Asianet Communication Limited is set to launch what it calls the first round-the- clock Malayalam movie channel, Asianet Movies. The channel will go on air on 15 July, 2012.
Besides back-to-back movies and movie-related shows in Malayalam, the channel will also air ‘superhit’ Hindi and Tamil movies sourced from Star network library.
Asianet claims a movie library of over 2000 titles, and a spokesperson said it has bought television rights to half of the 70 (approx.) Malayalam movies released in 2012.
On the marketing end, a 360-degree approach has been adopted. John Brittas, business head, Asianet Communications, explained, “Besides taking insertions for five days in newspapers in Kerala, we are promoting the channel through hoardings and radio. We are also pumping promos every half hour on all our network channels.”
Asked about the viability of a movie channel in a State like Kerala which has a huge news-consuming audience, he said “Besides news, movies attract a lot of eyeballs in Kerala. While there are half a dozen news channels, there is no movie channel which in itself is huge advantage for us.”
The channel claims that advertiser response has been good: according to Brittas, two national clients have already signed on with the channel for an ‘annual package’.
Besides Kerala, Asianet will also be distributed across the country and the Middle East.
