AXN's 'Not So Ordinary Weekend'

The channel's new property, starting August 8, comprises four new shows in the 10-12 pm time band on Fridays and Saturdays.

AXN, the English general entertainment channel from the MSM bouquet, is all set to launch a new property to ramp up its weekend programming. The channel is introducing 'Not So Ordinary Weekend to its audiences' on August 8.

In this property, it will launch four new shows in the 10 pm-12 midnight time band, to be aired on Fridays and Saturdays. AXN recently signed a content deal with CBS - two of the four new shows, 'Extant' and 'Penny Dreadful', to air at 10 pm on Friday and Saturday - are from the CBS' bouquet. The others are MGM's 'Teen Wolf' which will air every Friday at 11 pm and Turner's 'Falling Skies' that will air every Saturday at 11 pm.

According to Saurabh Yagnik, English cluster head, MSM, the channel's aim with this slot is to offer latest shows from the US as well as air shows which are different and "not so ordinary". "Youngsters are looking for something which is out of the "ordinary" and they like variety. We have kept these things in mind before we christened the slot as 'Not So Ordinary weekend".

Yagnik adds that the deal with CBS has further strengthened the content of the channel as it has around 13,000 hours of content of celebrated, long running shows which will be leveraged by AXN. "'Extant' is our key show through which we are promoting the time band. While the promos are on-air on the channel, we are pushing the property through social media heavily," he adds. As for the sponsors, the channel has roped in Philips Pro Skin Advanced Trimmer for Extant and Karisma ZMR as the 'powered by' sponsor for Teen Wolf.

Social media push

The channel believes that the new generation differentiates itself and has its own way of doing things - the Selfie obsession (Instead of clicking regular photos); Google Addiction (Instead of checking with Mom for help); Dating Etiquette (What a conversation means to them) or Definition of being Famous (Trending on Twitter or Being on the cover of a magazine).

As a result, it is running social media contests to engage with the consumers. For instance, one of them has a post that says - "Tell us What Pick up lines the #NotSoOrdinaryGen uses today". The winners get PVR Gift Cards. On Facebook, with the same pic, the channel is posting questions like 'Tell us your first words on your very first date!' Besides, AXN India is posting interesting animated images with hashtagging them as #NotSoOrdinaryGen.

The idea is to drive conversations to get this generation to acknowledge that they are 'Not So Ordinary' and invite them to the 'Not So Ordinary' Weekend slot. "We have integrated this idea on-air too, where we are running a special creative urging the Not So Ordinary Generation to join in the social media conversation," the channel said. For the record, AXN India has 1,639,755 likes on its Facebook page ands 49,100 followers on Twitter.

About the shows...

Extant is a mystery thriller about an astronaut (Halle Berry) trying to reconnect with her family when she returns after a year in space. Her experiences in space and her mystical pregnancy lead to events that ultimately change the course of human history

In Penny Dreadful, some of literature's most famous characters - including Dr. Frankenstein, Dorian Gray and iconic figures from the novel Dracula, all brilliantly re-imagined in a whole new light - have become embroiled in Victorian London. The series stars Bond girl, Eva Green, Josh Hartnett and Timothy Dalton.

Falling Skies S4 (latest Season) is a post-apocalyptic drama television series which follows Tom Mason (Noah Wyle), a former Boston University history professor and a know-it-all who becomes the second-in-command of the 2nd Massachusetts Militia Regiment, a group of civilians and fighters fleeing post-apocalyptic Boston. Teen Wolf is in its latest season.