Movie Channels
Indian channels in chase for the Oscar
With Hollywood‘s biggest event, the 74th edition of the Academy Awards, drawing nearer, English movie and news channels are going out of their way to create awareness about their respective strategies. Ashwin Pinto files this report.
Lets start with Star Movies the only channel that has the rights to the live telecast. This will take place on 25 March at 6:30 am. With India‘s Lagaan competing for the Best Foreign Film statuette, there is every chance of an improvement in show ratings.
The channel is using different sections of the media like print, radio, Internet etc to get the message across. The Star Network is also promoting the event on its other channels.
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Rival movie channel HBO is running the Oscar Marathon where the channel shows one Oscar winner and one Oscar nominee. HBO‘s three point focus is range, quality and number of Oscar movies.
The channel has also tied up with Mid-Day (Mumbai‘s leading afternoon tabloid) for a creative innovation involving crossword puzzles.
BBC World is concentrating on post ceremony coverage. The channel is getting viewers ready for the big night through the documentary series The Hollywood Years. BBC‘s advertising campaign concerning the Oscars is running in cinemas throughout India this month.
BBC‘s American counterpart CNN will keep viewers up to speed with latest happenings through its news programmes. This will take prominence on 25 March when viewers tuning in to World News will get a feel of the goings on.
The Kodak Theater, venue of the 74th Academy Awards |
Let us now turn our attention to America where the show has been airing on ABC since 1976. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, ad time for the show has already been sold out. Although the rates have come down this year, the news is seen as a good sign for the ad industry, which has been struggling to cope with a recession, the report states. The going rate for a 30-second spot was $1.1-1.3 million down from $1.4 million last year.
One feature of the Oscars is that advertisers see the show as an opportunity to take advantage of female viewers. Among the companies that have bought up spots are MasterCard, Verizon, Mars and ING, among others. JC Penney has bought two 90-second spots, one of which will promote the retailer‘s coming 100-year anniversary. One point to note is that American Express, which has been a regular advertiser on the show over the years, has reduced buying time to one minute from three minutes last year.
According to the Wall Street Journal report, last year‘s show attracted viewership of 42.9 million, a fall from 46.3 million in 2000.
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.
