News Broadcasting
Splash set to swell beyond South
MUMBAI: What with more than six new kiddie channels set to appear on the Indian viewer’s horizon, the Pentamedia Graphics promoted Splash channel, with an already significant presence in the south is now looking to expand it’s viewership in the western and northern regions of the country.
So far, the going has been slow for the channel, which at its launch, had hired transponder space on Intelsat so as to target markets in neighbouring countries. But only recently it has stepped up efforts to penetrate the northern and western regions of the country.
Commenting on the expansion of its Mumbai operations, Splash channel director Nirmala Nath said, “Splash has had a marketing presence in Mumbai ever since the channel launched its operations on 18 October 2001. Now, as the channel is growing, we feel the need to have a bigger presence in the region to drive all aspects of the channel.”
Pentamedia, which had sunk in Rs 100 to 120 million initially into the Splash project, plans to shortly double its recently set up team of three in Mumbai, to look after all aspects of distribution, marketing and programming, she said.
Classifying its target audience of 2-16 year olds into toddlers, tweens and teens, and the programming into edutainment, infotainment and entertainment, the channel’s strategy, it seems, is to have a clear demographic marked out for each of its content genre. Incidentally, Splash was the first channel to kickstart with India-specific animated programmes like
Pot Pourri and India Folk Tales.
“Our edutainment programmes have been highly successful. Especially shows like the Y Series, The English Box and Logica, which have got us a lot of feedback from children and their parents,” said Nath, drawing attention to some of the successful shows on Splash.
On being asked whether the expansion of its Mumbai facility would reflect in the channel’s programming mix, Nath affirmed that the channel does have “plans to start programming locally.”
“To begin with, we shall commission local producers. But later on, we plan to have a full-fledged production unit of our own here. This unit shall cater to the channel’s programming needs from the west and the northern belts,” she added.
News Broadcasting
Mihir Bhatt appointed as chief content officer at News18 Studios
The media veteran brings two decades of experience across television, digital and radio to one of India’s biggest broadcast networks, Disney+ Hotstar, Discovery+
NEW DELHI: Network18 has a new strategist in the building. Mihir Bhatt, one of Indian media’s more versatile operators, has joined News18 Studios as chief content officer, stepping into a role that will see him shape content strategy, build multi-platform properties and drive brand partnerships across the network.
Bhatt brings more than two decades of experience spanning television, digital and radio, with a track record of doing something rare in Indian media: combining editorial ambition with hard commercial results. At Times Network, where he served as managing editor and chief business officer of Times Influence, he built one of the industry’s more respected content studios, launching marquee properties such as the India Economic Conclave, the Times Now Summit and Leaders of Tomorrow. He also pushed the network into premium OTT territory through tie-ups with Disney+ Hotstar and Discovery+.
His resume stretches well beyond the studio. Bhatt has led Global Investor Summits for multiple state governments, worked alongside the World Economic Forum and played a pivotal role in launching the Indian Pickleball League. Earlier, as editor of Zee Business, he pioneered investor education initiatives that are still cited as industry benchmarks.
At News18 Studios, Bhatt will report to chief executive S Shivakumar and will oversee the studios execution vertical alongside revenue verticals covering emerging markets and campaigns. Sidharth Saini, Hemanth Kumar and Nimar Sarkaria will work under him.
Rahul Joshi, managing director and editor-in-chief of Network18 Group, made the announcement in an internal communication. “Mihir’s ability to build enduring brands, foster strategic partnerships and navigate a rapidly evolving media landscape will be instrumental as we continue to strengthen our position and explore new avenues of growth in the Studios business,” Joshi said.
In a media industry lurching between disruption and reinvention, Network18 has bet on a man who has spent two decades thriving in exactly that chaos. Whether he can do it again, at greater scale, is the question worth watching.
