| MUMBAI:
Following government approval, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) is geared
to unveil its Marathi movie channel Zee Talkies. According to information available
with Indiantelevision.com, the company is targeting 15 August as its launch
date. The
network is looking to shell out Rs 80-100 million on the marketing push for its
newcomer. The tagline for Zee Talkies is 'Maharashtra cha Maha Cinema.' Says
Zee Network director regional channels Nitin Vaidya, "We are ready to launch
Zee Talkies in the month of August and are supporting it with a solid marketing
push. The campaign will be unveiled in the next few days and will extend across
mediums like TV, radio, print and outdoors." The
upcoming channel will be spearheaded by Ajay Bhalwalkar, who also overseas Zee
Marathi, as vice president. Bhalwalkar says, "This will be the biggest marketing
effort, in terms of its scale, made by any Marathi channel in the region. Our
marketing spends are in the region of Rs 80 - 100 million." Preceeding
the launch of the channel, the network will unleash a full fledged 360 degree
promotional campaign across television, radio, print and outdoor. The aim is to
reach into the interiors of Maharashtra along with its core market Mumbai and
other tier II cities.
The
new movie channel has already stacked up a library of 350 Marathi films, says
Vaidya. The objective is to change the perception of audiences towards the Marathi
film industry.
"The
idea is to scale up the prevailing image of the Marathi film industry," Vaidya
adds. "The
film industry in Maharashtra is witnessing a swing and our entire communication
plan will reflect this upbeat mood," adds Bhalwalkar.
As
reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com, apart from acquired
content the channel has tied up with three production houses
including Mahesh Manjrekar's Ashwani Films, Sumita Talwalkar's
Ashmita Films and Bulbule's Indian Magic Eye for more than
15 films in the time frame of two years. These films will
first be released across theatres before they are aired on
the channel.
Zee
Talkies received its uplinking license from the government
in May this year. This will be the first channel in the Marathi
movie channel segment. The Zee network already has news and
general entertainment channels in the Marathi regional space.
Also
read:
Zeel
to launch Marathi movie channel Zee Talkies | 
