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STAR One will now speak to the 'evolved' woman

The channel is launching two new fiction shows targeted at younger women

After a long lull, STAR One is gearing up for some serious action. The channel is launching two fiction shows starting next month. What's interesting is that these shows are not in the youth genre like its other shows. Geet-Hui Sabse Parayi and Rang Badalti Odhani are dailies which are targeted at the 'changing women'.

Geet, produced by Endemol India and 4 Lions Films, is a story about an 18 year old from Punjab who gets married to an NRI and the challenges she faces after she is abandoned by her husband. Rang Badalti Odhani, produced by Beyond Dreams and Anahita Productions, is about a girl in remote Gujarat who gets widowed at a very young age and how she fights for justice. These shows are targeted at the 23 year old urban woman.

STAR One will now speak to the 'evolved' woman
Talking about the new focus on the women audience, Nikhil Mirchandani, general manager, STAR One, says, "Our target audience has evolved. In the last five years, the 18 year old has turned 23 and we are moving with the times, depicting the changing woman."

The channel claims to have conducted in depth research which revealed that there was a new set of audiences with a specific entertainment need. "More than 15 per cent of the population in India is below the age of 25 years. There is a potent gap as there is no channel catering to this age group," he adds.

STAR One distinguished itself as being a younger skewed urban channel. With this offering, it is broadening its audience base. However, the channel executives maintain that STAR One is still far younger than the other GECs. With the shows slotted in the 9:30 pm and 10 pm time band, Monday to Friday, they will be pitted against strong properties on channels such as Colors, STAR Plus and Zee. Currently, the channel airs repeats of its shows Laughter Ke Phatake and Dill Mill Gayye in this time band.

The shows are being promoted heavily on all the STAR network channels. A 20 city outdoor campaign is being implemented. In areas of Punjab and Gujarat, street theatres will be set up to talk about the incidences of NRI marriages.

Mirchandani says that the channel has several new properties lined up in both the fiction and non-fiction genres. In the past, the channel has dabbled in various types of programming - youth based, comedy and reality. STAR One commands a 4 per cent share (C&S, 4+, HSM) as per the latest report of TAM.

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