History TV18 launches its second local production, Bollywood@100

History TV18 to invest Rs 2 crore on its tribute to Bollywood; the channel expects revenues of about Rs 5 crore, the same as that of its first home production, The Greatest Indian, in 2012.

The Indian film industry has always provided meaty content to television, ranging from films and film music to celebrity gossip. In the centenary year of Indian cinema, television networks have lined up a host of programmes to pay tribute to the film industry, and also gain share of the viewership pie in the process. While SAB TV launched Safar Filmy Comedy Ka, and Star Plus organised a one-night event, Sau Saal Cinema Ke, History TV 18, the factual entertainment channel offering of the TV18 Group and A+E Networks joint venture, has launched its second home production, Bollywood@100.

The channel, which mostly telecasts international content, has increased focus on local content gradually. Last year, it launched its first home production, The Greatest Indian (TGI), a 10-part series along with an on-ground event. TGI, which asked viewers to vote for their choice of the greatest Indian from among a given list of people, generated more than 2 crore votes in three months. It garnered about 20 million viewers for its grand finale episode (TAM all India C&S AB 15+), out of the total 55 million households where the channel was available then.

The latest property, Bollywood @100 (B@100), will also be a 10-part series to be telecast over three months (every Friday at 9 pm). B@100 will be hosted by director Karan Johar and feature 100 untold moments from the past 100 years of cinema, with testimonials from Bollywood personalities. It will also ask viewers to vote for their favourite Bollywood icons through social media, SMS and missed call voting mechanisms. It will also be extended to an on ground event.

The channel expects a higher response than TGI; it also plans to bring two-three such local productions every year.

Speaking about the expected viewership of B@100, Sangeetha Aiyer, general manager, marketing, A+E Networks | TV18 JV, says, "While viewership is important, a property of this stature also brings with it a lot of brand salience and variety. While we have invested heavily in the property, we see this as an important investment shaping our India strategy."

History 18 has partnered with Samsung, which has come on board as presenting sponsor, while the other sponsors are Greenlam Laminates, Tata Nano and Llyod. The channel expects revenues of close to Rs 4-5 crore from this series, informs Aiyer. The figure is closer to the gains from the earlier series, TGI.

When questioned about whether the on-ground event will feed the content for on-air or vice-versa, Aiyer explains that the two are interdependent.

Apart from tapping the network TV channels, the show is being heavily promoted on social media, where the channel has close to a million followers and fans. The next phase of the marketing campaign will be launched during the first week of April.

In addition to the local productions, the channel also has an India-centric programming block, called The India Unlimited Series.