UTV to launch Bollywood entertainment channel on August 14

Christened UTV Stars, the Bollywood entertainment channel will target viewers from the Hindi-speaking belt, with primary focus on cities with a population of over one million.

UTV Entertainment Television, the broadcasting division of UTV, is ready to add yet another channel to its list of television offerings.

The network will launch UTV Stars, a Bollywood entertainment channel on August 14, targeting viewers from the Hindi-speaking belt. The channel, which will bear the tagline "The official channel of Bollywood", will primarily focus on cities with a population of over one million.

Nikhil Gandhi, business head, UTV Stars, informs afaqs! that the channel will launch with four hours of original programming. "The content mix will include homegrown non-fiction reality content, chat shows, news and music," says Gandhi.

The channel will once again target the youth in the age bracket 15-24 years, SEC A and B, and will be in direct competition with The Times Group's Zoom TV that came into being in 2004.

"The channel content will completely revolve around Bollywood celebrities, with the prerequisite for the participation of celebs. We have a great working relationship with leading Bollywood superstars, and as UTV releases close to 15 movies every year, we will have a lot of content that can be presented to viewers first-hand," says Gandhi.

For the record, the other channels from the UTV stable include UTV Movies, UTV Bindass and UTV World Movies.

The channel will launch the first phase of its brand campaign on August 1, and will be heavily driven by television, out of home and radio. The television spots will be spread across the genres -- GECs, news and cinema. "Taproot will be doing the creative design of the campaign, while Motivator is our media agency," says Gandhi.

Mobile and the web will also be used extensively to reach out to the pre-defined target segment. The channel has already put up its Facebook page in the online space. It will soon walk into an exclusive tie-up with Twitter for promotions, as well.