Colors Marathi market share zooms since rebranding a year ago

The ad-rates on the channel have shot up by almost 80 per cent over the period, spurring it on to aspire to be the market leader in another couple of quarters

Raushni Bhagia | Mumbai | April 14, 2016

Colors Marathi, the Marathi general entertainment channel (GEC) from the Viacom 18 stable, has seen a phenomenal growth in the first year of its rebranding under the Colors banner. The channel's market share has leaped from 18 per cent to 36 per cent in the short spell.

The channel has been able to improve the aspirational value and quality standards of the regional space with its polished programming and high investment properties. The network bought the channel about three years ago and nurtured it under its original name, ETV Marathi.

High investment properties like 'Kaun Banega Crorepati' ('Kon Hoeel Marathi Crorepati') were brought to the channel which showed a fantastic beefing up of the content quality and increase in the audience base. Rebranded as Colors Marathi, the channel has telecast a property like 'Filmfare Awards Marathi', paving a new path in the regional space.

Anuj Poddar

The rebranding occurred on the Marathi new year in 2015. Channel head, Anuj Poddar, proudly narrates the channel's journey to the second slot in the regional space, where too it has been able to give a tough competition to the market leader. “Not even the television viewership, we have seen the channel grown in terms of social media and online communication too. The engagement score of the channel has reached to a 95 per cent of what it is for Zee Marathi,” Poddar said.

Colors Marathi is a slot leader in three clear time-slots for its shows, 'Mejwaani', 'Assa Saasar Surekh Baaii' and 'Ganapati Bappa Moraya'. The channel quotes BARC data to show that its gross viewership had grown from 21 GVMs between the weeks 21 to 24 of 2015 to 96 GVMs recently in the weeks 10 to 13 of 2016.

Along with the increase in viewership came monetary gains. The channel has increased its ad-rates thrice in the last one year, so much so that the increase is about 80 per cent higher than at the start of the channel's journey. “We have got as much as 160 new brands on the channel, while many existing ones have increased the number of slots that they used to purchase. We laid a foundation while nurturing ETV Marathi and the rebranding has only strengthened that foundation,” Poddar said.

The channel is focusing on targeting an all-inclusive target group with a variety of sub-genres in programming. It aims to be the number one channel in its genre in another couple of quarters.

Info@BestMediaInfo.com

Info@BestMediaInfo.com