Raushni Bhagia
Media

Manoranjan Music to enter Hindi music space

The channel has acquired a library of 3,000 songs, worth an estimated Rs 2.5 crore.

The Hindi music genre gets a new contender in Manoranjan Music. The channel will be launched on August 15, whereas the test runs are already being conducted on IntelSat 20.

Manoranjan Music to enter Hindi music space
Manoranjan Music to enter Hindi music space
The upcoming channel is owned by Creative Channel Advertising and Marketing (promoted by Sahib Chopra) which had launched Khushboo TV last year, which telecasts music and movies. Though Khushboo TV was proposed to be a Hindi music channel, the company later diverted some of its library from Manoranjan TV (an existing movie channel) to it.

While Khushboo TV was launched in select north Indian states, Manoranjan Music will be launched across the Hindi speaking markets in one go. Chopra suggests that the other channels - Manoranjan TV, which is already in the market for seven years - will be lunched on the DTH platforms on August, 15, alongside the new channel. However, Khushboo TV will be spread across the country in phases.

With carriage reducing to about 50-60 per cent, says Chopra, the channel launches pose a promising opportunity. Currently, the existing channels have advertising from bigger brands (HUL, P &G, Ranbaxy and others). The company expects to extend the same deals to the new channel. Local advertising comprises 25 per cent of the advertising pie of Khusboo TV.

Manoranjan Music will be launched across all the major MSO networks and will be extended to two DTH platforms, too. The new channel will telecast pure Bollywood music, along with trailers of upcoming movies.

Chopra explains, "Music will be largely targeting the not-so-younger generation while the recent trailers will serve the younger audience. Largely, morning and evening prime-time bands will telecast more trailers and fresh music."

On an average, a music channels needs to broadcast 200 songs and about 50 trailers to cover 24 hours of programming on any given day. The channel has acquired a library of 3000 songs, estimated to be worth Rs 2.5 crore. This is suggested to be a recurring annual cost.

Manoranjan Music expects to break even in about two years. It is learnt that Khushboo TV, launched on August 1, 2012, has almost broken even. Chopra explains that Khusboo TV could recover its costs earlier as the investments on it were comparatively lower compared to Manoranjan Music.

For the record, Creative Channel Advertising and Marketing is the major stakeholder in the television broadcast company and was launched to specialise in air time sales, ad films and promotions.

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