Movie Channels
Star Gold banks on latest Bollywood movies for viewership
MUMBAI: There’s no genre more cluttered with channels than Hindi movies. Channels need to bank on a mix of movies including Bollywood, Hollywood and regional dubbed ones to get audience attention.
According to BARC data, in 2017, the viewership in this genre raked an average at 4163 million GVTs, leading to 4733 million GVTs in 2018 in 2+, HSM U+R.
Speaking about Star Gold, the channel is Bollywood-heavy with 70 per cent viewership coming from Hindi content. The channel claims to deliver the top Bollywood premiers among the Hindi movie channels. The network had acquired TV and digital rights in 2017 of six unreleased films like Golmaal Again, Judwa 2, Sanju, Baaghi 2, Raid and Aiyaari.
Star Gold will continue to focus on Bollywood blockbusters. The channel’s upcoming line-up includes Stree, Kaala, Total Dhamaal, Kalank, Super 30 and Ranveer Singh’s next film on the 1983 world cup. Among previous premieres Bajrangi Bhaijaan garnered 17.7 million, Prem Ratan Dhan Payo raked 17.3 million, Judwa 2 received 10.9 million and Golmaal Again received 12.1 million impressions in the urban market.
Star India Hindi movie business EVP and GM Hemal Jhaveri said that the last three biggest premieres, Judwa 2, Golmaal Again and Baaghi 2 rated above four TVR on Star Gold. “A consistent strategy of always maintaining a bank of top Bollywood titles every year has worked for us. We have never strayed away from Bollywood. We are no longer a snacking category. Both premieres and repeat airings get consistently high ratings,” he said.
When asked about his strategy for the acquisition of movies, Jhaveri said, “Our strategy is very simple and perhaps it has really worked for us. We are not content racist about dubbed content, English or Hindi content, it is the content which a viewer would love to watch and we acquire it.” He said that the basis of any channel that doesn’t produce anything is curation and Star Gold heavily works on curated content.
More than 40 per cent viewership of the Hindi movie channels comes from the releases of the last three years from the urban 15+ males viewers. Women delivered higher ratings on the premieres of Golmaal Again as well as Judwaa 2. The cluster’s rural reach portfolio is 189 million individuals on an average for the last 13 weeks (2+, HSM rural).
In BARC week 30 in HSM (U+R) : NCCS All : 2+ Individuals, Sony Max emerged as a leader with 693696 impressions (000s) sum. Sony Wah, Star Utsav Movies, Zee Cinema and Star Gold stood at second, third, fourth and fifth positions with 592195 impressions (000s) sum, 551341 impressions (000s) sum, 547194 impressions (000s) sum and 445783 impressions (000s) sum respectively.
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.
