The advertising rates of the to-be-launched channel Filmy, an arm of Sahara One Media and Entertainment Limited, will be higher than other movie channels in India.
This was stated by Shailesh Kapoor, head of marketing and content who was in the city to promote the launch.
"We plan to premiere 24 Hindi films in a year, the highest as compared to other channels. Our advertising rates will be higher than other movie channels," he maintained.
Filmy, with its base line Maa Kasam Filmy Hai will be launched on February 12. Filmy is the first mega initiative of Sahara One Media and Entertainment Limited to further broaden its strong base in the entertainment business.
"We are upbeat about the way Filmy looks and feels, and about its innovative content and style of presenting Hindia movies on television," saod Shantonu Aditya, CEO of Sahara One Media and Entertainment Ltd.
The channel is poised to reach to over thirty cities across India. It will also have slots for short films and foreign films.
"The late night slot will be reserved for European, Japanese and Asian films. Also, to encourage short film makers we will have slots for films lasting from 4 from 30 minutes," Kapoor further said while adding that they have 450 films in store as of now and they plan to add another 200 by next year.
Some of the films like Sarkar, No Entry and Page 3 have been produced by Sahara One Motion Pictures last year. Sahara One is also planning to come up with an IPO company, sources said. This comes at a time when murmurs are doing rounds that Sahara is entering into a deal with Anil Ambani to sell Sahara One, the flagship TV channel, according to reliable sources.
Sahara One, the flagship TV channel of the group's media business, ranks fourth in TRP ratings and we are close to Sony entertainment, claimed Kapoor. "While the TRP ratings stand at 3.5-4, the GRP is about 75-80 per week," he added .
The success of Woh Rehne Wali Maholon Ki has given a major thrust to the channel's success, Kapoor said. The marketing spend of Filmy is estimated to be Rs 6 crore (Rs 60 milion), he said.
To promote the launch, Filmy Yatra was flagged off in Mumbai on January 24 and on January 25 from Delhi which will culminate when the floats return to Mumbai on March 14 to conincide. One of the characters Rokkky, played by Chunky Pandey was also in the city to promote the launch on Sunday.
