Zee Telugu to relaunch on 18 May

By SONALI KRISHNA Indiantelevision.com Team

(25 April 2005 5:00 pm)

MUMBAI: Zee Telefilms is working on a new recipe to take grip of the Telugu language market which has been traditionally under the dominance of Gemini TV and ETV Telugu. Come 18 May Zee Telugu will adorn a a new avatar and focus on audiences that has not specifically been addressed by the other channels. The relaunch will see a shift in positioning - From the mass based general entertainment mode to an upwardly mobile and young milieu.

The new strategy will see Zee Telugu targeting the SEC ABC (15 - 34) group. Apparently, the Telugu space till date has no definite positioning from any channel, as they either offer mass based general entertainment or news based programmes. Now, Zee Telugu, with its redefinition of its TG, will try and capture a space where class programming will be offered. "It will be a battle of "class Vs mass programming," points out a Zee official. The vision is to have a definite positioning that can stand apart from what is currently being offered. To add momentum to its Telugu plans, Zee had appointed former ETV hand Ajay Kumar as senior vice-president and business head in February this year. Post Zee Telugu's launch, the channel hopes to spruce up its channel share to about 8-10 per cent, four to six months hence. On the pogramming front, the channel is currently working with reputed content providers and hoping to gain a lot more channel share after the facelift. If one looks at the current standing of the Telugu channel, it garners less that one per cent of channel share in the market. The leaders of the Telugu space are Gemini TV and ETV. Zee's other regional channels will also be a key area of focus in the days to come considering 40 per cent of viewership comes from down South.