Multi-Screen Media (MSM) launched its second Hindi movie channel, Max2 –Jab Dekho Tab Naya in 2014. While Sony Max, the first Hindi movie channel in the MSM stable, aired contemporary blockbuster movies, the Max2 positioning was clear – iconic movies from the 1960s to early 2000. On the journey so far Neeraj Vyas, Senior EVP & Business Head, MAX and MAX2, says that Max2 identified a need gap in the genre which has about ten channels presently and plugged the hole by showcasing content that rekindled the passion for cinema which had lost its prominence and was neglected due to ratings pressure.
Upping the Fun quotient
Sony Max2 aims to pay tribute to the classics of Indian cinema by making the experience interesting and educative in the form of peripherals programming such as trivia etc. Though the reach of movie channels is comparable to that of GECs, “our ratings are half when compared to GECs because the time spent is less and there is repeat airing of tittles. Unless a film is huge and celebrated for more than five reasons it is difficult for people to watch it again, which is why time spent on movie channel will never be high,” says Vyas. Max2 has seen traction in the larger cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and in states like Maharastra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh but Vyas says, “we still have to hit the heartland.”
Targeting The Viewer
While the movie genre mostly resonates with the younger audience and is maleskewed, MAX 2 took the “gamble” of tapping audience in the age group of 25 to 45 years – a sizable chunk who were underserved and were the decision makers with spending power. Another “huge breakthrough” was getting women to tune in to the channel. As against male to female 70:30 skew for most movie channels, Max2 claims its viewership to be 60:40, thereby making it more attractive to advertisers.
Growing the genre
When Max2 was launched, Vyas says that the Hindi movie genre was around 35-40 GRPs and today the cluster draws 100+ GRPs; Max2 stabilises at 40-43 GRPs every week. Vyas adds, “We have driven that resurgence clearly. The competition has seen the benefit of what we have done and they have rediscovered their own library and have seen merit in what we have done.”
With an aim to reach out to the masses, Max2 is banking on BTL activities in a big way and has undertaken an on-ground initiative called ‘Film, Family and Fun’ to engage and entertain the masses in a filmy manner. Undertaken in LC1 towns of Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, the channel is planning to extend these activities to newer geographies as well. Vaishali Sharma, VP, marketing, SET Max says that marketing was not a challenge as it revolved around its tagline and people have understood the positioning clearly. Sharma says, “One of the key insights for this channel is that a great film is one you want to come back to and this is what our brand promise is. Every time you see a good film, it seems new.” On the Digital platform, #BringBackGoodMovies was launched to build online advocacy which evolved to #ISupportGoodMovies. She says, “Digital is about advocacy and will always be about celebrations, engaging and setting a benchmark and putting these movies on a pedestal. In terms of marketing, the key driving force will be about becoming more engaging and experiential because it’s critical that consumers experience what these films are all about.”
Under Indexed: A Bane
According to FICCI-KPMG Indian Media and Entertainment Industry Report 2015 though the Hindi movies genre has a viewership share of 13.6%, the ADEX share by genre is only 6.7%. Commenting on this disparity, Vyas says, “Historically the genre has been undersold. While the genre delivers reach on par with the GECs, the problem is we have short-changed ourselves by not selling at the right rates initially. The genre has been sold and bought by media agencies as a frequency genre which should have never been the case. To reverse that after so many years is going to be a problem and so we are underindexed for the kind of reach we deliver. We should be selling at a much higher price; there should be at least 20-25% correction on the rates immediately.”
Looking ahead Vyas is betting on digitization and rural ratings. He says, “Digitisation is necessary and essential for smaller channels like MAX2 as it will give us depth and width of availability. Secondly, when BARC brings out rural and LC1 ratings in tandem with digitization, this genre will completely rock in these markets. I see a huge advantage and an upside for movie channels per se and more so for content like ours.”
