Movies Now+ rebranded and repackaged as MN+

Movies Now+, an HD only channel that the network had launched a few months back, has been rebranded as MN+. It now has a different selection of movies, identity and on-air look, as compared to Movies Now.

Times Network, the broadcast division of Times Group, has launched a new English movie channel christened MN+. The channel is the rebranded version of Movies Now+, the HD movie channel it launched a few months back.

The premium offering of the network aims to showcase 'The Gold Class of Hollywood Movies' with both popular and critically acclaimed titles, in HD quality.

Times Network claims that MN+ is not just an extension of the Movies Now SD offering, but has completely different content, right from a new identity and on-air look to its own movie library that includes some of the most high-profile and critically acclaimed titles.

Vivek Srivastava, SVP and head, English Entertainment Cluster, Times Network, says, "MN+ and Movies Now are two complementing channels that together provide the most holistic and complete movie viewing experience for movie lovers. If Movies Now is for the adrenaline junkie, MN+ is for intelligent aspirants. It is for those who think time is valuable and watch movies which are more meaningful and not typical masala films."

The channel is for not just the informed, intelligent and discerning movie lovers, but for the cineastes as well.

The packaging of the new channel has been designed in-house, while the creatives for the advertisements have been conceptualised by Famous Innovations.

Srivastava admits that consumers were confused in terms of the difference between Movies Now and Movies Now+ and, hence, there was a need for the rebranding and repackaging of the channel.

As compared to the SD ad rates, the HD ones command around 30-40 per cent premium, Srivastava informs. MN+ will continue to command similar premium. It will, however, be running six minutes of advertisements in an hour, as compared to 12 minutes on Movies Now. The intention is to keep the experience as much clutter-free as possible.

MN+ will have on-air properties like 'Center Stage', 'Great Adaptations', 'Opening Night' and 'Hollywood Select'. It will be sold in the HD package to viewers via different distribution platforms.

The network has around 1500 Hollywood movies in its library. The movies selected for Movies Now and MN+ will be different and based on their respective positioning, but there could be duplication of about 20-30 per cent.

"We have partnerships with four to six big studios already and a few independent relationships. On the content side, I don't think we can go any further. The implementation of DAS in Phase 3 and 4 markets will push the envelope for world-class content even further, and I am confident our English cluster entertainment offerings will be in the forefront of the growth curve," Srivastava adds.

The channel will be promoted across media platforms starting today.