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Viacom18’s Colors Kannada Cinema aims to break even within 3 years
MUMBAI: Viacom18 is making moves in the regional space. Its latest bet was to launch a movie channel for the Kannada market called Colors Kannada Cinema. The conglomerate has a Hindi movie channel called Rishtey Cineplex which broke even in two years. Similarly, the idea is to get the Kannada movie channel to break even within three years too.
Viacom18 head regional entertainment Ravish Kumar told indiantelevision.com that that typically a movie channel or any other channel looks at three years to break even but Colors Kannada Cinema will break even before that. He explained that owning many titles makes it easier as it won’t have to spend on creating a library.
With Colors Kannada and Colors Super gaining popularity, the channels aren’t able to accommodate many movies and so the need for a separate channel to utilise the assets was felt. The network has better leverage with more channels to showcase movies on.
Surprisingly, Kumar said that pre-selling of ad inventory hasn’t been done for the new movies channel. “They undervalue your asset and the other point is people feel cheated if they put their faith in you and the return isn’t as expected,” he said. Instead, the idea is to get the channel going and work on distribution before thinking of ad rates.
While production cost for Hindi keeps growing, Kumar says that there is a cap in the regional space. The increase will be inflation or technology led. He gave the example of a federation strike in West Bengal asking for an increase in technician rate. “That is going to lead to an overall 5-6 per cent increase across the board. But in a lot of the other markets, we have held costs and in some markets, we have actually reduced them,” he said. If the network decides to skew in favour of more reality shows or events, then the cost is likely to shoot up but fiction will see a moderate increase.
According to the KPMG report 2018, adex on regional channels observed an increase of 5.4 per cent in FY18. Kumar said that part of it could possibly be caused by the FTA channels which have come up in Hindi. The viewership has moved to them and that has led to margin dilution as opposed to margin accretion. “On the regional space, you must have seen a lot of consolidation on the top end so where the strong are getting stronger and the weak are getting weaker, more margins are analysed which normally means that the ability to command high rates are high.” He added that it is backed up with a lot of investment in formats like reality, movie premiers or events which typically tend to command higher rates.
He further added that the growth in regional space is seeing a double digit in the regions across markets. Talking specifically about the languages that observed a marginal decline in the adex, Tamil and Marathi saw 2 per cent and 9 per cent downfall respectively. Commenting on the same, Kumar said that looking at the longer point of view the ratings of regional channels have only increased steadily over the years and short term ups and downs are expected.
Talking viewership, among all the regional language channels that Viacom18 has, Colors Bangla stood at third position with 74982 impressions ‘000 in the Bengali market according to the BARC data’s week 37. Colors Gujarati secured first position with 29915 impressions ‘000. Colors Kannada also stands at the leadership position with 461396 impressions ‘000. In the Marathi space, Colors Marathi secured second position with 136791 impressions ‘.
NEW DELHI: Hamdard Laboratories gathered a cross-section of India’s achievers in New Delhi on Friday, handing out the Hakeem Abdul Hameed Excellence Awards to figures who have left their mark across healthcare, education, sport, public service and the arts.
The ceremony, attended by minister of state for defence Sanjay Seth and senior officials from the ministry of Ayush, celebrated individuals whose work blends professional success with a sense of public purpose. It was as much a roll call of achievement as it was a reminder that influence is not measured only in profits or podiums, but in people reached and lives improved.
Among the headline awardees was Alakh Pandey, founder and chief executive of PhysicsWallah, recognised for turning affordable digital learning into a mass movement. On the sporting front, Arjuna Awardee and kabaddi player Sakshi Puniya was honoured for her contribution to the game and for pushing women’s participation onto bigger stages.
The cultural spotlight fell on veteran lyricist and poet Santosh Anand, whose songs have echoed across generations of Hindi cinema. At 97, Anand accepted the honour with characteristic humility, reflecting on a life shaped by perseverance and hope.
Healthcare honours spanned both modern and traditional systems. Manoj N. Nesari was recognised for strengthening Ayurveda’s place in national and global health frameworks. Padma shri Mohammed Abdul Waheed was honoured for his research-backed work in Unani medicine, while padma shri Mohsin Wali received recognition for his long-standing contribution to patient-centred care.
Education and social development also featured prominently. Padma shri Zahir Ishaq Kazi was honoured for decades of work in education, while former Meghalaya superintendent of Police T. C. Chacko was recognised for public service. Goonj founder Anshu Gupta received an award for his dignity-centred rural development initiatives, and the Hunar Shakti Foundation was honoured for empowering women and young girls through skill development.
The Lifetime Achievement Award went to former IAS officer Shailaja Chandra for her long career in public healthcare and governance, particularly in the traditional systems under Ayush.
Speaking at the event, Hamdard chairman Abdul Majeed said the awards were a tribute to those who combine excellence with empathy. “These awardees reflect Hakeem Sahib’s belief that healthcare, education and public service must ultimately serve humanity,” he said.
Minister Seth struck a forward-looking note, saying India’s young population gives the country a unique opportunity to become a global destination for learning, health and wellness by 2047.
The ceremony also featured the trailer launch of Unani Ki Kahaani, an upcoming documentary starring actor Jim Sarbh, set to premiere on Discovery on 11 February.
Instituted in memory of Unani scholar and educationist Hakeem Abdul Hameed, the awards have grown into a national platform that celebrates those building a more inclusive and resilient India. For one evening at least, the spotlight was not just on success, but on service with substance.
