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STAR Movies invites viewers to experience Hollywood
The channel has organised exclusive footage of a few upcoming Hollywood blockbusters, even before its theatrical release
With competition getting intense among English movie channels, STAR Movies has launched a new programming initiative to attract more viewers. Through a new property – Experience Hollywood – STAR Movies plans to show exclusive footage of some of Hollywood's upcoming blockbusters movies before their worldwide release.
To begin with, the channel has lined up exclusive scenes from the movie 'Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith'. STAR Movies is also the official media partner for this movie.
On May 13, STAR Movies will showcase the first two parts of the Star Wars series – 'Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace' (1999) and 'Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones' (2002) – back-to-back.
And, in between the movies, the exclusive scenes from the third part of the series – 'STAR Wars III – Revenge of the Sith' will be shown.
Ajay Vidyasagar, senior vice-president, content and communication, STAR India, says, “When viewers watch the first two parts of the Star Wars series along with the exclusive scenes from the third part, it is bound to increase their interest in the forthcoming release.”
To increase viewers' interest in this programme, the channel has introduced an on-air contest, where the winner will get to watch the Asian premiere of the movie in Tokyo along with the cast and crew of the movie on June 20. The next lucky hundred winners will get to watch the Indian premiere at seven cities across the country.
Apart from this, the channel has lined up 30 Hollywood blockbuster movies for the whole month of May. Vidyasagar says, “For the month of May, we have lined-up one movie premiere everyday.”
He adds, “In summers, there are a whole lot of new viewers, who come to the channel. And this happens due to the holiday mood, when people tend to move away from their fixed pattern of television viewing.”
STAR Movies will also premiere 'Star Wars III - Revenge of the Sith' by the end of this calender year. The other movies that the channel has recently acquired include: Aishwarya Rai-starrer 'Bride and Prejudice' and this year's Oscar-winner 'Million Dollar Baby' apart from all new releases from the Disney banner.
Vidyasagar is very enthusiastic about the fact that the first quarter of the calendar year has been great for the channel.
As per TAM Media Research (C&S, 15+, SEC AB, 5 Metros, all day), in the first 12 weeks of 2005, STAR Movies has managed a channel share of 33 per cent.
He says, “Our mantra of success has been shorter breaks and fresh library of movies. In comparison with a 15-minute break on our competitor, STAR Movies only has a 10 minutes break. For this, we may get a fewer number of advertisements, but we certainly won't lose our viewers.”
He also claims that STAR Movies generally does not repeat a movie for the the next four-five months in the same time slot. And even at a different time slot, the movie is repeated only after one-and-a-half months. “That's how we are different from the others. And, the viewers know it...,” he adds with confidence. © 2005 agencyfaqs!