Thanthi TV adds new non-fiction shows to its portfolio

The channel will launch Achcham Thavir and Natpudan Apsara on July 7 and July 13, respectively. It has already kick-started the marketing for the former.

Dina Thanthi's television channel in the Tamil Nadu market, Thanthi TV, plans to strengthen its programming portfolio this July. The news, entertainment and current affairs (NEC, as it calls itself) channel will launch two new shows titled 'Achcham Thavir' and 'Natpudan Apsara' on July 7 and July 13, respectively.

Achcham Thavir is a show that deals with different social issues. Hosted by actor Khushboo, it will take the audience around prevalent mindsets in the society. The show will take the Sunday morning 11.30 am slot, with repeats on Saturday evenings.

Natpudan Apsara is a celebrity chat show to be hosted by Apsara Reddy, editor of Chronicle Chennai. The show will have celebrities from different walks of life including cinema and politics and will be aired on Saturday nights, with a repeat on Sunday afternoons, though the final timing is yet to be decided.

Talking about the thought behind the new shows, V Chandrasekaar, COO, Thanthi TV, says, "The programmes are designed looking at the need gap of content in the space and offer alternative television to the audience. An extensive on ground market research was done before arriving at the programme design."

Adding about the marketing of the shows, Shankar V Subramaniam, vice-president, marketing, Thanthi TV, tells afaqs!, "We have already kick-started the marketing and promotional activities for Achcham Thavir. A 360 degree promotion is planned with a great share of voice in all media like TV, radio, print and OOH. The teasers of the show are already on-air and from Friday, we will start promoting the show on the other media platforms of our group. There will be ads in the Dina Thanthi and slots on Hello FM, which is an in-house radio station and runs seven stations across Tamil Nadu."

Achcham Thavir will also be promoted on the out-of-home medium with posters across cities of Tamil Nadu and bus back panels. The group has its own cable network, AMN, which runs in 32 districts of Tamil Nadu. Thanthi TV plans to utilise the medium to promote Achcham Thavir.

There will be around 10-12 promos per day on the best programmes of the network.

According to Subramaniam, currently, the regional advertisers are present on the channel from the domains of textiles, education, iron and steel, financial services, hospitals and retail outlets. The clients include Agnee TMT Steel, Surya Steel, Ramraj Dhotis and Shirts, Chennai Silks, Arokya Milk, Joy Alukkas and Indulekha hair oil.

Targeting C&S, 15+ audiences, Thanthi TV boasts of a factual entertainment portfolio. While Monday to Friday the channel airs news throughout the day, on Saturdays and Sundays, it airs shows based on information and entertainment. The attempt to have different kinds of shows during weekends is to get more audiences to sample the channel. "We air live news through the day from 6 am to 11 pm on weekdays and socially responsible programmes on weekends with the right mix of entertainment for the viewer," adds Chandrasekaar.

For the record, News broadcaster New Delhi Television Limited (NDTV) and Kasturi and Sons Limited (the publishers of Hindu newspaper) exited from their loss-making city-centric English language channel in Chennai. Their JV, called MetroNation Chennai Television, was bought by the Dina Thanthi group in September-October, 2012. The English-Tamil language channel was later re-christened as Thanthi TV, with content only in Tamil.