Raj TV Network to re-launch Raj Musix Kannada

On February 14, Raj Television Network will re-launch its Karnataka-centric music channel, Raj Musix Kannada, as Raj Music Karnataka.

Raj Television Network will re-launch its Karnataka-centric music channel, Raj Musix Kannada, as Raj Music Karnataka on February 14.

The channel will get a complete facelift with a new logo, new packaging and a new programme line-up.

With the new tagline, "My Music, My Life", the channel intends targetting audiences in the age group 15-35 years. The content will be primarily led by music from Kannada movies over different eras, along with other Kannada music formats.

For the record, the channel was earlier launched by the network in March 2009 as a 24-hour Kannada music channel to tap into the upwardly mobile Kannada youth in the age group of 12 to 24.

Why the need for change?

Speaking to afaqs!, Vidyadhar Khatavkar, Raj TV Network, Group COO, says, "Content is eternally young, and therefore, there is always a need to reinvent and re-look at existing programming. The channel had become dull and almost non-active in the market space. So, we needed to reinvent it."

Also, according to Vidyadhar Khatavkar, television, at any given moment, works best in places where there is a high socio-economic growth. "Karnataka is one of the highest GDP markets in our country and Bangalore is one of the top cities of the world. And, people in this region are content-crazy. Therefore, it made sense for us to re-launch the channel to serve a larger audience set," he says.

It is pertinent to note here that Raj Music Karnataka is the third music channel in this language, following SS Music and U2 from the Sun TV Network stable.

The channel has roped in a new 18-member core team that will work under the leadership of Khatavkar.

Not willing to divulge any further details, Khatavkar says, "We have found new heads to lead our content, sales and distribution teams."

The initial focus of the channel will be to penetrate into the 60-lakh (approximately) C&S households in Karnataka, of which about 17 lakh are placed in Bangalore.

States Khatavkar, "Our primary focus right now is to get our content and distribution in place. Right now, we are looking at making ourselves available on analog and digital platforms, but eventually, we intend to set foot on DTH, too."

As part of its marketing strategy, the channel will essentially take the participation-based interactive and below-the-line route, in a bid to create direct consumer contact. "Social media will be used as a driver to market the channel," says Khatavkar.

Meanwhile, the network plans to launch a channel in the news genre, once the IPL season comes to an end. The channel will be called Raj News Karnataka.

Says Khatavkar, "We intend to launch the channel sometime in June or July to cater to the Karnataka market. We will also be looking at expanding into the GEC and movie space, eventually."

According to industry experts, the Southern television industry, which comprises Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh is sized at approximately Rs 2,500 - Rs 3,000 crore. While Karnataka takes away about Rs 400 - Rs 450 crore of the total pie, the Tamil Nadu television ad market is pegged at around Rs 1,350 crore.