Zee Studio sees spike in market share post brand refresh

Robust acquisitions of movie titles, along with exclusive properties have helped the English movie channel gain momentum and sustain their spot

Sarmistha Neogy | Mumbai | February 26, 2015

Zee Studio has increased its market share and claims to have witnessed a phenomenal growth in viewership post the recent brand refresh with the ideology, 'See it all'. Robust acquisitions of movie titles, along with exclusive properties have helped the brand gain momentum and sustain their spot in the league reaching out to over 2 lakh fans every day.

According to the data shared by the company and as per TAM reports, pre-packaging (January 2014-November 2014), the market share was 7 per cent, which rose to 11 per cent post re-packaging (November 2014-December 2014).  In fact, for weeks 5 and 6 of 2015, the channel was at No. 3, with a 14 per cent market share. Viewership also has witnessed a 35 per cent growth and since January 6, 2015 onwards, Zee Studio has been ahead of Star Movies with an average GTVTs of 1,459.

Sharlton Menezes

Sharlton Menezes, Head – Content & Marketing, Zee Studio and Zee Café, elucidated, “As part of the re-packaging business, we first acquired fresh titles, then strengthened the 9 pm and the 11pm time band. We also realised that all the other players in this domain have been stressing more on Action, but we saw that so many other genres like Comedy and Animation can also attract viewers. For example, a film like 'Godfather' can also do well, it is all about taking the right movie to the right audience.”

Elaborating on the challenges in the English movies market, he said, “It is a very competitive genre and the challenge lies in constantly re-inventing yourself, or else it is very easy to fall back in the race. Through our new campaign, we wish to reach out to the right influencers and audiences primarily in key metros – Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore – to create top of mind brand recall. At the moment, our focus is on maintaining our ranking, while the ultimate aim is to be a leader in the industry across India.”

As part of its rebranding, Zee Studio spruced up its movie archive with iconic titles like Marvel's 'The Avengers', 'Ironman', 'GI Joe', 'Brave', 'Shrek', 'Kung Fu Panda' (most watched movie of the year), 'Madagascar - Europe's Most Wanted', 'Rise of the Guardians', while 'The Godfather' series is in the pipeline. Premium properties like 'Studio Binge', 'Super Studio' and 'The One', airing blockbuster movies targeting prime time slots, were the game changers. Larger than life movies, big stars and famous characters are the most tangible strengths of Hollywood, which were leveraged to endorse the channel's refreshed imagery. Lot of research went into acquiring relevant movies and the programming was well planned.

Commenting on the plans for the year 2015, Menezes said, “Our aim would be to strengthen the library and cement a place in the genre. We have an exciting line-up of movies. So, both viewers and advertisers have a great year ahead.”

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