'Acquiring movie titles is top priority for us in 2013' 

Can you please elaborate on the marketing initiatives you have undertaken for UTV Movies?

For UTV Movies, smaller cities with population of less than one lakh are ideal for engagement-led activities. Canters and melas have worked well for us in these markets. We have already associated with the Kumbh Mela and are looking at other melas to create key touch points.

Through canter activation, we are conducting exciting engagements across Less Than Class 1 (LC1) towns to involve Bollywood fans and channel viewers in their favorite pastime – Bollywood - through fun and exciting initiatives. Fans are getting a chance to indulge in their passion for Bollywood with interactive games around their favourite movies, actors, and win gifts from UTV Movies right at their door step. We are also organising open air screening of several blockbusters in each of these towns.

Apart from this we are also reaching out to our audiences pan India through a massive outdoor campaign.

What are the other mediums that’ll be used for the campaign and what's the campaign about?

The campaign includes print, cinema and social media besides outdoor. The campaign communication is simple and clear – 'Channel Superhit Hai' since UTV Movies is a one-stop destination for latest blockbusters.

What's the kind of growth you're expecting for the channel in terms of audience base in the digitisation period ending 2014?

By the end of 2014 all Hindi Speaking Markets (HSM, 1 million+) should be digital and we expect a growth in reach across all these towns. While there will be a growth in reach we will also witness a plethora of opportunities to build our brand and establish a loyal customer base.

What is your strategy for UTV Movie channels with digitisation speeding up in phase 2?

Hindi movies as a genre is quite sizeable.  Digitisation will only strengthen UTV Movie channels (UTV Movies, UTV Action and UTV World Movies). It has given us an opportunity to build reach and customer loyalty, therefore building a much stronger brand. Reach of the channel grew in phase 1 and we expect the same in phase 2.

Are you looking at acquiring major movie titles this year?

2013 is an important year for us with content push being the key focus for movie channels. We recently inked a telecast rights deal with Star and Viacom for over 150 mega blockbuster Bollywood movies and these acquisitions have further strengthened the existing library of UTV Movies, making it a robust collection of over 700 titles. Acquiring movie titles is top priority for us in 2013. You can expect us to acquire a few films in the next to three months.