Indiantelevision.com Team

(19 August 2010 10:00 pm)

MUMBAI: Sri Adhikari Brothers' recently launched music and comedy channel Mastiii has scaled new heights within six weeks of its launch, claiming leadership position among the music channels.

As per Tam data for week ended 14 August, the newly launched channel has captured 12.2 per cent genre share. Nevertheless, when compared to youth focused channel UTV Bindass (16.2 per cent), which is also placed by Tam in the same genre, Mastiii seconds the list.

Mastiii's share, however, is more than its other counterparts such as B4U Music (11.4 per cent share), 9XM (10.6 per cent), MTV (10.4 per cent) and Channel [V] (9.1 per cent share).

Sri Adhikari Bros vice chairman and MD Markand Adhikari said, "We are encouraged with the response we have received within a few weeks of the channel's launch. It doesn't come as a surprise as we were very confident of our differentiated product that offers 24-hours of non-stop music and comedy. We conceptualised 'Mastiii' as an 'electronic radio', where people can tune in any time of the day for their dose of unadulterated fun."

Media pundits, meanwhile, are cautious before declaring Mastiii a clear winner. Industry observers that Indiantelevision.com spoke to unanimously stated that while it is an encouraging start for the channel, it is too early to declare it as a leader. Also, competition among the market players is too big with brands like Bindass, MTV and 9XM.

"It is too early to say anything. We have to give a couple of months to see if it (Mastiii) is a sustainable model. But with more players, the genre should grow," a media observer commented.

Adhikari added, "This is just the beginning as we are committed to bringing our viewers non-stop Mastiii and achieve many more milestones in the times to come. For us, sustained leadership of the genre will be a mark of our success and we are gearing up to achieve just that."

A top executive of a rival channel commented on condition of anonymity that to sustain in the music genre, channels have to identify their unique proposition. For instance, Bindass and MTV have strong youth connect while 9XM is known for its non-stop Bollywood music and animated characters.

"Mastiii is just an extension of 9XM with comedians instead of the animated characters. In the initial phase, a lot of convergence happens because of high activation, marketing push and distribution. So let the channel stabalise," he said.