9X Jalwa records 25% growth in viewership post re-branding

The Bollywood music channel from 9X Media Group introduced the 'forever young' feel in all its shows since August 2014.

9X Jalwa, a 24-hour Hindi music channel from 9X Media Group, underwent a revamp last year when it introduced a new tagline 'Forever Young' targetted at the 25+ age group. The tagline introduced play lists and music libraries that catered to the evergreen look and feel of music. The channel is known for airing a comprehensive selection of songs from 1990s to 2000s.

Talking about the overhaul, Amar Tidke, Chief Programming officer, 9X Media, says, "For a generation that has grown up watching movies like DDLJ and 'Jo Jeeta Wahi Sikandar', the values associated with the music of 1990s are different. We want to make visible the 'forever' feel in all our programmes on the channel." To incorporate this newness in its programming content, the channel has started airing various music bands like Melody Forever, Hits Forever and Sunday Blues with a different feel, post the re-branding. Some new animated characters have also been brought in for the purpose.

The channel has done away with old black and white songs completely. Instead, the focus now is on picking songs according to mood mapping concept. This concept makes use of mapping shows based on the time of the day. Also, the word 'retro' does not find a mention in 9X Jalwa's programming and content slots. Post re-branding, the channel's average weekly GRPs saw an increase from 14 percent to 18 percent last August.

Commenting further on the new face of the music channel, Tidke shares, "There are plenty of music channels everywhere. What we need to do is, keep coming up with new and fresh ideas to create loyal audiences for our shows and the channel presenting them. The trick here lies in how well you curate and present the content to your audience."

The channel has come up with new formats in programming such as Gen X Top 5, new animated characters like Halkat Sawaal, besides new content such as 'Jalwa Superstar' and 'Birthday Special', which are aired every week. Additionally, 'Club X', a brand new music band, plays vibrant and peppy songs. The two-hour music band airs on Fridays and Saturdays, between 6 and 8 pm. The playlist on this music band includes groovy party numbers and sound scapes of the millennium.

9X Jalwa claims to have around 16 million fans on digital platforms alone. Launched on February 25, 2012, 9X Jalwa is available across cable and satellite homes and is also streamed live on its website www.9xjalwa.in.