No new channels, focus is on deepening our bond with viewers: M K Anand

Inteview with Managing Director (media networks), Disney UTV

A year-and-a-half after the Walt Disney Co completed the takeover of Ronnie Screwvala's UTV Software, the TV broadcasting arm of the company is looking at a rapid growth in digitisation. Disney UTV managing director of media networks, M K Anand, tells Gaurav Laghate about the broadcasting plan. Edited excerpts:

What synergies you find between Disney brand channels and UTV channels?
Together as Disney UTV Media Networks we are looking at a multi-brand play in this very dynamic market. Each of our key brands, Disney, Bindass, Hungama and UTV are well established in the minds of our consumers and advertisers alike.

We are very satisfied with our progress till here. We have a combined strength of 200 GRPs (gross rating points) in CS4 + HSM (Hindi speaking markets) making us one of the top 5 networks. We are uniquely poised as leaders in the kids and youth segment to expand into natural downstream groups within households. As we grow we believe we will become pertinent for more and more people within the family.

With digitization, any major plans to get into other genres, mass or niche?
Not right now. Currently we are focusing on further deepening the bond that our current brands in the market have with viewers and advertisers.

You have also announced a distribution joint venture with IndiaCast. What is the strategy behind it?
We are proud to be a part of India’s fastest growing bouquet. The joint venture Co is called IndiaCast UTV. The time had come to take our presence to the next level and this association is a step to foster an even more robust distribution of our channels ensuring upwards movement in the scale of our business.

IndiaCast UTV will help ensure better reach for diversified bouquet of our channels across kids, youth and movies segments. There are some clear and unique synergies in this partnership. A strong GEC, emerging Hindi movie channels, very strong kids and youth entertainment channels, news and regional play. There is something for every type of viewer. The new bouquet is a more comprehensive offering from the viewer’s perspective that gives the combined entity an edge in the marketplace.

Your flagship channel, Bindass, competes in a genre which is hyper competitive. How do you see the youth broadcasting today?
Youth entertainment continues to be an extremely dynamic genre. One of the major developments that we have witnessed over the years is the coming of age of the content in this segment to become more and more Indian over the years. Youth broadcasting straddles youth as a mindset and not necessarily an age cohort. To be successful with youth we need to look beyond and be relevant to broader target groups.

You have stuck to your original programming mix since inception. How has it helped?

Understanding the pulse of the youth is in our DNA at Bindass. We have been providing an appropriate mix of music and impactful original content that follows the Indian youth’s tastes and preferences closely. Each show on Bindass is a reflection of today’s youth who are frank and fearless to face the truth and take life head on.

Our shows are sharper, more evocative, sometimes edgier. We stay true to our brand promise of being Bindass.

In terms of growth?
The channel has managed to garner a whopping 70% growth leaving its competitors behind by a significant margin. In the first 13 weeks of 2013 bindass has reached out to 115 million audiences and has garnered a huge mass appeal amongst youngsters.

How is the movie genre doing? What plans do you have for the two channels?
We are particularly pleased with growth of our movie channels which have grown from 45 GRPs (gross rating points) to a combined 80 GRPs and growing. We always decided that we will not go for world TV premiere so we do not buy the first rights. But we have been acquiring rights of good movies.

We will always show good library-based movies. We are looking at a continues and sustained investment in the channels to get 100 GRPs from them.

And what about the kids channels?

Disney Network, with over 40% channel share for kids, continues its strong run in that niche.