9X Media back in action with plans to launch two channels in FY'12

MUMBAI: 9X Media, the company controlled by private equity firm New Silk Route, is swinging back into action. Two regional music channels are readying for launch this fiscal, a source said.

The first to roll out this month is a Punjabi music channel. The Bengali channel will come up by the year-end.
 
"We are launching the Punjabi channel this month," said 9X Media chief financial officer Bhupendra Makhi, while declining to comment on other issues.

The Punjabi channel is named 9X Tashan and will have "Yaaran Da" as its tagline. It will have Punjabi music videos including folk, popular and Bollywood.

Modelled like the flagship Bollywood music channel 9XM, the new channel will also have animated characters like Bade-Chote and Falli-Balli along with some new characters - all in a Punjabi avatar.

9X Tashan will have to contest in a market that is flooded with channels like PTC Chak De, ETC Punjabi, Balle Balle, Lashkara and MH1. And to find distribution on cable networks, the channel has earmarked a budget of Rs 60 million on distribution in the Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh (PHCHP) markets.

The company believes that with a targeted approach, the channel will have an edge over the others. A senior sales executive said that even though the PHCHP belt is a B1 market for sectors like telecom, automobiles, beverages and FMCG, there is potential to expand the ad pie.