Times Network rebrands Movies Now 2 as MNX

Taking the English movie channel to the next level, Times Network has rebranded Movies Now 2 as MNX. Continuing to focus on the 7pm, 9pm and 11pm slots, the channel will bring in movies from the 1500 plus strong library of the network.

MNX was unveiled with the telecast of Mad Max Fury Road on July 15, 2017. Adding to the band wagon of fun-filled movie festivals will be properties like Extreme Nights on Weeknights at 9pm. Xterminator will be a special movie festival during Dussehra (September 21 to September 30) which will showcase movies like Olympus Has Fallen, The Mechanic, Hobbit and Journey to the centre of earth, to name a few. Finally, for its viewers, the channel will give them a chance to get lucky with awesome and super cool gadgets daily with MNX Get Lucky Contest as part of their Watch and Win Movie Festival.

Movies Now 2 was on the top of the charts in the recent week of BARC India data with 3.054 million Impressions. The channel will be sold at a premium to the advertisers, but how much more from the current rates is yet to be decided.

Vivek Srivastava

Vivek Srivastava, Executive Vice-President and Head Entertainment Cluster, Times Network, said, “The numbers for the channel were growing steadily. In a competitive market like India, it is important that a channel has its own identity and recall. Movies Now 2 has built a strong position but it was living off the identity of its elder sibling, Movies Now which is a successful and strong channel by itself. It's always better to take such steps when the channel is on top. Once there's strong viewership, the channel is ought to ask for ad rates higher than before.”

He further added, “With MNX, we look to bring the next level of Hollywood entertainment to India. As we move to the next stage of content with MNX we plan to expand our viewership and capture the mindscape of the millennials, the change of brand name to MNX is an attempt to attract our audience to something that matches their definition of cool.”

The channel’s focus on the TG and the markets (metros and one million plus) remains the same. As Srivastava opines, rural markets are yet to stabilise from an English genre perspective.

In the next 8-10 weeks, the new brand name and identity will be prototyped across television, print, on ground activations and outdoor, along with digital.

The free-spirited and the rebellious personality of the channel has empowered it to top the genre and to continue performing well. The brand is now ready to stand on its own feet with its unique identity as a brand and charter its own course.

As stated by the network, “Since the launch of Movies Now 2, the channel has consistently grown from 1200 TVTs to 2000 TVTs in less than six months and now, within a year, it has crossed 3000 TVTs. It was also ahead of HBO in the latest four-week period across six metros.”

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