future of english movie channels in india- report
TRANSCRIPT
ITM Business School, Mumbai
Future of English Movie
Channels in India A Project Report
2
A PROJECT REPORT ON
FUTURE OF ENGLISH MOVIE CHANNELS IN INDIA
2010
Submitted By Submitted To
Ashwin Vachaspathi Prof. Ankush Sharma
Ravi Kumar Naramsetty
Atul Vikas
Ankur Singh
Rikin Kesaria
Kumar Ashish
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This market research project on “Future of English Movie Channels in India” has
been a useful and enlightening experience. This project has been possible due to
motivation, guidance and support from various sources.
At this level of understanding, it is often difficult to understand a wide spectrum of
knowledge without proper guidance and advice. Hence, we take this opportunity to
express our deep sense of gratitude to our respected project guide Mr. Ankush
Sharma, for his round the clock enthusiastic support and suggestions which made
this project successful.
We also extend our sincere gratitude to our friends, staff and interviewees for their
inspiration, encouragement and for the impetus obtained throughout the course of
our project. Finally the 4Ps magazine which gave us an idea to carry out our project
on the cover story titled “Wars on the English front”.
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CONTENTS
1. Executive Summary…………………………………………….. 5
2. The Project Premise……………………………………………. 6
3. Research Methodology………………………………………. 16
a. Video 1……………………………………………………… 16
b. Video 2……………………………………………………… 17
c. Video 3……………………………………………………… 18
d. Video 4………………………………………………………… 18
e. Video 5……………………………………………………….. 19
f. Video 6………………………………………………………… 19
g. Video 7……………………………………………………….. 20
4. Quantitative Analysis…………………………………………… 21
5. Recommendations……………………………………………… 23
6. Questionnaire…………………………………………………… 24
7. References………………………………………………………. 26
5
Executive Summary
The project starts off after an article on English movie channels and their current
scenario in India appeared in the 4Ps magazine titled “Wars on the English front”.
What the article talks of is current position of English movie channels in India, where
are they headed to, what are their future plans and so on. The problem with English
movie channels is that although India being a developing country and center of
attention of the world majority of population are still not comfortable with English.
Even though they might understand what a person speaking in English is trying to
say but would find it difficult to cope up and understand an English movie.
This has led to the rise of English movies getting released in regional languages in
India and most recently with the movie “Inception” Hollywood has started screening
subtitles which until now was only seen in movie channels. Thus channels are trying
to find the right mix that would give them an edge and find growth in the market. This
gave us an idea to do a market research project based on the premise provided by
the cover story and come out with suggestions that would ultimately help the
channels to gain TRP‟s and subsequently growth in India. We focused mainly on
qualitative research technique and a sample survey of 60 respondents to come to a
conclusion and suggest recommendations.
Focus group discussions were conducted with a group size of 10 respondents
closely selected to satisfy the objective. The objective was to find problems affecting
the growth of English movie channels in India and subsequently find solutions to the
same. The respondents were asked to speak on the channels, quality of content,
advertisements aired, repeat rate of movies and genre covered. It also questioned
on the medium most popular for viewing English movies and whether any change
was required in the variety of content and programmes.
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The Project Premise
“WARS on the English Front” – 4Ps Business & Marketing
Selling English movie channels in a country where speaking in English was
supposed to be a fashion statement – at least for the middle to upper gentry – should
not have been too difficult. Ironically, it is. Add to that the huge competition in this
genre not only from fellow English movie channels, but also the general
entertainment channels, and you have a quasi-bloodbath in the making. Will English
movie channels ever dominate the hearts and minds of the Hindi channel-loving
masses?
How many television channels can you count amongst your favorites out of the odd-
400 in the country? Five? May be even ten? And so what if they are your favorites?
Choosing television programmes these days is much dependent upon what is
“mutually acceptable”; mutually acceptable, because unlike twenty years back, TV
viewers today have umpteen choices! If you have ladies in the house (both old and
young, married and unmarried), your idiot box would invariably have either the
„Saas-bahu‟ episodes flooding the senses of the Venusians or some curtain call at
the end of a Hindi film receiving a breathless wonder from the fairer gender. [Who
cares if the script overwhelms none in the room?]. If you have a kid in the house,
then you will be stuck to the world of Pogos and Toms and Jerrys. If you have friends
over, then forget the channels – it‟s the DVD which gets into action with the latest
blockbuster!
And then there are the wildlife channels peddling apes and tuskers that wobble
about, and then again some spiritual and religious channels; and of course music
channels too, for the modern MJs. Did we forget to mention the regional channels for
the patriots, news channels for the critics, and sports channels for those who want to
know how octopuses predict FIFA World Cup winners! And then, sweetheart, there
are the English movie channels. They‟re hep, they‟re happening, they feature
English movies that would make the Oscar roll call on any given day – yet, they‟re
not what you‟d call thundering successes with respect to viewership, or even brand
loyalty. Dump a load full of competition and the fact that masses prefer watching
staid, rigmarole, Hindi and regional serials more than electrifying movies, and you
start realizing why very few viewership rating charts feature English movie channels.
But this is not to say that nobody watches English movies. Too many do! And that‟s
where the war among the English movie channels is right now focused.
In reality, not just English movie channels, but even English entertainment channels
(including GECs and movie channels), still have a long road to cover on Indian soil.
This segment accounts for an anaemic 5% of the total TV viewership pie in the
country. As far as English movie channels are concerned, as per data furnished by
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TAM Media Research, the average television rating percent for English movie
channels is usually between 0.02 and 0.05 (worst being 0.0 and best being 10.0,
which is when an interesting India-Pak cricket match is on). So how are these outfits
making money? After garnering Rs.220 crores in ad-revenues last year, the 11
English movie channels have recorded a topline of about Rs.300 crores so far this
year; expectedly, the two biggest in this genre are Star Movies and HBO with
respective market shares of 41% and 29%.
With 11 channels in the offering, the once deprived for choice Indian viewer, is being
spoilt for choice. Today, there are 30 premiers every month on the top three English
movie channels – Star
Movies, HBO and WB.
And while Sony Pix and
Zee Studio offer bits of
everything (featuring even
sports programmes and
reality shows at regular
intervals), UTV World
Movies & NDTV Lumiere
try and offer the best in
international cinema (with
feature films in French,
Japanese, Chinese,
Italian and many other languages). But at the end of the day, one cannot deny the
fact that English movie channels are in a niche business; it‟s about engaging a
couple of lakhs of viewers, not crores. And it‟s really the quality of movies that will
prevent an HBO viewer to move on to Sony PIX or STAR Movies
.
Talking about media planning, for English movie channels, it all depends on the title
that is being premiered on a particular day. For example a movie like Dark Knight on
HBO would land it with ads worth 20 minutes, but the same will not be true for a
repeat movie like Terminator 2. Despite the odds, the earnings are seemingly there
to be had – precisely the reason why there are huge bets on this genre, despite
English movie channels earning less than a tithe of mainstream Hindi GECs.
Imagine, today huge stakes are being laid even on a channel like UTV World
Movies, which caters to a niche within a niche – the international cinema. Sameer
Ganapathy, Business Head, UTV World Movies, while talking about his strategy
says, “UTV World Movies is a channel which showcases only international cinema.
The demand for such cinema always exists irrespective of which part of the world it
is from. Till we entered India, this was only made available through select rental
outlets and pirated DVDs. We therefore started this channel to bridge the demand-
supply gap and provide viewers with the opportunity to watch international cinema.”
But has the Indian audience accepted his intentions? Says Ganapathy, “Our efforts
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have paid off. The channel has been well received and our growth is 15%, more than
that of the genre‟s, which is growing at 11%”. Today, UTV World Movies has
grabbed 5% of the genre pie.
A strangely good tiding is that while the world of media was affected negatively by
the slowdown in 2009, the English movie genre grew. “For the first time after three
years, the English entertainment genre witnessed a growth in viewership shares by
16% in 2009. The genre works more on the perception and aspiration value than
ratings and that remains consistent,” says Monica Tata, VP, Entertainment
Networks, South Asia, Turner International India. In fact, Warner Brothers, (the only
channel to source its content exclusively from one studio – Warner Brothers, one of
the biggest Hollywood studios, with nearly a century of history in cinema
productions), which was launched in India in March 2009, has grown in leaps within
a year to capture 7% market share in the genre.
Looking forward, there is definitely scope and hope for this genre to grow, which
today has crafted a spot for itself amongst the top 15 in the Indian TV community,
which accounts for 98% share of viewing in television. Only issue is – it still has only
5% of the market share! To grow ahead, there is one strategy that these channels
have to adopt – an admixture of quality and quantity, as Jyotsna Viriyala, Vice
President, Programming, Star Movies, says, “If a film is big, we spend a lot of money
acquiring it and we know that it will do very well and will have a decent repeat shelf
life. Therefore selection of titles and controlled repetitions are crucial for success.”
Who will win, who will prosper, who will become the change agent and who will
rewrite rules of this genre are questions to be asked later. For now, it‟s about making
a significant dent in the hearts and minds of the Hindi-loving Indian masses. You
can‟t teach English to all of them, but you can certainly show it to them – Indians
loved James Bond movies and Titanic too. Now‟s the time to make them love
English movie channels...
Sameer Ganapathy,
Business Head, UTV World Movies
How and why was UTV World Movies born?
UTV World Movies was started in 2008 when Dilshad Master, the then COO of UTV
Entertainment Television Ltd. visited the Cannes Film Festival in 2007. She was
disappointed that India gets to see only movies from Bollywood and Hollywood, and
this where the idea of starting an international movie channel came from. We now
have a library of around 550-600 movies which is has been sourced from 25-40
countries across the globe.
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Your current market share?
15% of the channel‟s budget is devoted to advertising initiatives. The captive
audience on TV that is dedicated to the consumption of only World Cinema has seen
an incremental rise of 20-25%, and correspondingly our channel has grown by 15%,
as compared to the genre which grew by 11%, so far in 2010. At present, our market
share is 5%.
Your expectations with regards to ad-revenues...
Currently we have 65 advertisers. However, when DTH becomes significant, i.e.
25% of the overall satellite television pie, the channel will get 40% of its incremental
revenues from DTH subscribers.
“We operate in a genre which is niche”
JYOTSNA VIRIYALA, VICE PRESIDENT, STAR MOVIES
We cannot afford to be a laidback channel, so we creat a lot
of buzz which instills freshness into the channel
How has been the journey of Star Movies in India?
Star Movies is the no. 1 channel in the country. Journey of the channel has been
good in India especially when the CBS mandate was in a rush. Even today it‟s going
great with a 40% market share in terms of viewership.
Who is your target audience?
In demographic terms our audience primarily resides in 8 metros. We are not
specifically active towards any particular gender, but yes, we primarily look at
viewers in the age group of 15 to 34. We look at SEC A & B.
How do you differentiate yourself from your competitors?
To be a premium English movie channel, the strength of my product offering lies in
how well I cater to what the viewers want to see. Today I have „Die Hard‟ franchisee,
HBO has „Mission Impossible‟ franchisee and Warner Brothers has „Lord of the rings‟
franchisee, but all these are block buster Hollywood movies. So it is extremely
difficult for a title driven category to have something which is differentiated on basis
of personality. And it does not make sense also. So what we do is stay relevant and
contemporary to create a lot of buzz. We cannot afford to be a laidback channel, so
we keep on doing lot of action, which shows that the channel has a lot of buzz, be it
on online touch points or on TV itself.
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How have you positioned yourself in the market? Do you any specific
positioning strategy for DTH?
See, we are a movie channel. But in India English is consumed very less as
compared to Hindi and other regional languages. That‟s why we are still a niche
player... So it‟s all about the English movie channel service. Talking about our
positioning on DTH, we don‟t have anything like specific positioning to DTH. It‟s just
a platform. Be it analog, digital or DTH, channels do not need to have a different
position for a platform.
What factors do you consider while selecting a movie title? How do you decide
on the repeat rate?
Importance of a movie title generally depends on how big a movie is, or how much
time and money we have spent to acquire it. Also there may be some titles where we
know that the movie will do good or that it has a decent repeat shelf life. So such
titles automatically move up in our priority list. To acquire these titles we choose a
number of different platform and media vehicles. But yes, sampling happens,
because English movie channels cut across several demographics due to specific
genres like action, romance, drama, comedy and so on. Moreover, every airing has
natural repeat rate and it entirely depends on the title. For example, a title like
Wolverine, the repeat rate will be a lot different from some other title like Project A.
What are your future plans? Do you intend to diversify into serials?
Future plans! Yes, there are many plans in the pipeline. Though I do not have the
liberty to disclose now, I can say that the channel will soon come up with something
very exciting. About diversifying in serials, we don‟t believe in it. Movies have made
us no.1 and through this only we will continue to grow further.
“Our strategy is to focus on our core properties”
SHRUTI BAJPAI, COUNTRY HEAD, SOUTH ASIA, HBO ASIA
New Channels will only fragment the market Giving the viewers
more choices But A bulk of output is still coming from the top
notch
HBO is very popular among the youth. But how has the channel performed
over the past one year in terms of financials?
I think we have done extremely well in the past one year, as the year before that was
not quite difficult for us alone but for the entire industry as well. In terms of revenues,
we have grown by 25% in the 1st quarter. In terms of advertisers, we have got a lot
of support as the number has increased substantially.
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How is your marketing strategy different from your counterparts?
Our marketing strategy is to really focus on our core properties. A lot of our
marketing efforts are focused towards „Hollywood Premier League‟. We also spend a
significant amount of our marketing budget on the campaign called „Summers with
HBO‟. Whenever we market our core properties, we use multimedia as a marketing
tool. It is primarily because the market has changed. More and more people are
using the internet today. Look at Facebook as a success story. Where was it two
years back? The answer is nowhere. But today Facebook has become a huge rage.
Are you feeling any heat from a host of new channels that have come into the
market lately?
The new channels will only fragment the market giving the viewers more choices.
But what you have to see is that the bulk of the output from Hollywood is coming
either to HBO or to Star Movies, the rest of new channels are just showing what has
already been shown on HBO or Star Movies before. Therefore, there is a
fragmentation in the market. However, the quality programming still belongs to the
top notch in the domestic circuit. The entry of new channels is not at all a threat
because once the viewer knows that what all other channels are offering as
compared to HBO, they‟ll surely come back to us automatically.
DTH players are now offering this pay-per-title concept in India these days.
Does that in any way affect the viewership of HBO?
Our experience says that this phenomenon coexist with the movie channel space
across the globe. But it is not significant enough that it starts competing with the
movie channels.
India is perhaps the only country in the world where watching English movies
with subtitles is very popular. How has been your experience with it as some
critics even support the fact that it destroys the movie watching experience?
We were the first ones in India to introduce subtitles and I think it has worked out
pretty well. We have got a lot of positive feedback for this initiative. For every one
person who says it destroys the movie watching experience, there are ten others
who say that thank God you‟ve got subtitles, I was not able to understand some
parts of the movie.
HBO has recently completed 10 years in Indian market. According to you, how
has the industry evolved over the past one decade?
A decade ago, there were just 100 channels, today there are 400. There is so much
fragmentation already, but there is still a price war. However I think the next five
years are going to be critical for the entire industry. Currently, DTH players are
competing to grab a share of the market but soon they will move towards making
money. Tata Sky says to the consumer pay me Rs. 300 and watch everything, then
Dish TV in return says pay me Rs. 250 and watch everything. Once that stops, the
market will start moving in the direction of growth.
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“Every title is handled uniquely”
SUNDER AARON , BUSINESS HEAD, SONY PIX, INDIA
The Viewership might not be at par with gecs in india but that
does not mean that english movie channels in india are niche!
How challenging has been the journey for Sony PIX so far?
PIX commenced operations in 2006 as a library channel for the Sony titles. Being the
only Indian English movie channel we feel proud on the kind of support we received
along the way that has helped us establish ourselves as one of the leading
Hollywood movie channels in the country today. We have also added original content
like Gateway and Chicks on Flicks, which is the only Hollywood movie review show
in India. Even sports properties like the FA Cup and boxing are now being added to
the content. In fact, the two highest rated movies of 2009 – Slumdog Millionaire &
Ong Bak 2 – were telecasted on PIX.
Is there really a scope for niche genre like yours in India?
We don‟t consider our genre as niche. The viewership might not be at par with GECs
in the country, but that does not mean that as an English movie channel in India we
are niche. With the rise in number of viewers conversant with English there is a
growth in the number of viewers demanding English movies. Another factor that
enables us to reach out to more viewers is subtitles since it enables them to
understand dialogues better than before.
What about your target audience?
Our target audience is from the age group of 18 to 35 years with an inclination for the
male viewers. This TG largely lies in the metros which as per industry norm is the
skew for our genre. The reach for PIX is at 18%, which at par with HBO and Star
Movies across all six metros.
How do you view the competition in the Indian „English movie channel‟
market?
We compete with HBO and Star Movies on a weekly basis in six metros and it is a
very competitive space at the moment. Though big titles, popular cast and directors
are key for our competition, we also believe in a good story being the quintessential
ingredient for the movies on PIX. We, like our competition, too offer popular titles but
it is our emphasis on story telling that sets us apart and enable us to beat our
competition on a frequent basis. For instance, our film Gandhi was rated higher than
the Indian TV Premiere of Dark Knight on HBO in January 2010.
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So what all titles do you plan to acquire this year?
Our current acquisitions includes the Academy Winner Hurt Locker, the American
smash hit comedy Hot Tub Time Machine, Spin and Extract to name a few. We are
currently in the process of acquiring more movies for the current year.
What kind of promotional activities does Sony PIX undertake to ensure that it
remains unique?
We believe in selective, innovative, effective and consistent marketing for all our
films. It is important for us to establish an association with places frequented by our
TG which is why we have branding deals with restaurants, cafes, multiplexes, book
stores, et al. Every title is handled uniquely to create a buzz in the market.
Promotional activities such as the Slumdog Bus ride, Outlander Paintball Battle,
Closer Film Screening and relationship counselor session, Young Hollywood club
events and the most recent PIX Moonwalker‟s Night to promote „This Is It‟ are some
examples of promotional events in the recent past. Our aim is to establish direct
touch points and engage with our viewers through any promotional activity we plan
around our films.
“Competition is extremely important!”
MONICA TATA, VICE PRESIDENT & DGM, ENTERTAINMENT
NETWORKS, SOUTH ASIA, TURNER INTERNATIONAL INDIA
What was the rationale behind launching Warner Bros. in India?
WB, the English entertainment channel that offers Hollywood enthusiasts, the
biggest movies, hottest action, best dramas, funniest series and the brightest stars
from one of the world‟s biggest and most respected Hollywood Studios – Warner
Bros. In fact, WB was launched on March 15, 2009, post an extensive research done
across geographies and demographics to tune-in our programming with the English
entertainment needs of TV viewers across the country. When WB was launched in
March 2009 it was at the number 3 position with 12% relative share. And so has
been the advertiser response with the average monthly billing on WB being up by
25% in 2010 over 2009. In the launch year itself, the channel attracted 60 plus
brands. Within the first half of 2010 we already have 26 new brands on the channel.
What kind of viewers are you looking at and how has been the channel‟s reach
so far?
WB is aimed at the upscale, affluent Indian audience between the ages of 18 and 44
years with a colossal appetite for Hollywood‟s best, around the clock. As far as the
reach is concerned, the channel within the first year of its launch has already been
distributed in approximately 50% households reached by the more established
players in the genre.
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What is it that actually differentiates WB from the lot?
Competition is extremely important and healthy! As one of the oldest and established
broadcasting companies of India, Turner is adept at holding its own in the dynamic
media and entertainment space. In fact, currently within the English entertainment
genre, we operate two very strong, yet distinct channels in India – HBO and WB.
HBO recently completed 10 years and WB is one year old. HBO is our premiere
movie destination and WB is a channel for Hollywood aficionados. WB is a channel
for movie lovers; it is like owning your personal DVD collection. Anytime you switch
on the channel it shows movies that you love to watch, enjoy watching and were
wanting to watch.
What all titles can these movie aficionados expect from WB in the near future?
As the destination for Hollywood aficionados, WB is like owning a personal DVD
collection. The channel at any time is always playing favourites. 9:00 p.m. on
Saturday nights, WB offers you to relive the cinema experience by watching some of
the best movies with just a single two-minute break! In the coming months, WB will
be launching the animated version of George Lucas‟ cult, science fiction series –
Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The series was a huge success internationally. This will
be followed by the premiere of Human Target, a new action thriller series. WB also
has an exciting slew of premiere shows under its WB Breakfast Franchise such as
Good Morning Miami, Four Kings, New Adventures Of Old Christine. In fact, in 2010
alone WB is adding 200 titles.
Though a majority of Indians do speak English fluently, not many can follow all
the dialogues in the English films. So, can showing a movie with subtitle make
a big difference?
WB is about delivering a premium Hollywood viewing experience at home to
Hollywood enthusiasts. We are evaluating this but are yet to see a co-relation and
the true value addition of subtitles in this context.
“Subtitles help a lot”
ANURAG BEDI, BUSINESS HEAD, ZEE CAFÉ, ZEE STUDIO, ZEE
TRENDZ, ZING
Zee Studio is the pioneer in subtitling the content and not
surprisingly today everyone has followed suit!
How has been the journey for Zee Studio so far?
Zee Studio in its new avatar was launched in 2005. Prior to this the channel was
known as Zee MGM and then for time as ZMZ.
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Where does Zee Studio stand in this niche genre of English Movies?
English channels, be it movies or entertainment, are considered niche because they
are catering to a very small segment of the population. However, this segment needs
alternatives within the space and that is where we fit in.
So, whom are you targeting?
We cater to 15-44 SEC AB M/F (as per TAM Media terminology to define
demographics). However, our core audience consists of people between the age of
18 and 34 years.
How has competition evolved in the past decade?
The English movie genre has grown significantly over the past few years and the pie
is growing further. From a three channel market it has grown to a market with over
six major players. Channels tried to be unique by acquiring differentiated content,
foreign language films, crossover films, but today everyone has realised that there is
nothing that sells like Hollywood in India. In fact, Zee Studio was the pioneer in
subtitling the content and today everyone has followed suit.
How do you see the future of English movie channels in India?
There will be an influx of new players in this segment. The competition is bound to
increase. And we are going to see a clutter in this segment aka the Hindi GEC /
music channels segment.
There is lot of repeat telecast in context to movies channels. What is the repeat
rate of your channel?
A movie channel is bound to have more repetitions as the content is limited unlike
news or general entertainment channels where content is produced on a daily basis.
Do subtitles really make a difference when it comes to viewership?
Certainly, it helps a lot when it comes to penetration. In fact, as mentioned Zee
Studio was the first channel to start subtitling. A lot of people also switched on the
subtitling track on DVDs as the accent is difficult to follow in most of the movies.
Subtitling also helps in penetrating the smaller markets, particularly tier I and tier II
towns.
What about your marketing mix?
Branding and promotional activities are done through a combination of media. It‟s a
mix of the digital and mobile platforms, supported by on-air promotions.
How beneficial is it for an English movie channel to include a sporting event in
its content?
Just having all the ingredients is not enough, you also need to know how to prepare
and serve the dish. We try and come up with different and innovative properties
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month on month to give our viewers some freshness and cater to their individual
tastes.
How helpful are big banner movies when it comes to viewership?
Big banner movies help in building the connect with the viewers fast. However,
viewers need variety and a mix of films is what really works. Movies with repeat
value also help the channel as an average time spent on any movie channel is 10 to
15 minutes.
Research Methodology
The research was mostly qualitative with focus group discussions being carried out
in different parts of the city. A sample survey of 60 respondents was done for
quantitative analysis and to support the qualitative research. Videos were recorded
with an instructor overlooking the proceeding of the discussion and to ensure the
discussion was going in the right direction. Majority of the respondents were in the
age group of 22 to 27 comprising a good mix of both sex. Below is the scribing of
each video;
Video 1
1. Show latest movies
2. Piracy serving as a killer for English movie channels.
3. Star movies repeats movies first in night and then in following morning.
4. New trend of subtitles on English movie channels.
5. More emphasis on channels to use subtitles.
6. Emergence of world movies is attractive.
7. Movie weeks ( romance, action, thriller)
8. Kind of advertisement & promotion also matters on reputation.
9. Dubbed movies in regional & vernacular language will boost more number of
audiences.
10. Movies are only promoted on English movie channels, so promotion of new
movies should also be done on sister channels also.
11. Difference of opinion on airing a dubbed movie.
12. Even movie theatres have gone for subtitles.
13. Possible solution: subtitles are mandatory.
14. Movies should edited according the family value of India.
15. New trend on Star movies: movie with one break. Good sign
16. Zee studio – large range of movie.
17. HBO – shorter commercial time.
18. More animated movies are required because they are loved by each age
group.
19. A star movie is pioneer in Chinese, Japanese & Asian movie. More stress on
highly popular movie star movies.
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20. Women are the main tv watcher in India so if they want to attract women they
should show also serials on the movie channels.
21. Extra shots kind of things will be beneficial for movies. Interesting facts about
movie can also be beneficial.
22. HBO start with pre trailers before a movie begaing.
23. Language option offered by DTH providers is a cost sensitive issues.
24. Customized time slots for each genre, language.
Video 2
1. In Multiplexes there is more clarity and sound effects.
2. Downloading movies has become easy with Bit torrent etc.
3. Editing of movies is acting as disadvantage for the movie channels.
4. Indian channels doing something right rather than English channels doing
wrong.
5. Prime time of the movies is changing
6. HBO – Historical
7. Star Movies – Horror
8. Pix – Historical
9. Use of subtitles shifts the focus away from the movie
10. There should be less number of advertisements for longer duration of time.
11. HBO repeats the movies very often without changing the time slots whereas
Star movies changes slots.
12. If repeat rate is high it affects adversely
13. Repeat rate should be optimal.
14. Timer should be provided for advertisements.
15. Extra Game Shows or extra facts about the movies during breaks.
16. Follow the trends of Hindi movie channels like movie series of different
filmstars.eg: AB tak Bachchan.
17. By use of regional language the impact of the dialogue changes.
18. Genres of movies acquired needs to be changed to penetrate into rural
market.
19. Need to increase popularity in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.
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Video 3
1. People generally prefer night time for watching movies.
2. Inspiring movies
3. Online movie sites and downloading are major threats
4. International movies should have subtitles.
5. Fun part is removed by subtitles.
6. Star Movie has acquired Jackie Chang series.
7. Star movies generally show popular movies and the frequency of
advertisements is low.
8. HBO has more diversity
9. Sony pix- Advertisements every 15 mins.
10. Repeat rate has both advantage as well as disadvantage
11. Major problem is Internet
12. Star movies enjoys first mover advantage
13. Content is standard in Star movies
14. Zee Studio- Different genres and fewer advertisements.
15. Sony Pix – Awareness level is low
16. New Channels entry is very tough
17. Parents Perception has an impact
18. Language barrier
19. One TV in a home is another factor for less TRP
20. If the Movie is popular it will work in regional language
21. Content should be put in such a way that it attracts younger audience
22. Within breaks certain facts about the movie and stars should be shown
which will make the viewers more aware of the stars and they will start
liking them and their movies.
23. DTH won‟t have a negative effect in fact it will have good effect.
Video 4
1. Go for movie either in theatre, tv or online.
2. Going in theatre is a costly option but for a action or thriller movie it is
worthwhile.
3. Most of people knew mainly HBO & star movies.
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4. Subtitles are helpful because difference in accent between America & India.
And viewer doesn‟t want to miss single things.
5. Subtitles not only on English but also in vernacular language.
6. Dubbing can also help these English movie channels.
7. Real taste of movie may vanish on dubbing a movie.
8. Sometimes subtitles distract viewer, they miss scenes due to subtitles.
9. Subtitles sometimes distract viewers, some new technology is required.
10. Sometimes they get distracted from original subject to movie.
11. Promotion should also be done on sister Hindi channels.
12. Promotion in malls or super markets because they have same customers.
13. Mobile SMS can be sent to viewer.
14. Rather than promoting on newspaper, promotion should done on TV.
15. Accessories & toys should launched.
Video 5
1. When asked about the number of movie channels, the number of channel
they knew was large. They knew about not only HBO & star movies but also
World movies, UTV, sony pix, etc
2. They mainly prefer daily sops on movie channels not the movie because they
can watch movies online or in theatre but the high quality serials that these
channels shows telecast is awesome.
3. Subtitles is not liked by anyone and they find it very annoying.
4. But they also told that with subtitles these channels may add new viewers
5. Subtitles distract the viewer so they should not show.
6. Dubbing is one thing that movie channel shouldn‟t adopt because many times
it become very funny.
7. For serious watching original version is recommended.
8. The person who requires dubbing will not go for English movies rather they
will go for bollywood masala movies.
9. Trailer between Hindi movie channels.
10. Social networking sites can also be useful.
11. Ads in high end magazines.
12. Facebook can be more useful than newspaper.
Video 6
1. Major movie channels that they know : Star Movies , HBO,
2. Depend upon the movie that where to watch,3 D movies of course in theatre
3. For Normal love stories they prefer English movie channels but with special
effects and all theatres are preferred.
4. Strongly disagree with the subtitles, as in their views it totally ruins the real
taste of the movie.
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5. For every segment and type of crowds ,different kind of promotional strategy
can be applied ,as for people who are comfortable with subtitles and want that
there should be separate kind of promotion and for people who really hate
these subtitle as in their views it completely ruins the real taste, there should
be separate promotional strategy.
6. As far as the matter of dubbing is concerned dubbing should be never done
for the viewers in metro but can be opted for rest of segment in order to
manage it different time slots can be there for both types of dubbed and non-
dubbed movies so that there should be proper balance.
Video 7
1. A star movie is the leader in English movie channels followed by HBO. Star
movies have largest number of audience because of wide range of movies.
Star movies have each genre of movies and understand the need of Indian.
2. Subtitles in movies are the new trend on movie channels. Due to difference in
accent, generally people don‟t prefer to watch on movie channels. Due to
subtitles, new lot of audience will add to their previous subscriber base.
3. English movie channels should telecast movie weeks because they grab
attention of viewers.
4. Dubbing of movie received mix type of views. Increase in number of audience
can be a advantages but loose in shine of movies was the opposing point
given by other group.
5. Women in India can be attracted by daily sops or serials. So they can be
targeted by English serial on Indian tradition and culture.
6. DTH can be helpful for spreading the popularity of English movies.
7. Proper promotion can help in more hold on viewers.
8. Newer movies should be shown on movie channels.
9. There were contradictory views on subtitles. Some were in favor of subtitles
saying this will help in acquiring new viewer while some were suspecting the
idea by saying subtitles often distract while watching and they lose interest
due to this.
10. Same trend of views were on dubbing. Some told they will help whether other
told that movie will lose its lustre and sometimes dialogue is either before lip
movement and sometimes after.
11. Sometimes respondent were distracted from the original theme of the
discussion.
12. Promotion should also be done on other movie channels.
13. Promotion should not be restricted to newspaper only other means should
also be used.
14. Subtitles should not be shown
15. Dubbing should not be done.
16. For serious watching original version should be watched.
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17. Movies can be seen anywhere but the daily sops are very interesting and they
spellbound the viewer for longer duration so apart from movies they should
focus on good serials also.
18. Trailers on hindi channels also
19. Ads on social networking site will have larger audience than any other
medium.
Quantitative Analysis
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Conclusion
After observing the results of research we come to a conclusion that Star
Movies and HBO were most favored English movie channels.
English movie channels have a market to grow but it‟s the matter of how to
get eyeballs amidst stiff competition. So they can‟t play on pricing strategy so
they are implementing newer techniques like subtitles or dubbed versions.
Recommendations 1. The channels should incorporate other entertainment programs apart from
just movies.
2. Broadcast content in English as well as regional languages with the option
of switching to desired language in DTH services.
3. Subtitles should be aired along with the movies if broadcast is in English
language.
4. Add an Indian side or local flavor to the programmes aired on the channels
so that viewers get hooked on to it.
5. Channels should air commercials about upcoming movies or attractions on
other Indian channels.
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6. Bring in stars from bollywood to talk about their latest movies, gossips and
entertainment updates.
7. Advertise about new releases to be aired on social networking sites.
Questionnaire
1. Do you watch English movies?
a) Yes b) No
2. Rate your preferences on the medium of watching English movies?(1 –most
preferred & 4- least preferred)
a) Theatre ________
b) CD/DVD ________
c) Online ________
d) TV ________
3. English movies if offered in regional languages would click?
a) Strongly agree b) agree c) can’t say d) disagree e) Strongly
disagree
4. What kind of movies do you like?
a) Drama b) Action c) Comedy d) Sci-Fi e) Historic
e) Thriller g) International cinema
5. Do you prefer use of subtitles?
a) Yes b) No
6. How many hours do you watch English movie channels in a week?
<5 5-10 10-15 15-25 Above 25
7. Rate the following English movie channels on the parameters mentioned below.
(1 being the best 5 being the worst)
Movie Channels Quality of
Movies
Quality of
Subtitles
(if shown)
Quality of
Advertisements(Brands
that feature during
Repeat rate
of Movies
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movie)
Star Movies
HBO
Zee Studio
Sony Pix
Warner Bros
UTV World
Movies
8. English movie channels need to show entertainment programs apart from movies?
a) Strongly agree b) agree c) can’t say d) disagree e) strongly
disagree
9. Are you aware of DTH pay per title concept?
a) Yes
b) No
10. If yes, would you like to order your favorite movie through DTH rather than waiting
for it to be shown by movie channels?
a) Definitely
b) Probably
c) Not sure
d) Probably not
e) Definitely not
Personal Information
11. Name:
12. Gender: a) Male b)Female
13. Age:
<20 20-30 30-40 40-60 >60
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14. Occupation:
References
1. 4Ps Business & Marketing – Magazine
2. Cramped space , slow growth dog English channels
http://www.indiantelevision.com/special/y2k9/spl_report_english.php
3. Marketing Research - Naresh Malhotra