Viacom18 to launch Hindi movie channel under the Rishtey brand

'Rishtey Cineplex' will be the Group's first movie channel offering.

Viacom18 has just announced its foray into the Hindi movie genre with its new channel 'Rishtey Cineplex'. It is the first movie channel from Viacom18. According to an official statement, it will offer a "holistic entertainment experience with multi-genre films from the network's library of blockbuster movies including latest audience favourites such as Bajirao Mastani, Airlift, Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2, the still-to-be-released Force2, Kapoor and Sons, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, and many more."

The statement adds that the channel's launch further paves the way for new film acquisitions in order to offer quality film-based entertainment and big television premieres to viewers.

Commenting on this venture, Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO, Viacom18, says, "With the launch of Rishtey Cineplex, we are entering the large Hindi movie genre, thereby, filling a pivotal whitespace and offering a holistic Hindi entertainment ecosystem from our stable. At Viacom18, we are committed to continuously strengthen our portfolio across genres, languages and age groups and Rishtey Cineplex is a key milestone in that journey."

Vats further adds, "The movie channel will bolster the networks reach across India and help us dial-up our engagement levels with viewers. Rishtey Cineplex will also enable us to offer 360-degree value to our advertisers creating more opportunities for on-air promotions enabling optimisation of ad inventory across the network".

Raj Nayak, CEO, Colors and Rishtey, says, "We have scripted a great success story for brand Colors, with it being extended into regional languages and English entertainment. Each of these channels has helped us cater to an intrinsic viewer demand. We are now all set to give impetus to brand Rishtey with the launch of our exclusive Hindi movies channel Rishtey Cineplex that will help us fortify our Hindi entertainment portfolio. With the best in films and entertainment lined up, we are confident that we will be able to strengthen audience affinity with Rishtey Cineplex".

Viacom18's portfolio currently has Hindi general entertainment channels like Colors, Colors HD, Rishtey, and a bouquet of regional entertainment channels -- Colors Marathi, Colors Gujarati, Colors Bangla, Colors Kannada, and Colors Oriya. Colors Infinity is its English entertainment channel.

The launch date for Rishtey Cineplex is yet to be announced by the Group.

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