T.Sarkar ventures into broadcasting; to launch Orange TV

T.Sarkar Private Limited, a 50-year old Kolkata-based advertising agency that also has interests in films and television production, is all set to venture into broadcasting with the launch of its first channel, Orange TV.

Orange TV's soft launch is on March 24 and the channel will see a full-fledged launch on March 31.

Through T.Sarkar Productions, the company has produced many shows for leading networks, including 'Joto Haasi Toto Ranna' for STAR Jalsha, 'Ei Ghar Ei Sansar' and 'Spandan' for Zee Bangla.

"Having produced shows for STAR, Zee, ETV and many super hit Bengali films, time has now come to make content that can bring in a change," says Binayak Sarkar, director, T.Sarkar.

Sanjay Jariwal has joined Orange TV as the director, national sales. He has more than two decades of extensive experience in space and time selling for the media industry. Before Orange TV, he has also worked with Kasthuri TV, Zee Entertainment (as VP, sales, South channels), ETV and ABP.

Meanwhile, Jugal Saha is the head of programming for the channel. He has over 15 years of experience in the TV entertainment industry in Bengal. Orange TV positions itself as an exclusive hang out zone for the youth majority among Bengal's population. It wears the colour of their aspiration and inspiration.

According to Sumita Bhattacharya, director, T.Sarkar, people in Bengal consume a great deal of Bollywood content but the charm is robbed because Hindi creates a bit of discomfort. "Orange doesn't intend to be just about change. But, from the very onset it targets to become change unchained. So far there has been no channel in Bengal which provides wholesome coverage of the Indian entertainment world in the people's mother tongue, Bengali. Orange is about to claim this vacant slot by featuring regular spice from Bollywood and Tollywood," she adds.

Sarkar says, "Orange TV is a reflection of today's lifestyle and entertainment choices, having universal appeal among the various TG in Bengal. The identity of Orange itself is entertainment. Like any other channel that dabbles with fiction, non-fiction, movies and reality shows, we will do too, with the difference being that we are youth-skewed and more 'filmi'."

Streaming from INSAT-4B, the channel is 100 per cent C&S connected. The library of Orange TV consists of 80 Bengali movies to start with. It is a mix of mainstream blockbusters, urban theme movies by promising new-age directors and also some movies by time-tested veterans like Gautam Ghosh and Sandip Ray. It is a mix of proper commercial blockbusters and parallel cinema. There won't be any fixed genres as movies across genres will be aired on Orange TV.

The channel will have 50 per cent non-fiction content and 50 per cent content of movies and music. To start with, the channel has time bands with different shows. Every day from 5.30-6 pm, Orange TV will air 'Orange Dhaba', a cookery show; from 7 -8 pm, it will air retro music in a show called 'Orange Retro'; from 8-9 pm there will be 'Orange Ishq' which is an anchor-hosted music show; from 9-10 pm the channel will air 'Orange Studio' which will have content (chat-show, gossip, news of the three film industries) shot in the studio of the channel with Power 107.8 FM's RJ Varun.

Besides, on three Sundays of the month, Orange TV will air 'Orange Blockbuster' movie at 7 pm; it will also air a movie premiere every third Sunday of the month at the same slot in the band called 'Orange World Premiere'.

T.Sarkar has already launched an out-of-home teaser campaign for Orange TV. There are more than 350 hoardings across West Bengal as there are banners in a metro running in Kolkata. While the hoardings don't say anything about the channel, they have interesting lines in Bengali - 'Rong o Noy, Fol O Noy! (neither a colour nor a fruit), Tatka, Rosallo, Sushwadu (fresh, juicy and tasty), Pet noy, mon bhorate (not to fill your stomachs, but your minds). All of these end with the line, 'Orange Aasche' (Orange is coming). In the metro, the banners say - Bajaare noy, shoja baarite (not in the market, rather in your house) ending with Orange Aasche.

Closer to the launch of the channel on March 31, the promo will be launched on ABP Ananda and the cable TV channels. There will be promotions on radio channel, Power 107.8 FM too.

According to Sarkar, the logo of Orange TV symbolises freshness. "And, like the very fruit itself, Orange TV shows will have the dose of citric freshness in a world of clutter," he adds.

Ex-Bates Soveek Poyra and Souveek Misra have worked on the creatives of the ad campaign for Orange TV. T.Sarkar being an advertisement agency itself, most of the resources are in-house.