When at the start of the year the English entertainment team at Viacom18 sat down for a meeting, it was clear that there was room for further growth in the space. While Vh1 and Comedy Central were cruising along well, it was also time for the launch of an English entertainment channel. “The English entertainment bouquet at Viacom 18 was doing well consistently for a while. Vh1 was at the top of the ladder in its genre while Comedy Central was doing consistently well. But there was room to do so much more in the English GEC space, in areas which we hadn’t tapped yet. And we looked at this as a potential opportunity for us to grow and expand,” Viacom18 head English and youth entertainment EVP Ferzad Palia said. According to Palia, 2015 was the year to expand the market while sustaining the two existing channels. He identified a white space in terms of wholesome English entertainment in the market. “India is the second-largest English-speaking population in the world. There is a huge demand for English content on television. With seasoned players not living up to viewers’ expectations, there was a dearth of fresh, good content on television for the viewers. We aimed to make our English cluster the ultimate destination across genres. The focus rested on the three clusters of international music, comedy and fresh international content,” Palia said.
Read more at: http://www.televisionpost.com/yearender/viacom18s-expansion-in-the-english-entertainment-space-in-2015/ | TelevisionPost.com
Read more at: http://www.televisionpost.com/yearender/viacom18s-expansion-in-the-english-entertainment-space-in-2015/ | TelevisionPost.com
