MUMBAI: Reliance Broadcast Network will enter the regional entertainment space with its channel BIG MAGIC, which will be launched on 4 April, 2011.
BIG MAGIC is positioned as India’s only channel exclusively for the core Hindi heartland, featuring locally relevant entertainment around humour, music and Bollywood.
BIG MAGIC launches on the back of the company’s recent foray in the television space with the English entertainment genre with 2 BIG CBS Channels – Prime & Love.
The Channel will feature a mix of long-form and short-form programming in the humour and the Bollywood space. There will also be defined blocks of music, in specific day-parts featuring a mix of the best music from across the years.
BIG MAGIC will be distributed across all cable operators across the states of UP, MP and Bihar and spread across the likes of DEN, Digicable, WWIL, Hathway and others, reaching approximately 10 million households in the heartland. The Channel will be placed on S-band, ensuring the channel is among the first 30 channels on the television sets, placed among the top Hindi GEC’s.
The TV spend attributable to the region (UP, MP and Bihar) is Rs 1200 crore with National TV channels currently garnering around Rs 1050 crore of this amount. Print spend attributable to this region is around Rs 1400 crore and BIG MAGIC stands to bite into a sizeable portion of this rapidly growing market. With increasing awareness, consumerism and advertisers reaching out to this rich consumer base of the country, the revenue potential for this Channel points north.
Reliance Broadcast Network CEO Tarun Katial said, “The Hindi heartland represents 30% of India’s population and by far the most attractive and lucrative market for advertisers. This underserviced market, offers an excellent opportunity to offer audiences entertainment that is tailored to meet their preferences. BIG MAGIC will quickly build a strong platform on the back of an excellent programming mix and leveraging our BIG FM’s brand lineage to help fortify its position rapidly.”
