Viacom18 extends Colors franchise; re-brands 5 ETV channels

The network has re-christened five regional ETV channels to Colors Marathi, Colors Gujarati, Colors Bangla, Colors Kannada and Colors Oriya.

Colors, the fastest growing entertainment network, is expanding its portfolio by rebranding five ETV regional general entertainment channels (owned by Prism TV). This brand licensing will soon have ETV Marathi, ETV Gujarati, ETV Kannada, ETV Bangla and ETV Oriya don the Colors identity.

This move will let Colors franchise expand its footprint to key regional markets. Subject to receipt of mandatory regulatory approvals, Viacom Inc., through its subsidiary Nick Asia, will acquire a 50 per cent interest in the five regional general entertainment channels, while TV18 will continue to own the remaining 50 per cent.

Sudhanshu Vats, group CEO, Viacom18 Media, says, "The strategic pillar of growth as we go forward has been sharper segmentation. And, one of the most logical pieces in segmentation is looking at geographical, regional, linguistic segmentation. All regional languages put together in India, about 59 per cent of India speaks in regional languages, and the rest speaks in Hindi language. It's important that we develop our footprints in the regional markets as well. The viewership of regional channels is going to continue to expand."

Hindi entertainment viewership is about 44 per cent, comprising 29 per cent from Hindi GEC and about 14-15 per cent from Hindi Movies, whereas the regional viewership is about 30 per cent. It is the second largest chunk. "That also underlines regional genre's importance. As India develops, the pride in regional language is only going to get strengthened and the viewership will grow, and when viewership grows, ad dollars follow," he adds.

"The expansion fuels our growth strategy in building the Colors franchise, a brand that has become the cultural touchstone for millions of Indians across the world. The move will help us foray into key regional markets as we nurture and monetise the bouquet across platforms," Vats further says.

The channels will be looking at synergies. There are plans to launch more shows in the fiction, non-fiction space and events on the channels. According to Vats, the five Prism channels have had a big history. "They were the first channels in regional, and hence command a reasonable amount of trust and loyalty with their core customers. What the rebranding exercise will do is - it will allow some amount of fresh air, contemporariness, innovation. Therefore, hopefully, address younger viewers as well. Programming will also be reflecting this. The profile of advertisers will depend on the shows we have. The purpose of rebranding to Colors is for the Prism team to be able to exploit the opportunity in its entirety. This means increase in viewership and ad revenues as well. They continue to run the channels. We are here as advisors and to look at synergies."

The ETV general entertainment channels, that will undergo the brand transition, have been pioneers in regional entertainment. The rebranding of the regional GECs will augment the Colors franchise, while facilitating higher resonance for the regional channels vis-a-vis competition.

The rebranding will be made alive through enhanced packaging and an integrated marketing approach.

The revelation of the new brand identity of each of the five regional channels has been staggered across a period of two months starting March 3, 2015. The rebranding has been designed to coincide with important regional festivals that mark new beginnings.

To popularise the rebranding, a 360-degree marketing and communication campaign has been designed consisting of TV, cinema, cable, on-ground, radio, and outdoor as well as digital platforms, customised to individual regional markets. Region specific events and on-ground activations with popular local influencers are also on the cards.

Each high-decibel campaign will run for approximately four to five weeks, beginning with Colors Marathi on March 22, coinciding with the Maharashtrian New Year - Gudi Padva. The rebranding exercise will go on till April 19.