Sri Adhikari Brothers: Dhamaal, and no Dhamaka, in Gujarat

The group had launched the GEC, Dhamaal in Rajasthan, MP and Chhattisgarh in 2011, with plans to launch another channel, Dhamaka, in Gujarat. However, the company now plans to continue with the same name, Dhamaal.

Promoted by Markand Adhikari and Gautam Adhikari, Sri Adhikari Brothers Television Network (SABTNL), in continuation of its channel-launching spree in the regional space, has announced that it will extend its Hindi regional GEC, Dhamaal, to Gujarat.

Currently, the channel has a presence in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. It is learnt that a large part of the same content will be beamed to Gujarat, while there are plans to introduce 5 per cent local content, in line with the strategy adopted in the other states.

In early 2011, SABTNL had launched Dhamaal simultaneously in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, while Dabangg was launched in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttaranchal markets. The channels were launched with the philosophy, 'Desi content with regional tadka'. Apart from these two, the company also owns Mastii in the Hindi music genre space.

When it launched Dhamaal and Dabangg, the company had revealed its plans to launch another channel named Dhamaka in Gujarat. Apparently, the success of Dhamaal has encouraged the decision to continue with the same name in Gujarat, too. "This is because Dhamaal has some brand recall and by keeping the name, we might be able to leverage on the goodwill," says Ritu Chopra, associate vice-president, programming, Dhamaal and Dabangg.

Dhamaal Gujarat will carry the same content as its sibling channels in the other states, including shows like Madam Ki Paathshala, Galat Family, Bahut Khoob, Bachchan Pandey Ki Toli and Kya Samachar Hai. Along with this, the channel will have some special programming around Gujarati comedian Girish Kumar. The channel also shows a few older programmes such as Alif Laila (produced by Sagar Films), Shriman Shrimati, Love Mein Kabhi Kabhi, Say Na Something To Anupam Uncle, and Geet Gata Chal. Some of the those shows will also be available in the Gujarat market.

The GEC, which is a free-to-air channel in the existing states, will continue to be free to air in Gujarat, too. The channel is on test run since January, 17 and will start official beaming on January, 21. Initially, it will be available on Gujarat Telelink (GTPL) which taps close to 70 per cent of the total television households in the state. In the wake of digitisation, the channel will also be extended on the DTH platform later. However, currently, the channel doesn't have any presence on DTH, even in the states where it exists.

The ad-rates for the channel will remain the same as the company is confident about their strong presence in the existing markets and feels that it will be able to garner support from advertisers in Gujarat.

Dhamaal Gujarat has put up hoardings in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar, and plans a more extensive marketing campaign after its launch. Chopra adds, "Once the channel is launched on Monday, an extensive 360 degree marketing campaign across all platforms will be executed. This will include radio, digital and print, apart from the OOH campaign. The OOH will also be extended to all the other cities in the state."