MUMBAI: Exactly one month ago to this date, Tamil channel Jaya TV celebrated its fifth anniversary. Now having entered its sixth year, the channel has opted for a complete makeover and the first phase of the campaign was unfolded on 19 September.
The channel will unveil the second phase of the makeover in October targeting the festival season.
"The process had started some time back," offers Jaya TV vice president marketing K Balaswaminathan. "Revamping and re-positioning have always been a part of our strategy. But this time we have attempted a complete makeover covering all the angles. Additions and alterations in the areas of presentation, visuals and graphics have been brought in. The whole aim is to make the look and feel of the channel crisper and more enjoyable."
One major property being added to the programming line up as part of the makeover is dubbed Hollywood movies. Jaya TV will telecast dubbed Hollywood blockbusters on Saturdays at 9:30 pm. The 'opening attraction' is going to be the movie Deep Rising scheduled for 25 September. The channel has acquired the rights for approximately 50 Hollywood titles including Cliffhanger and Anaconda.
The channel has now dedicated its Sunday primetime movie slot for fresh movies. According to Balaswaminathan, new movies - not necessarily blockbusters - will be premiered in the channel. The 7 pm - 7:30 pm slot (Monday - Friday) has been given a fresh look by introducing new programmes including talk shows, youth programmes and film-based shows. Another addition to the programming line up is the primetime sitcom Krishna Cottage (Monday - Friday) launched on 20 September.
In October Jaya TV is launching a reality show hosted by popular South Indian actress Lakshmi. The show will have the actress interacting with people, listening to their problems and offering solutions. Another show in the offing is a game show for the Saturday primetime band. The show will be of one-hour duration.
Jaya TV is presently airing a gameshow Jackpot, hosted by popular South Indian actress Khushboo. The show which has completed 100 eipsode recently is one of the highest-rated programmes in Jaya TV's line up.
The channel is also planning to expand its early morning band. The morning suprabhata will air at 5:00 am instead of the present schedule 5:30 am. At 5:30 the channel will air religious chants. During Navaratri, Jaya TV will telecast Karnatic music at 6 am.
"Apart from the new programmes, ongoing shows have also been given a fresh look as part of the makeover," says Balaswaminathan.
Jaya TV has run an extensive campaign both on-air and off-air to publicise its new look. The outdoor campaign was powered by hoardings and posters deployed in major cities including Chennai, Coimbatore and Madhurai. The channel ran a teaser campaign in newspapers. The first in the teaser series said: !!199, the second: 19.9 and finally the third solved the mystery by giving the makeover date 19.9.2004. The on-air-campaign was launched on 14 September.
Jaya TV holds a distant second position behind Sun TV in the Tamil television market. Balaswaminathan says the channel has been doing extremely well in the recent times.
"The channel has completed five years overcoming many a roadblock. We have got more aggressive in the last two and half years and that is showing results now."
