NDTV Good Times to sketch the journey of John Abraham

The new show marks the first phase of programming revamp for the channel.

Repositioning itself as a youth infotainment channel, NDTV Good Times is launching its first series in the phased programming revamp. Kicking off on November 18, John Abraham: A Simple Life, is the first production of Abraham for the television screens. The four-part series is expected to be followed by several new TV series on the channel.

The channel claims that it has done a deep research about what the audience watches and at what times. The new series will peep into the life of John Abraham as a person and not an actor. It will show his day-to-day routine, friends, his workout sessions, movies shoots and his 'me time' at home.

The series has been shot over nearly three years since the actor's movie, Force, was released in 2010. Abraham clarifies that he currently has no plans to star in fiction or regular reality shows on GECs. This is the actor's second partnership with an infotainment channel. About two months ago, Abraham was appointed brand ambassador for National Geographic Channel.

The marketing campaign for John Abraham: A Simple Life was rolled out on November, 13 in Mumbai and Delhi across 20 outdoor sites. Apart from the TV campaign on the channel, a print campaign will also be launched on the day of the show launch. Social media is also being used for promotions.

Arati Singh, channel head, NDTV Good Times, says, "The channel chooses content based on its resonance with the channel's 'lifestyle' genre. Plus, the IP of the show lies with Abraham, so if he is open to making the show with some other actor, we are open to it."

The channel has equal hours of locally produced content and acquired content. Its new programming line-up will be more youthful and edgier, albeit restricted to the lifestyle genre. While some argue that the channel is shrinking its target group to 15-25 years, Singh says that the channel is getting more focussed.

NDTV Good Times follows the 10+2 restriction on airtime. As a genre, infotainment has a lot of scope of branded content and it is only set to increase with the implementation of ad-cap. Kanishk Khanna, AVP, marketing, NDTV Good Times, says that although it will rise, he doesn't see the branded content bit going up significantly. "Moreover, we promote partnerships with brands rather than just branded content or product placements. We have a few successful partnerships with Google, Map My India, Samsung and Chroma."

NDTV Good Times is the flagship channel of NDTV Lifestyle, part of the NDTV Group.