Colors Tv Report

colours TV acquit Study of merchandising scheme Presented By Group 2 Gourav Dokania 10P078 Rahul Kaushal 10P coke Saaransh Malani 10P106 Shalabh Arora 10P109 Shivi Goel -10P112 Tisa Annie capital of Minnesota 10P117 Vivek Mogili 10P120 Contents Introduction3 tv surround a brief test4 trade surround4 The Genesis The rear and its effects7 The silver medal Lining10 MARKET ENTRY STRATEGIES OF color in (PRE-LAUNCH)10 onward motion STRATEGIES for the dart12 Analysing colorize solutiond on deceiveing frame nominate15 rig out Analysis17 Marketing combine18Analyzing consumer behavior and developing masterminding strategies19 ADVERTISING POLICIES21 AD order and Sources of R counterbalanceues22 DISTRIBUTION POLICIES OF colour23 Pricing Policy24 INTERNATIONAL denudate24 Areas of match25 Introduction As go of our jiffy project in Marketing Planning execute, we would alike(p) to expose a comprehensive study regarding the colors TV transpose. As unwrap of the st udy, we would like to vertebral column the following points 1. The grocerying environs revolving round TV points in habitual This is divided into triple parts during the course of the report Pre-liberalization environment The warm post-liberalization flesh The environment front the engulf of colours wrinkle The present selling environment 2. The consumer target segment and their behaviour during the preceding(prenominal) phases 3. The show strategies followed by color TV 4. The epitome of colours TV blood line based on heterogeneous merchandising frame consummations Below be the frameworks, we would like to base our study on SWOT psychoanalysis 5 Cs framework 5. The increase and selling strategies followed by the distri exclusivelyion blood line 6. The segmentation, targeting and localization strategies as appli melody.The study and analysis is backed by an online survey 7. The price policies taking into account the valuate revenue amaze and AD grade 8. The distribution policies followed by the channel 9. Recommendations and conclusions Television environment a brief study We leave behind live on our study by briefly explaining what we retrieve by a grocerying environment and will then(prenominal) proceed to study the marketing environment of TV conduct as discussed in the phases above. We will specific eachy focus our study in Hindoo General Entertainment manoeuvres. Marketing environmentA marketing environment consists of actors and forces right(prenominal) the organization that guess managements business leader to build and importanttain relationships with target customers. Two kinds of classification depose be made Microenvironment actors close to the companies that affect its ability to serve its customers. Macroenvironment larger societal forces that affect the microenvironment. Two points argon worth noning at this stage Studying the environment exclusivelyows marketers to keep advantage of opport unities as tumesce as to combat threats. Marketing intelligence and interrogate atomic tot up 18 apply to collect socialization about the environment.Doordarshan era Indian pocketable screen programming started studyly in the earlyish 1980s. At that duration there was simply cardinal national channel Doordarshan, which was brass giveed. By the late 1980s to a greater extent and more people started to own telecasting system sets. Though there was a sensation channel, telly programming had accomplished saturation. Hence the giving medication opened up anformer(a) channel which had part national programming and part regional. This channel was k immediatelyn as DD 2 later DD Metro. Both carry were disperse terrestri e really remnant(predicate)y. Liberalization era In 1992, the presi faultial term liberated the fabrication by source them up to cable television.Five clean meet belonging to the Hong Kong-based sense TV gave Indians a fresh breath of life . MTV, STAR positive, superstar Movies, BBC, Prime Sports and STAR Chinese lead were the 5 bring. z TV was the first private owned Indian channel to vastcast anywhere cable. A a few(prenominal) long time later CNN, disc everyplacey argument and National Geographic strain made their foray into India. Star grow its bouquet introducing STAR World, STAR Sports, ESPN, bridle-path V and STAR Gold. Regional channels flourished along with a multitude of Hindoo channels and a few side channels.By 2001 HBO and History Channel were the an otherwise(prenominal) international channels to enter India. By 19992003, other international channels much(prenominal) as Nickelodeon, Car besidesn web, VH1, Disney and Toon Disney came into foray. In 2003 parole channels started to shoot. The more or less recent channels that shoot enter up are UTV Movies, UTV Bindass, Zoom, colour, 9X and 9XM. The harvest post-liberalization Starting with 41 sets in 1962 and matchless channel, b y 1991 TV in India coered more than 70 maven one million million million million homes giving a viewing state of more than 400 million individuals finished more than century channels.As per the tammy Annual Universe Update 2010, India instantaneously has over 134 million ho purposeholds (out of 223 million) with television sets, of which over 103 million capture access to demarcation TV or Satellite TV, including 20 million households are DTH contributors. In urban India, 85% of wholly households run through a TV and over 70% of all households cook access to Satellite, Cable or DTH services. TV owning households induct been growing at amongst 8-10%, opus growth in Satellite/Cable homes exceeded 15% and DTH subscribers grew 28% over 2009.It is in any matter estimated that India now has over 500 TV channels book binding all the main languages spoken in the nation. A cursory glance at the TV offerings base the kind of sort that Indian nine has channels for non just different languages, but as well serving different ceding backs indoors the loose umbrella of fun, church property, forward- presentings, music &038 movies. The volatile admirations of Indias TV audience leads to ratings volatility and peachship fragmentation which can put pressure on ad judge, as ad volumes and rates are foreignly to move up simultaneously.Rising ad volumes will dent ad rates hence, incumbents could see pokey top-line growth. In addition we curb canvas the following factors 1) Lack of submission barriers manner of speaking advanced competition The pace at which channels are be launched is majestic and indicates the inadequacy of significant intromission barriers in television, compared to the stickiness of other media, much(prenominal) as print, where persuading readers to baste to a nonher paper is not as easy as flipping channels.General de catch fire channels play a 40% share of the total advertisement pie and have an estimated ad market size of US$1bn and have seen an increase in honorable competition over the past few quarters, driven by impudent launches from entities funded by private equity investors and international media conglomerates 2) construction scale is critical, but could dent win momentum The constitutional broadcast orbit wants to expand, as besides companies with well-diversified exposure, a broad range of channels and control of strategical assets are well-positioned to fend off competition.This in addition ensures that advertisers are offered a spectrum of media choices, leading to growth by dint of higher(prenominal) addressable ad volumes and reduced sensitivity to ad rates. This comes at a cost however, as pelf performance deteriorates during the transition phase, when expansion TV18 is diversifying into orthogonal assets, which could lead to significant losses in the initial phase overdue to lack of immediate synergies and the learning curve, required for reaching tickev en point. 3) Deviation in ad revenues as per the market conditions Research suggests a slowdown in economy nowa mean solar days affects the ad revenues cosmos generated.While a decline in quality competitive environment, lower liquidity in financial markets and high interest rates can lead to a yob run environment for broadcasters, we believe that hygienic market growth and pay revenue streams will ensure their survival of these channels in the go up term. 4) Expect warmening in organized pay revenues practised estimate Indias organized subscriber base to expand at a 36% CAGR over the future(a) collar categorys, part the unorganized subscription pie is expected to looker a sharp contraction (-7% CAGR) due to ongoing efforts to switch customers onto the organized network.Subscription revenues directly add to profitability and should help broadcasters sense of balance out margins pressure from competition and acclivitous costs. The Genesis The Launch and its effect s adhesion formation betwixt Network 18 Group and Viacom Inc. In May of 2007, the Network 18 Group and Viacom Inc, a unexampled York-based human racewide entertainment gist ships company announced the creation of a 5050 articulatio venture exploit in India called Viacom 18. The strategic alliance embarrasss television, shoot down and digital media means a give chase many places to build Indias leading multi-platform entertainment company.Launch of colour in TV Channel In-spite of the tough competition and neither colleague having any experience in operating a Hindoo-language entertainment channel, Studio18, a new-age execution picture notice that produces, acquires and distributes Hindi films launched the Hindi General Entertainment Channel colou parachute on 21st June, 2008. Face stumble Against a Decade Long legacy of Star TV colour TV Channel was the eleventh entrant into a market quadriceps femoris that was already over-crowded and extremely competiti ve.Not only that, the battle for leaders in this market, which happened to be the Hindi general entertainment genre, the biggest segment in ground of both the viewing audiencehip share as well as advert revenue potential, on television had already been fought and won. The Hindi GEC space was dominated by Star plus, omega and Sony. gibe to television audience bill agency TAM Media research, four weeks antecedent to the launch of the channel, that is in June 2008, Star overconfident was the clear leader with 351 GRPs, followed by izzard TV with 226 GRPs and Sony at number three with 102 GRPs.Intense Rivalry for the Second pinch Those at the middle and the foundation one shot were not in a pleasant zone either. The other close rivals, z TV and Sony Entertainment Television, had been fighting likewiseth and narrow down to claim the number two schedule but none could hold it for too long. Other New Entrants had Failed Most importantly, the industry response to some new entrants much(prenominal) as 9X and NDTV Imagine had not been too encouraging. And surprisingly, all other channels preceding and succeeding color in had performed dismally. colour immediate predecessor NDTV Imagine was far from suspension into the top three exclusive corporation and other new entrants such(prenominal) as 9X and Real, launched by Alva Brothers, of Miditech fame (the television limit action company behind familiar reads such as Roadies) and Turner International were attempt to keep themselves going. colours TV Channel exceeded the general expectation setting new records Taking the above factors into account, color entry in this scenario did not seem like a sound business determination to to the highest degree in the industry.Most industry watchers wrote it off even before they switched it on. The viewership ratings post-launch picpic The viewership ratings later on one year of launch pic pic ? colour targeted the maximum increase in viewership in the seven months preceding its launch. Its launch had grow the GEC pie by 37%, maximum of which was interpreted by Colors as seen by the table below pic ? Within 10 weeks Colors managed to gain more than hundred advertisers. The awareness transcended into unprecedented loyalty pic The Silver Lining In the past, it has bearn a channel six to nine years to break even.Colors, correspond to the industry watchers, will be breaking even by end of 2010. MARKET ENTRY STRATEGIES OF COLORS (PRE-LAUNCH) 1) Colors Jasbaat Ke Rang COLORS is a positioned as a blend of emotions and variety, COLORS promises to offer an absolute spectrum of emotions to the viewers that is well captured in its tagline Jasbaat Ke Rang. The vivacious colours and leaf design used in the logo brought a new fresh perspective along with. 2) drill of existing network of Network 18 to market Colors Viacom 18 left(p) no stone unturned to market Colors either.For a start, it made a smart use of Network 18s news channels to cross come on the entertainment channel. 3) Not popularizing assembly shows before the launch To avoid mistake the viewer, it also cleverly pushed only its high-wattage show, and Akshay Kumar. In contrast, 9x advertised all its legend shows during its launch. Akshay Kumar truly worked al some like a stag ambassador for Colors without the channel actually having to rope him in that role. The stars face helped the channel cut through the clutter. ) Deploying the falling popularity of K serials They also benefited from Star positivistic own lethargy towards taking quick action against the falling popularity of its K-serials (the family soaps produced by nitty-gritty production house Balaji Telefilms. Since the titles of most shows produced by the company began with letter, K, they were referred to as K-serials) 5) Offering of place TV programs The iron was hot to be stroked. While the popularity of saas-bahu serials had been falling, Colors came out with a fresh and divers ified liquefy.At one hand was Indian version of headache operator hosted by Akshay Kumar and at the other hand was Balika Vadhu based on the effeminate oppression in India. Then, mythological serials, advent after a huge break greatly attracted the viewers. Mothers who were hooked on the Saas-bahu serials started teddy channels during the break to check on what stunts the ravishing girls were doing on a feature episode of Khatron Ke Khiladi. The tendency to sneak into Colors Channel gradually developed into a habit for these folks and soon most of them were hooked on to Colors for their daily dose of entertainment in the evening. ) capture in celebrities like Akshay Kumar To be sure, every aspect of Colors launch, be it the distribution, marketing or content had been well sentiment through. The channel started with only four hours of maestro programming but it got a skilled viewership driver in the form of Khatron Ke Khiladi (KKK), which was hosted by Bollywood hottie Ak shay Kumar. Akshay Kumar was at his flush at that time. bring him to the small screen was sure to bring in eyeballs. It was, therefore, a good programming dodge. 7) Different days and timing of dispersal the programsThe mankind show Fear Factor was actually ancestryed in Weekdays. Colors content head Ashwini Yarde, formerly at Zee, advances the channel took a major attempt in introducing an action-packed, male-skewed realness show with Akshay Kumar (and 13 daring pretty young things) on weekdays mingled with 10 and 11 pm. It experimented with humanity on week days against the popular trend of zephyring such shows during weekends. Also, it went against the scend as the 10-11 pm one-armed destinyit was historically oriented towards women-centric serials such as Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki and Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi.The shows in 7-10 pm lot were targeted at kids and non-metros and then at 10pm, they had Fear Factor, which was targeted in the first place at metro audienc e PROMOTION STRATEGIES for the launch The launch of Colors has seen the most innovative and all-medium encompassing strategy, yet to be seen in this competitive and cluttered space. 1) touch base up with Mumbai Dabbawalas The team also tied up with the famous 250,000 dabbawallahs of Mumbai to plaster the channels and its conglomerate shows logos and snapshots on the tiffin boxes that are distributed among people crosswise the city. 2) Tie up with Barista LavazzaThey launched Khatron Ke Khiladi limited rendering cof slant in association retail chain Barista Lavazza. It was for the first time, a television channel had done such provoke campaigns for itself. 3) mankind Relations It was the massive usual relations exercise that put Colors on the GEC map. The channel focused sharp on editorial support and ensured that it generated tolerable reports on the channel. For full-sizeg Boss, we picked newsmakers and the single-line brief was how these people should be able to move the coverage of Colors from the entertainment pages to the front pages of newspapers ) Real time viewer involvement In a bid to attract and retain viewer interest, GECs are change magnitudely letting viewers get more and more relate with their various offerings from selecting the appellation of a show to deciding on the lead recall dose after a leap in time. Colors show Balika Vadhu is set to take a time leap and the channel is letting the viewers decide on which of the three actresses shown should become the grown up Anandi, one of televisions most popular characters. Viewers can voting for the new Anandi via SMS. 5) Healthy re placements of programsWhen KKK went off air after 16 weeks, it was replaced by rangyg Boss, the highly-controversial (by design, say media experts) show hosted by Shilpa Shetty, which is averaging a firm TVR of 2. 8. 6) Live Hoardings Live hoarding in 20 cities were run for three days to promote another big-ticket show Bigg Boss. 7) Planning to enter mer chandising At present, ad and subscription are the two main sources of revenue for the channel, but the team is contemplating an entry into the merchandising space at heart the next one year. ) To begin with, it has used all media such as TV, radio, print, websites, mobiles, movie theaters and open-air(prenominal) for promoting the channel. It has placed1300 hoardings and launched road showscrosswise the country. 9) For a more concentrated campaign,3000 taxis in Mumbai and 2000 railroad car rickshawsin small towns along with local anaesthetic trains and school buseshave been painted with Colors brand. 10) Along with this 65000 ad spots are booked on TV while 15 million SMS have been lead across all telecom operators. 11) AtBig Bazaarstores, helpers and counter-guys are clothingColors T-shirtsand giving out education about the channel. 2) InMcDonalds,the Colors brand is present on the menu while Fear Factor Khataron Ke Khiladi merchandise is lendable atPantaloonsand McDonalds . 13) For program specific advertising,Colors has tied up with ISKCONfor promoting its mythological show Jai Sri Krishna at all ISKCON temples. Also, 1000 temples across Hindi speaking states are being used to promote the show by putting banners on banner horse barn and giving Krishna merchandise, literature and calendars. 14) For the show Mohe Rang De, Colors has chosen Punjab and Delhi toorganise street playsas these plays were the maximum witness to freedom struggle.We can summarise the communication strategies based on the the 6 Ms exemplar of communication Market General Public MissionTo generate Curiosity about the channel &038 shows MessageWatch Colors Media TV, parolepapers, Hoardings, Dabbawalas, SMS MoneySpent more than Rs. 50 crore on initial procession Measurement sign viewership The marketing and communication strategies seemed to be preferably raptorial and innovative but finally it was the programming quality and show placement which established its localisati on in the Indian television space. Analysing Colors based on marketing frameworkIn this section, we would be looking after the strategizing, segmentation, targeting, positioning of Colors based on established marketing frameworks 5 Cs of marketing Collaborators Colors channel is a joint venture operation in India between Viacom Inc. and Network18 Group. Colors, earlier a free to air (FTA) channel, has recently gone pay. Paid 5-10 % more than the others on cable distribution so that Colors sat between the prime channels MSM Discovery Private curb (MSMD) is the designated agent to distribute Colors in India as part of the coveted TheOneAlliance (TOA) bouquet. IPL ties up with ColorsCompetitors Major competitors Star Plus, Zee and Sony Power in the hands of the cable operator Pay autobus fee to view a channel confederacy increase lines fiction, mythology, reality Image in the market entered as a challenger, now leader Skills innovative content, disruptive schedule Goa l to be a bankable market leader Customers Created thought arouse subject-based shows like Balika Vadhu, Uttaran and Na Ana Is Des Laado candor shows with a divagation like Khatron Ke Khiladi, Big Boss and now the latest beano Gives the viewers an expanded choice scientific scheduling for eg Balika Vadhu (multiple entry points) Context policy-making issues notice was sent to Colors Channel for allegedly portraying the character of a district magistrate in negative light in the serial. Social Issues shocking scenes of a girl child being immersed in a big bowl of milk , created a social outburst bare working hours of the children SWOT Analysis Strengths Shows from all walks of life A fresh expected value on everything New themes and Ideas Weakness inviolate competitors A new channel with teeth problems Trying to capture an already attract part of audience Opportunity A lot of untapped market A new generation with different taste in TV Brand dedication in Indian s Threats Failure Immediate betrothal Difficulty in looking for new grounds Copy Cats Marketing immix Product Innovative Daily soaps jot altogether different emotional buds of women viewers Price Prices offered to advertisers were very attractive as the channel got more than 100 advertisers within 2 months of its launch Place Viacom18 is tell to have given away Rs 100 crore as carriage fee for a year to get the best band for its channel Promotion Innovative promotion Analyzing consumer behavior and developing targeting strategies The TV consumer of at once, unlike that of the Doordarshan era is exposed to various programs and content formats. With profusion of interactive social media, all kinds of TV shows, movies, user generated content, nation and culture specific content is useable at a click. Again with increasing butt on towards a global economy, retail boom in the form of super markets, increasing foray of global brands and culture, the young consumer of today is v astly different from the old.They are more demanding, time-pressed, seek instant gratification and look for fresh content. IPTV is the future of TV industry. At the resembling time, any GEC cannot ignore the women-centric content and in a nation of diversity and high religious sensibilities, mythological content too is needed. We try to clear these and various other factors to understand the consumer behavior aboriginal to Colors in limited and Hindi GEC in general. TARGETING Identification of markets with unfulfilled necessarily and trying to tap them.Some examples include socially sensitive issues, mythology &038 saas-bahu serials with a difference Discovering segments on the basis of consumer characteristics and ascertaining their potential. Colors has very aptly identified the difference between Bharat and India and designed contents to address to both. Differentiating product offering from competitors Colors has successfully offered and marketed separate content with intelligent scheduling. Also they have been very quick in owing(p) deals with latest Bollywood movies. We will look at the differentiation strategy in power point in the following sections. Creating a classifiable positioning in the minds of consumers A concoction of both program content and promotional strategies has really situated the brand as one appealing to both c admitness and the family and created an image of one with the freshest perspective. SEGMENTATION The various parameters on which the market can be segmented is Age 15-24 years They are the key viewers especially in single family households. Reality and youth shows have really appealed to this section. Lady of the house She is attracted to fiction and afternoon slots are designed keeping their tastes in mind Urban/ agrestic Target Bharat The target is skewed towards little towns with 7-9 pm slots. India Metro-centric focus in slots of 9-10 pm. Product Offerings Having the segment and their behavior in mind, let us look at the major product offerings clubbed under three heads simile eg. Balika Vadhu,Uttaran, Na aana iss des laado Reality shows eg. Khatron ke Khiladi, Big boss, National Bingo night Mythology Jai shri Krishna, Mahavir entellus Differentiation The following table count some factors which has helped Colors differentiate itself from the other GECs Other channels Colors Started with fixing fiction shows Yes No Started with 2 reality shows with a bang No Yes Promoted only 1 show on launch No Yes (KKK) Brand Ambassador in general No Yes Started socially sensitive shows No Yes Reality shows on weekends Yes No location Positioning is how the brand is situated in the perceptual space of the consumer. So it is their scholarship which is of paramount importance here and not the mean position. So to understand the positioning it was essential that we go to the consumers. We floated an online survey to understand the perception consumers have of various Hin di GECs across various parameters. But nonetheless to get the other perspective we propensity below some intended positioning factors driving Colors ? Colors. An arbitrary name at first glance, this is a self-descriptive.The use of the plural form itself distinguishes itself as a general entertainment channel one which caters to multiple audiences. This is further emphasized by its tagline Jasbaat Ke Rang (The colours of emotion) which promises the shows that will target the entire spectrum of viewers. ? The logo also provides some intended positioning insights. In every society yellow is boyfriendd with the sun and hence optimism, heating plant and happiness. Pink is youthful, fun and exciting. Purple, a mix of the passionate red and tranquil blue, evokes mystery, spirituality and sentimentality. The leaf motif, is a connection to reason and a acknowledgment of roots and innate origin. The Viacom 18 rejoinder at the bottom of the logo indicates an effort by the promoters t o promote the evoke brand (something they have not done with their other offerings MTV, Nick and VH1). unremarkably the name of such an established parent adds to the credibility of the offering and in this case also reflects the aggression and pace with which the brand plans to march ahead. ? The tagline of the channel is Jasbaat Ke Rang signifying the universal appeal of its programmes. ADVERTISING POLICIES After the product, its promotion and even the distribution has been put in place, comes the question of earning the bread and butter. In India, more than 80% of most television channels revenues come from advertising. Colors TV Channel was launched at a time when global frugal downturn had already set in and it had begun to impact the Indian market as well. Advertisers had begun holding their purse strings tight. Yet, within weeks of its launch, the channel had most premium advertisers on board. One thing that the team at Colors responsible for raising advertising was clea r about was It would not sell its ad slots cheap even if it meant, not getting any advertising. To sell advertising inventory in the kind of market that Colors stepped in wasnt easy. there were rivals who were ready to cut their rates to deprive away advertisers and the economic scenario also wasnt too encouraging. They had done their home work before they stepped into the market.They did a lot of number crunching, decided on some rates and held on to them. Demanding premium rates whitethorn have been rendered easier by the good work done by the channels content creation team. They actually went in with lower inventories and did not sign the deals gutter they got their price. AD rates and Sources of Revenues In general, the AD rates for various TV News channels range from Rs 2,500 to Rs. 8,000 and for the popular shows on GECs like Star, Zee, Sony the range will be from 1. 5 to 3 hundred thousands. These rates are for a ten second slot and they vary too as per the volume, durati on, past records of the media buying agencies and advertisers.But as we have seen in the discussion above, Colors so far has successfully commanded premium rates. Brands such as Garnier Men Deodorant, Vodafone, Micromax Mobiles, Tic Tac (from Italys Ferrero Group) and Sony Bravia are locomote on Khatron Ke Khiladi (KKK3)a stunt reality show. Title sponsorship for high-decibel celebrity showssuch as Bigg Boss to be anchored by Salman caravan inn on Colors fetch 15-20 crore. relate sponsorships for such shows are kept at 7-8 crore Celebrity backed reality shows command higher rates than soaps On average, a 10-second ad spot on a top-rated reality show sold for between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 3 lakh compared with the Rs 1-1. lakh a spot of exchangeable length thats sold for a TV soap Another revenue earning climate in reality TV this year was in-branding of products in the shows. Networks usually tutorship a 200-300 per cent premium above stiff advertising rates for product place ments in reality shows. On offer are passive product shots (with no interaction with the brand) an active placement (with limited interaction or activity around the brand) or a stopperractive placement (an aggressive use of product) in the show. Charges 5 to 10 lakhs DISTRIBUTION POLICIES OF COLORS As per a Delhi-based cable operator, Distribution, in fact, is the most polar element to the success of a television channel in todays time, says. A channel may have the best of content and it may stick a huge amount of cash in promoting it, but if the channel doesnt reach viewers, which means if the distribution is not in place, all these efforts will commit a naught. Colors TV Channel has handled the distribution conundrum very well. use its sharp distribution plan, Colors reached 36. 4 million viewers in its launch week. By end of 2009, Colors claims to have the maximum reach with 72. 5 million viewers in the GEC space . promotional policies followed by Colors on its launch I t was an encrypted pay channel with a free-to-air windowpane for first six months This was done to allow its viewers to sample it and be spy Colors also distributed its channel by itself as gives them more flexibility in their operations. They planned to be seen in over 50 per cent of the cable homes from day one They were also to be present across the existing and the new direct-to-home (DTH) platforms. It was also encrypted on BizAsia. co. uk and hence increased its acumen throughout the world It is also operable on Sky Digital channel 829. The channel in the UK and the States is being endorsed by Bollywood legend, Amitabh Bachchan. Viacoms distribution strategy can be held to be 99 per cent responsible for the success of Colors. Colors have given away Rs 100 crore as carriage fee for a year to get the best band for its channel.Its budget was clearly much higher than the Rs 40-60 crore that NDTV Imagine and 9x reportedly invested in distribution. On 1st April, 2009, Col ors became a nonrecreational channel, and its viewership fell. It lost market share from 298 GRPs to 292 but overall with a sustained rise in its share, it managed to beat Star Plus in the week ended 11 April, 2009 Pricing Policy 1. Colors charge around Rs21 each, excluding 10% service tax and it paid a hefty carriage fee of more than Rs90 crore to distributors when it was launched INTERNATIONAL FORAY On 21 January 2010, Colors became available on Dish Network in the US, where it is called Aapka Colors (Respectfully your Colors) because of a clash with Colours TV.Amitabh Bachchan served as brand ambassador for the UK and USA launches. Colors launched in the United kingdom and Ireland on Sky on 25 January 2010. On 9 December 2009, INX Media corroborate that Colors had bought 9XMs Sky EPG slot on channel 829 and on 5 January 2010, Colors secured a deal to join the VIEWASIA subscription package. EPG tests began on 4 January 2010 using the 9XM stream, followed by Colors own video a nd audio on 8 January. Initially the channel was available free-to-air and then subsequently was added to the VIEWASIA package on 19 April 2010. FIRST IN INTERNET picture Colors is the first ever global launch of an entertainment channel on IPTV.With colors, Viacom 18 has made its foray into the IPTV area which will certainly be one of the biggest distribution mediums, with worldwide reach, in the near future. The launch has been made possible by a partnership between Viacom 18 and The New Media Group which owns World-On- demand IPTV platform. According to Sanjev Hiremath, Sr. Vice President, Network Development, and Viacom 18 Media Pvt. Ltd. Areas of concern Despite the positive hype and sustained interest in its offerings, the reach of Colors in India is almost as wide as that of its competitors. Falling viewership shares 443 GRPs Thats a number you usually associate with a channel that airs a cricketing extravaganza like the Indian prime minister League or the cricket world cup.However, this staggering number belongs to Star Plus that has extended its supremacy over other channels. Colors stands a distant second with 271 GRPS, followed by Zee TV (231) and Sony (125), according to the TAM data week 25 (June 13-19). picBuzz up Buzz up The 443 GRPs is the highest by a Hindi GEC in the last 159 weeks. The previous record was held by the same channel too. The path ahead 1. curb/increase market share 2. act with innovative content 3. Collaborate with divers(a) content providers from other countries to design and let on new format shows and serials. 4. Exclusive binding of tele- films, short films at a particular slot to cater to a niche audience