, based on the life of a young middle class girl who goes on to become a face to reckon with in the broadcast media, is being pitched against Star One’s new show India Calling. Both shows launch on the same day in the same time slot.
With the arrival of Kituu the prime time line up on Sahara One has seen a slight reshuffle. Dial One Aur Jeeto, which used to air from 8 – 9 pm, will go back to its original half hourly format from 14 November and will be aired from 8 – 8.30 pm. The repeat telecast of Hare Kkaanch Ki Choodiyan, which used to air at 9.30 pm, will shift into the 8.30 pm slot. The channel’s flagship show Woh Rehne Waali Mehlon Ki stays put in the 9 pm slot and Kituu comes in at 9.30 pm.
Apart from India Calling, Kituu has also been pitted against Kavyanjali on Star Plus, Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin on Sony (until it moves into the 10 pm slot later this month to give way to the new show Ek Ladki Anjaani Si at 9.30 pm) and Saat Phere on Zee. Says Sahara One Television COO Purnendu Bose, “We are not going to get bothered by what competition is doing or is going to do. We know what we are doing.”
The marketing and interactive activities around Kituu, which has been produced by Siddhanth Cinevision, starts tomorrow (10 November) with a unique campaign called Kituu Dikhi Kya. The channel is inviting people to call in or SMS them the number of times they have spotted Kituu – be it on outdoor hoardings, television or print campaigns. “The person who sends in the most number of correct responses gets to win a prize,” said Bose. The channel has tied up with Radio Mirchi to promote the contest and listeners can call in to tell the RJ where they have seen Kituu.
People can also send in an SMS to the Sahara One short code 9090 with their responses. “We came up with this idea of letting people tell us where they have seen Kituu because by doing that we can also gauge how many people are actually aware of our campaign and new show. The idea is to let people do the talking,” said Bose.
Apart from this, the protagonist of the show (in her role as a journalist) will have a say in everything that is going on in and around the country. Kituu will make appearances on Sahara One and also on radio and give her views on any current topic of conversation. “We are looking at making Kituu a brand name, which every household in the country will relate to,” said Bose.
Besides this, the outdoor, print, television, internet and radio promotions will also run simultaneously.
IN THE PIPELINE
Some of the other shows that are in the pipeline on Sahara One are a makeover non-fiction show called Doli Sajaa Ke Rakhna, which Bose informs is still in the conceptualisation stage. Apart from that, the weekend version of Dial One Aur Jeeto, which is tentatively titled Dial One Aur Khelo, is also likely to be rolled out in the near future. The weekend version will essentially be a package of the best episodes of Dial One Aur Jeeto.
MOVIE PREMIERE STRATEGY
Having a line up of blockbuster Hindi movies, Sahara One has decided to build the 12 noon band on Sundays. The channel will premiere movies in this time slot. It will kick off with Pyaar Mein Twist starring Dimple Kapadia and Rishi Kapoor on 13 November instead of slotting it in the primetime band. After Pyaar Mein Twist, the channel has lined up Jimmy Shergil starrer Yahaan, which will be premiered towards the end of the month.
Explaining the logic behind this, Bose said, “According to a research conducted by us, we found that there was a huge television viewership on Sunday afternoons. And going by that, we decided to experiment with our premiers by slotting them on Sundays.” The Amitabh Bachchan starrer – Sarkar will also premier on a Sunday in December at 12 noon.
It is interesting to note here that Star Gold premiered Swades in a similar fashion on Sunday at 1 pm in September. What remains to be seen here is whether Sahara One can garner eyeballs with this new strategy for movie premiers.
GECs
ZEEL overhauls sales structure to chase growth across TV and digital platforms
New structure sharpens digital push as viewing habits fragment fast
MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. is reshuffling its sales playbook as it looks to keep pace with a fast-changing media landscape, where audiences are scattered, screens are multiplying and advertisers are following the data.
According to media reports, the rejig is anchored in the company’s push to build a more integrated, data-led monetisation engine, one that can straddle both traditional television and fast-growing digital platforms with equal ease.
At the heart of the move is a reworked sales architecture designed to deliver cross-platform solutions. With connected TV gaining ground and digital consumption surging, ZEEL is aligning its teams to move quicker, think broader and sell smarter.
The restructuring is being led by chief operating officer, advertisement revenue, Sandeep Mehrotra, at a time when the company says it is seeing tremendous growth. The idea is simple: match the right talent to the right opportunity in a market that is anything but static.
As part of the overhaul, several long-serving executives have been elevated to chief sales officer roles across regions and content clusters. Sanjoy Chatterjee will head the east market, while Gunjarav Nayak takes charge of the west along with high-margin verticals such as hmg, brand works, intellectual properties and digital sales. Rajnish Gupta will oversee bengaluru and chennai markets alongside the kannada and tamil clusters.
In other key moves, Divjyot Dhanda will lead hyderabad and kochi markets and manage zee tv, zee keralam and the telugu cluster. Roshan Vasu Kotian will supervise a diverse portfolio including Zee Marathi, &tv, Zee Punjabi, Zee Anmol, Big Magic and Zee Biskope.
The company is also strengthening its bench, appointing national sales heads across retail, regional clusters, digital and brand solutions. Ankur Kapila’s appointment to lead digital sales signals a sharper push into a segment that continues to outpace traditional formats.
Behind the scenes, dedicated strategy and operations roles have been carved out for both linear and digital businesses. Nitin Shetty, Rajkiran Shrivastav and Priya Nambiar will take on key responsibilities to ensure the new structure runs with precision.
The broader aim is clear. ZEEL wants a bigger slice of advertising budgets that are steadily drifting towards digital and connected TV ecosystems. By integrating its offerings, the company hopes to deepen client relationships while unlocking new revenue streams.
The new structure takes effect immediately, with Mehrotra continuing to report to chief executive officer Punit Goenka and steer the company’s advertising revenue strategy. Senior executive Laxmi Shetty will support the transition, with her revised role expected to be announced soon.
In a market where content is everywhere but attention is scarce, ZEEL’s latest move is less about rearranging the org chart and more about staying in the game.
