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MUMBAI: Multi Screen Media (MSM) is going all out to market Pix HD, which it launched last month as the high-definition version of its English movie channel Pix. The endeavour is focused on sewing up distribution deals.
MSM English channel cluster head Saurabh Yagnik said that the channel is priced at Rs 30 and is available on four platforms. “We are available on Dish TV, Hathaway, InCable and Fastway. For now it is not carrying ads. We are talking to other platforms. It will have ads, but those will be fewer than the main channel.”
As far as the main channel Pix is concerned, the focus is on smart scheduling and using digital media and innovative marketing to build engagement. “When I joined I had three aims. The first was to invest in great content. We have done that through a first output deal with MGM and also by acquiring ‘Bond’. The second aim is to build perception. The third aim is to break clutter. That is why we did a brand refresh last year with the new tagline, ‘Stay Amazed’. Our focus this year is on innovative marketing and also through the use of social media. Our efforts lie in bringing Hollywood closer to viewers. That is why we in the past have done things like Will Smith telling viewers to watch him in ‘Men In Black 3′ on Pix.”
One initiative that Pix is now doing is to give its viewers a chance to own a piece of Hollywood history. The viewers stand a chance to own the T-shirt worn by Tom Hanks in an Oscar-nominated drama ‘Captain Phillips’ which premieres on the channel on 27 July.
Very soon up for grabs will be a blood-stained shirt and tie worn by Jamie Foxx in the movie ‘White House Down’. “All this comes with a certificate of authenticity,” said Yagnik.
In terms of ratings, Yagnik said, “The first quarter of the fiscal closed at a very close No. 2 position in the category with the market share of 19.3 per cent. Sony Pix has achieved a breakthrough and is an undisputed leader in primetime with a share of 23.6 per cent [Tam Data c&s15+ SEC A,B All India 1 mn+].”
Growth with digitisation
Yagnik said that there is a lot of science that goes into scheduling of movies. “We also focus on resting content to avoid fatigue. With digitisation, time spent on the genre has grown. UP 1mn+, Pune and Hyderabad are three markets that have grown for the English movie category. We skew heavily towards males 60:40, despite the fact that our choice of movies can also be enjoyed by women. 60 per cent of viewership comes from TG 15-34 SEC A,B.”
The content plan
Yagnik said that the channel looks at visual appeal and twists and pace of the story in deciding what films to choose. “Our library strength today is 350–400, up from 200–220 films a couple of years back. We generally hold on to titles for a year, but we are now trying to increase that window.” He points out to initiatives like Pixathon which has helped boost brand recall in a genre where it is difficult to get appointment viewing. “We air about 25 premieres in a year. The movies in the pipeline are ‘Captain Phillips’, ‘The Hobbit: Desolation of the Smaug’, ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’, ‘Hercules’, etc. Innovative programming slots like HandPix, Pix Doubles and Pixathon have helped the channel to get the surge in ratings as well as the differentiation in the category.”
Challenge
There is work to be done in terms of building brand perception. “Pix’s brand perception has changed radically, but we have some way to go before we get to where we want to be. We want to do better. We are doing well in the ratings, but perception has to catch up. Perception isn’t matching with the ratings. Building a brand’s perception always takes time,” Said Yagnik. The other challenge for him is that while carriage costs have reduced with digitisation, they haven’t reduced to the extent that one might have expected. “In terms of unbundling, the larger networks will fare better.” In the English movie category, channel blindness is an issue and for him it will continue to be an issue. People remember the name of the film they saw last night but often forget to correctly name the channel that they saw it on. That is why initiatives like Pixipedia are important for Yagnik.
The ad scene
On the advertising front, he estimates that English movie gene makes in the region of Rs 5.5–6 billion. “Pix is seeing revenue growth of 25 per cent. E-commerce has been growing fast. I expect that as the economy improves, categories like banking and mobile will come in more aggressively into the English movie channel space.”
The social media plan
One important leg of Pix’s strategy is social media. Yagnik noted that the Facebook page of Pix has crossed two million fans. “The channel follows the principle of keeping the viewer at the core and accordingly evolves strategies through insights into their behaviour and continues to delight them. This has resulted in Sony Pix achieving a breakthrough and leading the category with the highest Facebook engagement rate which is between 11 and 13 per cent on average for the past six months.” Moreover, Pix’s digital avatar Notty Pixy has been re-launched on the Facebook page with ‘Notty Pixy Breaking News’, with the promise of giving Hollywood news first in India before anybody else. Notty Pixy also offers ‘First Day First Show’. Through this initiative, Pix’s Facebook fans will get an opportunity to catch the first day first show of the latest Hollywood theatricals.
“The first movie in the offering is the ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’ which releases on 11 July in India,” Yagnik added.
Pix also has plans for Twitter which will be announced in due course.
Read more at: Pix using innovative strategy to build engagement; grows HD reach | TelevisionPost.com | TelevisionPost.com
