IBN7 fine tunes programming; gears up for General Elections

The channel has also chalked out plans for election programming and will launch two more shows, in addition to extending its existing 'Election-Tracker'.

With the hype increasing around the General Elections, Hindi news channel IBN7 has planned two new shows for its prime time programming. Starting February 17, Vinod Dua, an old hand at political journalism, will host an interactive talk show called Vinod Dua Ka Prashnkaal. The show will be aired from Monday-Thursday at 8 pm.

The show will give a platform to viewers to express themselves and participate in the election discussions. A 'Topic of the Day' will be put out for a fixed time during the day, inviting viewers to call in with their views and questions. Questions will also be taken from Twitter, Facebook and the channel's website, IBNKhabar. Additionally, the channel will also integrate a distinct video element called 'Open Mike' which will allow on-camera views and questions on the day's topic.

Another prime time show, India 9 Baje, will go on air from February 18, from Monday-Friday at 9 pm. It will be hosted by Sanjay Pugalia (known for his stint at CNBC Awaaz), who will present a round-up of the day's major news stories. The show will follow a flexible format, primarily consisting of one big debate along with other stories of impact from the worlds of politics, sports, business, international and entertainment news.

Vinay Tewari, managing editor, CNN-IBN and IBN7, says, "Elections are a complex, engaging and diverse event. It needs solid professionals who understand the complexities, who can simplify it for our audience and who believe in clarity over noise and sensation."

The channel has also chalked out plans for the election programming. It launched a series for 'Election Tracking' to see how much of the work promised by the politicians is in place. There will be round 2 of the same series around the first week of March and the third round will be aired closer to the elections, around April.

In addition, a show called Kings and Queens will be launched, which will have a series of documentaries around politicians who have made it big in the Indian political scenario, both on national and regional levels. It will connect these figures to the current state of politics.

Another show on the cards is one that will analyse the report cards of the MPs who have completed five years' tenure.

The new programming will be promoted across all platforms through a 360 degree campaign. The promos will be pushed aggressively on IBN network channels including CNN-IBN, CNBC-TV18, Awaaz, along with associated channels such as History, ETV, MTV and Colors.

On ground, the campaign will target all key HSM markets - with a special focus on Delhi and Mumbai. On radio, the TV channel will align the campaign with one/two major FM stations to ensure carpet coverage of key markets. "We also believe that we will get tremendous traction on radio for especially Vinod Dua ka Prashnkaal, given the format of the show - the fact that we will be asking people to reach out to us with their questions," adds Tewari.

The key idea for the channel is to clearly communicate that it is undergoing a fundamental and transformational shift. The prime time will offer shows that are fresh, sharply differentiated from the chaotic prime time shows. "It is this differentiation that we will communicate to our audiences - to inform them that now they can and should choose to consume content that is substantive and intelligent," says Tewari.

The creative duties of IBN7 are handled by Everest Brand Solutions.

Rajdeep Sardesai, editor-in-chief, IBN Network, says, "We are looking at possibly the most crucial General Elections in Indian history. And IBN7 is set to launch two new shows anchored by two of the most influential and experienced journalists in the industry. We believe that these shows will add immense value to our programming and enable our network to set the industry standard for years to come."

IBN7 has done several campaigns in the recent past beginning with its new look campaign in July, 2013. It was followed through with a network level campaign on elections. The current campaign will be the third one. The channel has more aggressive communication plans going forward into the election programming.