WE WERE ALMOST ALWAYS IN THE SHOES OF A BROADCASTER: HIREN GADA

Media company Shemaroo Entertainment has ventured into the TV industry with the launch of its first ever movie channel, Shemaroo MarathiBana. Hiren Gada, CEO, Shemaroo Entertainment tells us more…

ON ENTERING THE BROADCAST SPACE: We have a strong content base for the Marathi language and have been producing films and running DTH services, which pretty much puts us in the shoes of a broadcaster. This is a natural extension and the reason for launching Shemaroo MarathiBana.

REASON FOR CHOOSING MARATHI: The Marathi film industry has matured specifically in the last seven years. About 80-100 Marathi films release annually, and there is a large variety of audiences with limited movie platforms available for the language. We thought of this as an opportunity to connect with  the audiences.

ON THE CHANNEL’S CONTENT: We have a varied library comprising a whole bunch of premieres, including a huge number of new movies, and will keep adding and replenishing the library. Our big content boost is the addition of Marathi Theatre, which we also be telecasted.

ADVERTISING PLANS: Our core target is FTA platforms. Brands which target mass consumption products will be the ideal beneficiaries of this platform, since our channel has universal appeal which will help marketers reach wider and newer audiences.

CHALLENGES: There aren’t too many movie channels in this category. In terms of movies, there are a couple of hybrid channels, but no specific movie channel. Our first target is to have a great content offering and other aspects for audiences to discover and sample. We can later see where this channel settles and track numbers.