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Star Network, which introduced the English action movie genre to Indian broadcasting with Fox Action Movies last year, is presenting the channel under a brand new name, Star Movies Action
Remember the extraordinary story of a failed Star One transforming into a more successful Life OK? Seems like Star Network is attempting to recreate that magic, but this time with a different channel. The broadcaster, which introduced the English action movie genre to Indian viewers with Fox Action Movies last year, is set to relaunch the channel under a brand new name.
It will be positioned as a Hollywood action movie channel and will be targeted at the 15-35-year-old male audience across key metros within the SEC A& B category. With this, the Star India English cluster will now comprise Star World, Star Movies, Star Movies HD, Star World HD and Star Action Movies. The channel will be available on all major direct-to-home (DTH) platforms and cable networks.
Incidentally, despite being part of the Star English cluster, Fox Action Movies failed to generate the requisite viewership. Experts indicate that it was primarily because of the fact that Indian audiences could not identify with Fox as a brand. It is pertinent to note here that Fox Action Movies was more skewed toward martial art films that shut shop on May 11.
However, now as the channel dons a new avatar with Star’s brand name extended into the product personality (as Star Movies Action), there is almost a consensus that the channel’s story could finally translate into a successful one. The channel will launch with 300 exclusive movie titles and three big premieres — Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter on June 2, Zodiac on June 16 and Taken 2 on June 30. Almost 60-70% of Hollywood titles produced today focus on action as a genre. In fact, the top 10 Hollywood films released in 2012 (by worldwide gross) included movies such as The Avengers, Skyfall, The Dark Knight Rises, The Amazing Spider-Man and Men In Black 3. The predominant genre in the English movie cluster on television is also action movies.
Industry experts note that viewers within the16-39 age group account for 52-53% of the viewership for the genre; of this, male viewers account for 65-70%. Add to this an observation from TAM Media Research (TAM), the television audience measurement agency, that 26% of the SEC A audience contribute to the total English movie genre viewership (according to 2012 data for all-India cable and satellite viewers older than 4 years) while from the SEC B pie, the contribution stands at 24%. Evidently, a Hollywood action movie channel targeted at the 15-35-year-old male audience for the SEC A and B market seems to be a good plan after all.
Media observers say that currently the English movie channel category is witnessing a steady growth in time spent. Meanwhile, the reach is also progressively increasing with digitisation. So, while it is a good move, the channel’s performance quotient, with the change at hand, finally rests on the kind of content it shows and its library mix. The English movie genre is currently worth R500-600 crore and is growing at a rate of 15% year-on-year.
RS Suriyanarayanan, associate vice president Initiative, a media planning and buying agency within the Interpublic Group says that it is time that the English movie category in India starts looking at niches within the broader genre. “When it comes to English movie viewing, one of the oldest Indian psyche has been to co-relate the genre with action. Not to forget, as time progressed, English movies gained huge popularity in India. If you put these two together, Star Movies Action should become a success story.”
But while, the optimism is high, there could be a few hiccups too. With the start of digitisation in India, ‘niche’ is the new platform that broadcasters are either foraying into or planning to anyway. Reason: They believe that adding new channels within the niche category to the network will help generate additional revenues.
However, here comes the catch.
According to Pratik Rathod, senior investment director of media agency Maxus Global, clients are choosing to put their money in digital rather than on niche. “And this is especially happening with clients who want to target the youth. Therefore, if Star Movies Action is looking at generating revenues through advertising, it may not be a good decision after all.”
A robust 360-degree campaign has been developed to promote the channel in India. This includes a television plan across the Star network that comprises Hindi general entertainment channels, Hindi movies, English cluster, HD network and regional channels. There will also be promotions on print, cable and DTH platforms. Digital too has been amply beefed to catapult the launch.
“A special channel anthem- A Hero Will Rise—composed and sung by Pentagram—an Indian rock band, and has been made exclusively for Star Movies Action. An extensive plan on social media has also been developed to use the mediums of Facebook and Twitter to connect with the audiences. An interactive video that resembles the spirit of Star Movies Action can be seen on the website http://www.starmoviesaction.com,” said Kevin Vaz, business head - English channels, Star Jalsha and Jalsha Movies, Star India.
Fox Action Movies gets a facelift
..
Remember the extraordinary story of a failed Star One transforming into a more successful Life OK? Seems like Star Network is attempting to recreate that magic, but this time with a different channel. The broadcaster, which introduced the English action movie genre to Indian viewers with Fox Action Movies last year, is set to relaunch the channel under a brand new name.
It will be positioned as a Hollywood action movie channel and will be targeted at the 15-35-year-old male audience across key metros within the SEC A& B category. With this, the Star India English cluster will now comprise Star World, Star Movies, Star Movies HD, Star World HD and Star Action Movies. The channel will be available on all major direct-to-home (DTH) platforms and cable networks.
Incidentally, despite being part of the Star English cluster, Fox Action Movies failed to generate the requisite viewership. Experts indicate that it was primarily because of the fact that Indian audiences could not identify with Fox as a brand. It is pertinent to note here that Fox Action Movies was more skewed toward martial art films that shut shop on May 11.
However, now as the channel dons a new avatar with Star’s brand name extended into the product personality (as Star Movies Action), there is almost a consensus that the channel’s story could finally translate into a successful one. The channel will launch with 300 exclusive movie titles and three big premieres — Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter on June 2, Zodiac on June 16 and Taken 2 on June 30. Almost 60-70% of Hollywood titles produced today focus on action as a genre. In fact, the top 10 Hollywood films released in 2012 (by worldwide gross) included movies such as The Avengers, Skyfall, The Dark Knight Rises, The Amazing Spider-Man and Men In Black 3. The predominant genre in the English movie cluster on television is also action movies.
Industry experts note that viewers within the16-39 age group account for 52-53% of the viewership for the genre; of this, male viewers account for 65-70%. Add to this an observation from TAM Media Research (TAM), the television audience measurement agency, that 26% of the SEC A audience contribute to the total English movie genre viewership (according to 2012 data for all-India cable and satellite viewers older than 4 years) while from the SEC B pie, the contribution stands at 24%. Evidently, a Hollywood action movie channel targeted at the 15-35-year-old male audience for the SEC A and B market seems to be a good plan after all.
Media observers say that currently the English movie channel category is witnessing a steady growth in time spent. Meanwhile, the reach is also progressively increasing with digitisation. So, while it is a good move, the channel’s performance quotient, with the change at hand, finally rests on the kind of content it shows and its library mix. The English movie genre is currently worth R500-600 crore and is growing at a rate of 15% year-on-year.
RS Suriyanarayanan, associate vice president Initiative, a media planning and buying agency within the Interpublic Group says that it is time that the English movie category in India starts looking at niches within the broader genre. “When it comes to English movie viewing, one of the oldest Indian psyche has been to co-relate the genre with action. Not to forget, as time progressed, English movies gained huge popularity in India. If you put these two together, Star Movies Action should become a success story.”
But while, the optimism is high, there could be a few hiccups too. With the start of digitisation in India, ‘niche’ is the new platform that broadcasters are either foraying into or planning to anyway. Reason: They believe that adding new channels within the niche category to the network will help generate additional revenues.
However, here comes the catch.
According to Pratik Rathod, senior investment director of media agency Maxus Global, clients are choosing to put their money in digital rather than on niche. “And this is especially happening with clients who want to target the youth. Therefore, if Star Movies Action is looking at generating revenues through advertising, it may not be a good decision after all.”
A robust 360-degree campaign has been developed to promote the channel in India. This includes a television plan across the Star network that comprises Hindi general entertainment channels, Hindi movies, English cluster, HD network and regional channels. There will also be promotions on print, cable and DTH platforms. Digital too has been amply beefed to catapult the launch.
“A special channel anthem- A Hero Will Rise—composed and sung by Pentagram—an Indian rock band, and has been made exclusively for Star Movies Action. An extensive plan on social media has also been developed to use the mediums of Facebook and Twitter to connect with the audiences. An interactive video that resembles the spirit of Star Movies Action can be seen on the website http://www.starmoviesaction.com,” said Kevin Vaz, business head - English channels, Star Jalsha and Jalsha Movies, Star India.
Fox Action Movies gets a facelift
..
