ADAG rebrands Imagine Showbiz

Anil Ambani promoted-Reliance Broadcast Network (RBN), is gearing up to enter the Hindi general entertainment television space by launching BIG MAGIC for the Hindi heartland.

The channel will go on air on April 4 and feature locally relevant entertainment centred around humor, music and Bollywood. The channel will feature dubbed English action films.

The launch follows the company’s recently forayed into television space, with a joint venture with CBS for three

channels and with European major RTL group for two channels,which takes the total count to six channels.

In January, RBN had acquired Imagine Showbiz Bollywood music and entertainment channel, adding the first Hindi content channel to its bouquet. The company had then decided to rebrand the channel under the BIG entertainment banner, catering to the same audience as Reliance Broadcast's radio channel, Big FM, which operates 11 stations in the Hindi heartland.

“Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar represent 30 per cent of India’s population, and by far, are the most attractive and lucrative markets for advertisers,” said Tarun Katial, CEO, RBN. The Hindi heartland accounts for 13 per cent of the national advertising spend, which is Rs 23,000 crore (ADEX), with 52 per cent of Hindi print spends, 18 per cent of national TV spends and only 4 per cent of regional TV spends.

According to a media analyst, the Hindi heartland, like other regional markets, does not have a true regional TV platform which super serves these markets. Mahuaa TV, the closest competitior to BIG MAGIC, which is limited to the Bhojpuri-speaking audience, has ad revenues of Rs 70 crore per year.

The company also plans to cross sell advertisements , use common content sourcing, create package deals for ad buyers, and use the existing distribution network of radio and television. “This underserviced market, offers an excellent opportunity to offer audiences entertainment that is tailored to meet their preferences. BIG MAGIC will build a strong platform on the back of an excellent programming mix and leveraging our BIG FM’s brand lineage to help fortify its position rapidly,” Katial said.

BIG MAGIC will be distributed across all cable operators across the states of UP, MP and Bihar and spread across the likes of DEN, Digicable, WWIL, Hathway and others, reaching approximately 10 million households in the heartland.

The launch of BIG MAGIC will be supported by an integrated marketing effort leveraging radio, TV, Out of Home, Digital, Live Entertainment, relevant consumer touch points, Mall touch points, Cinema, TV screens, cable etc.