MUMBAI: Bollywood music is slowly losing its charm among the youth and music channels as it does not bring any exclusivity or premium value. The main reason: similar content is also available on multiple platforms.

So does that mean that the viewer is no longer looking for the feel of FM radio in the visual space? Is this the reason behind Channel [V]?s latest announcement of doing away with music content completely?

The answer is yes. Bollywood Music has become a commodity and the players are not making the moolah.

So has Channel [V] taken a wise decision to move away from Bollywood music? Answers Channel [V] EVP and GM Prem Kamath, ?We didn?t want to be a commodity channel. We were working on this strategy since over two-and-a-half years and we built it in phases as the cost of original content is too high compared to music. But yes, we are making good progress as the time spent on the channel is too high and all our shows are getting good numbers.?

Last year, the whole youth and music genre got divided into two categories? pure play music channels and youth channels. However, it seems that now there will be four. There will be pure music, gossipy and news-based (Zoom, UTV Stars, E24), youth channels which also air music content (MTV, Bindass), and youth content channels (Channel [V]).

Explains MTV India EVP and business head Aditya Swamy, ?Music in itself has two different categories today. One is acquired music that is Bollywood and all the channels are just platform providers. The second is original music, upon which MTV is focusing more. With shows like Coke Studio, Sound Trippin, and Unplugged, we have created over 150 songs in the last one year. So there is definitely a market.?

These channels need to differentiate in a cluttered market. And by virtue of being a youth nation with 70 per cent youth population, all the channels have youth viewers. So the music channels claim to be youth channels in disguise, says a senior media executive.

Flarepath president Saurabh Kanwar, who has worked at both MTV and Channel [V], believes that music is harder to monetise as it is the same content. "It will, however, continue to survive on channels for some more time. What has changed today is that consumption of music videos has become an internet phenomenon. Ultimately, digital will change the way the channels air content in future. Having said that, original content is very expensive compared to music and it may work on branded platforms because of the legacy.?

But does that mean that music channels will not survive? 9X Media EVP Punit Pandey believes that there is enough market for both the genres to co-exist. ?Why then are so many pure play music channels launching if there is no scope? Our research shows that a viewer knows what he or she wants. If he wants music, he comes to music channels like ours. If he wants fiction or nonfiction shows, he goes to such channels. And monetisation is merely a reflection of performance.?

The genre has 19 players fighting over Rs 3.5-4 billion that they have to share amongst themselves a year as they generate 200-240 GRPs (gross rating points) on a weekly basis. This goes to explain their volatile nature.

Mumbai: MTV is launching the second season of its popular singing show Coke Studio@MTV in July.

In this season, the focus will be to showcase diversity and innovation through eight episodes, 12 producers and over 200 musicians.

As per the channel, the first season of CokeStudio@MTV had over 40 million viewers on MTV, seven lakh fans on Facebook, two million views on YouTube, 13,000 CDs and 15 live shows.

The first season of Coke Studio exemplified the melodious symphony of diverse genres of music ranging from famous Bollywood rhythms, traditional tunes and modern western to folk.

Says Coca-Cola India director ? Integrated marketing communications Wasim Basir, ?Season 2 promises to further amplify this magical experience for the music lovers by dwelling on ?pure? innovation to offer a musical concoction never heard before. Coke Studio is Coca-Cola?s unique point of view on music and an earnest endeavor to unite diverse musical genres, languages, artists and sounds, allowing the ?Happy? energy of Coca-Cola to bring people together. With the launch of the second season of Coke Studio in India, we continue with our quest to passionately refresh the world and ?Open Happiness? through the powerful platform of music."

Coke Studio@MTV Season 2 will see musicians from varied genres come together and collaborate to create original music.

The property will see independent, classical, folk EDM and popular artists combine their creative energies in a live performance. Every composition has been created exclusively for this project by experimental producers.

Says MTV India EVP and business head Aditya Swamy, ?Creating a platform to explore the many faces of music in India has been a truly rewarding experience for everyone involved and our desire is to bring India?s diverse music scene into the daily lives of young people. The most exciting part of this season is the making of over 40 original songs which has been a hugely creative and collaborative process."

MUMBAI: Viacom, the owner of Paramount Pictures, MTV and Nickelodeon, has reported consolidated revenues of $3.33 billion for the fiscal second quarter ending 31 March driven primarily by higher Media Networks affiliate revenues.

Quarterly operating income increased 23 per cent to $932 million in the quarter. Media Networks adjusted operating income increased 11 per cent to $893 million, principally reflecting the increase in affiliate revenues. Adjusted operating income in the Filmed Entertainment segment increased 195 per cent to $115 million, driven principally by lower distribution costs, which more than offset lower revenues.

Quarterly adjusted net earnings from continuing operations attributable to Viacom rose $105 million to $535 million, a gain of 24 per cent over the same period last year.

The increase is principally due to the growth in operating income across the company. Adjusted net earnings from continuing operations attributable to Viacom rose 24 per cent in the quarter to $535 million.

Viacom executive chairman Sumner M. Redstone said, "Viacom continues its strong track record of growth and innovation, creating the world?s best entertainment content and operating more efficiently every day. Throughout the Company, our leaders tirelessly build Viacom?s
outstanding global properties in order to drive superior value for shareholders."

Media Networks revenue growth of five per cent was driven by an increase in affiliate fee revenues, partially offset by a decrease in ancillary revenues. Domestic affiliate revenues increased 15 per cent and worldwide affiliate revenues grew 17 per cent in the quarter, in each case reflecting higher revenues from digital distribution agreements, as well as rate increases.

Domestic advertising revenues increased one per cent, while worldwide advertising revenues remained flat at $1.07 billion for the quarter.

Filmed Entertainment revenues decreased five per cent, to $1.17 billion, reflecting lower theatrical and television license fee revenues, partially offset by higher ancillary revenues. Worldwide theatrical revenues decreased 19 per cent in the quarter, as the mix of films, which generally were less widely distributed, did not match the performance of releases in the same period last year.

The current quarter releases were The Devil Inside, A Thousand Words, and Jeff, Who Lives at Home, and the year prior featured significant hits Rango, No Strings Attached and Justin Bieber: Never Say Never. Worldwide Filmed Entertainment ancillary revenues increased 41 per cent to $111 million in the quarter, principally driven by higher digital revenues. Home Entertainment revenues were up slightly.

At the end of the current quarter, the total debt outstanding, including capital lease obligations, was $7.78 billion, compared with$7.37 billion at 30 September 2011. The company?s cash balances were $1.14 billion at 31 March 2012, an increase from $1.02 billion at 30 September 2011.