Zee presents a new Khana Khazana

Khana Khazana is a familiar name in Indian households. It brings to people's minds two names simultaneously: Zee TV and Sanjeev Kapoor. While the half-hour show became a 24-hour channel in 2010 from the Zee network, it was still identified with Kapoor.

The network has now decided to revamp the channel with new programming and a new identity. Though this will be released in a month's time, the new programming line-up will be on air on February 20. While Kapoor is no longer part of the revamped version, the channel does have a library of the show and that remains one of the important offerings of the channel.

At the time of the inception of Zee Khana Khazana, Kapoor had mentioned clearly, "I have no contract with Zee TV. It's the production house, Mehta and Merlin Production, which has a contract and it is free to use any host."

Khana Khazana's business head, Amit Nair, says that the entire programming line-up will be gradually revealed.

The first show, Food Ka Mood is a daily cooking, instructional show that showcases simple, easy to make, everyday dishes with a twist.

The second one, Bachcha Party, features the actress, Gurdip Kohli which shows interesting recipes for children. While all the other shows have chefs, the channel suggests that this particular show features an actress since they were looking for somebody who is managing home and work both simultaneously. As for the recipes, the show has a lot of support from the food team of the channel.

In the third show, Breakfast Xpress, the chef cooks a healthy and easy breakfast and also demonstrates ways in which one can use leftovers. Lastly, Ab Har Koi Chef is a vignette-based show wherein the viewers send in their recipes and the show's chef selects the best of the lot. The sender is then brought to the studio to cook the recipe with him.

In addition to this, the channel has retained 13 shows from the earlier programming line-up. Also, the new shows coming up later will have a few lifestyle-based shows. As of now, the original programming on the channel will range from 60-90 minutes and the rest will be repeats from the existing library of the channel.

For the record, the channel has recently taken on-board a new creative agency, Scarecrow and the marketing campaign should break in a month's time from now.

Currently priced at 30, the channel has decided to continue with the same pricing while it will be extending its base to all the DTH platforms by the end of the year (currently present only on Dish TV and Videocon d2h). The channel is already available on all the digital cables.

All shows are highly interactive with the audience being offered the chance to get in touch with the channel's chefs and anchors via a call or SMS or email thereby taking the engagement level a notch higher.

The food genre as a whole has grown a lot. Right from the time when Zee had a half-hour slot, following which there were shows like Tarla Dalal Show (Sony) and then Mirch Masala (Star Plus). Post that, there were reality shows, like Master Chef and Mallika-e-Kitchen, amongst others. Specialised programming blocks on food on lifestyle channels were the next step.

Gaurav Jang, AVP, programming, Zee Khana Khazana, explains, "This is also a reflection of the change in spending pattern. As the economy grows, people want to dine out even more. They want to have this whole experience of food. They are considering it as an art-form now and hence the consumption of food content has increased. The time was ripe for a full time food channel in 2010."

As for the competition from the lifestyle channels, Nair explains that Zee Khana Khazana is mass, Hindi cooking channel whereas lifestyle caters to a very niche and specific audience.

Along with the revamp of the channel, the website is also getting refreshed. The website will sport an easy to navigate interface acting as a one-stop shop for recipes and a food guide.

The channel is expecting a double digit growth in overall revenues, post this revamp, which was the outcome of exhaustive audience research.

In an official communique, Punit Goenka, MD, Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL), says, "Through this, we are looking forward to a higher engagement with our audience to a deeper level through a new programming line-up which is both relevant and appealing."