Positioning, Repositioning, Reverse Positioning Strategies Case Study

Viacom18’s ‘Colors’ Channel in India Colourful Market Entry and Positioning Strategies

OR

Abstract:
On July 21st 2008, Viacom18 – a 50:50 joint venture between Viacom and Network18 – made a colourful entry into the Hindi general entertainment market of India with the launch of Colors channel. Led by Rajesh Kamat, ex-executive of STAR India, Colors was an instant success in the Hindi general entertainment market with differentiated content and disruptive scheduling. Instead of confusing the audience with its whole array of programmes, Colors created a buzz with Akshay Kumar hosted show, Fear Factor – Khatron Ke Khiladi and let them try their channel with fiction like Balika Vadhu. Within 10 weeks of its launch, Colors shot up to No. 2 position with ratings as high as 250 points – ahead of entrenched players like Zee TV and Sony and posed a serious threat to the undisputed leader, STAR Plus. While a good value proposition, right positioning and distribution strategies gave Colors substantial competitive edge, analysts and media experts doubt its sustainability in the long run amid intensifying competition, global downturn and labour strife with television producers.

Pedagogical Objectives:

• To examine the nature of business for a General Entertainment Channel (GEC) and identify its critical success factors
• To discuss the need of a unique value proposition and right Segmenting, Targeting and Positioning (STP) strategies for an entrant to win over entrenched players in the GEC market
• To examine the launch of Colors in the GEC market and its strategies to compete with established players like STAR Plus and Zee TV
• To compare and contrast Colors’ strategies with those of other GECs in the Indian entertainment and media industry
• To debate on the sustainability of Colors’ No. 2 position in the Indian GEC market and also identify the challenges ahead.

Keywords : Indian entertainment & media industry; General Entertainment Channels (GECs); Rajesh Kamat; NDTV Group; NDTV Good Times and NDTV Imagine; Lifestyle TV Channels; Youth-centric TV channels; Gross Rating Points (GRPs); TAM Media Research; Positioning strategies case stuides; INX Media and 9x; Viacom; Network18; Sameer Nair; Peter

Contents:

• Indian Media and Entertainment: An Overview
• Indian Television Market – Growing Presence of the General Entertainment Channels
• Colors – Colourful Launch of a New Hindi General Entertainment Channel
• Sustainability of Colors Top Position amid Comptetition from Entrenched Players and the Challenges Ahead