Chhattisgarh's IBC 24 expects turnaround with expansion into MP

Earlier known as Zee 24 Ghante Chhattisgarh, the SB Multimedia owned channel was rechristened as IBC 24 in April 2013. It launched the Madhya Pradesh feed on June 19

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | June 25, 2013

After the divorce with Zee in March this year, it looked like a tough terrain for Chhattisgarh based SB Multimedia, which successfully ran Zee 24 Ghante Chhattisgarh under a franchisee agreement with Zee News for four and a half years. To continue with its regional leadership position with the new brand name IBC 24 was a challenge as the identity crisis loomed large over the broadcaster.

Almost three month since the rebranding, IBC 24 has not only strengthened its roots in Chhattisgarh but has also made inroads into the three times bigger market of Madhya Pradesh. “The last three months have been full of action and enthusiasm. We would like to repeat the success of Chhattisgarh in MP,” Anurag Agarwal, VP - Corporate Business, SB Multimedia, told BestMediaInfo.com.

The channel saw numbers shrinking and lost ground in the first month of the re-launch as establishing the new identity in viewer's mind remained an uphill task due to the Zee legacy. “The first couples of weeks after the new brand name and logo, the numbers were low but things stabilised after that and we are back on track,” Agarwal said.

Now with a bigger market in its kitty, the channel is expecting its revenue base to expand as the viewership grows. “Since Chhattisgarh is a very small market, making it a commercial success was a challenge. However, expansion into MP should help ease pressures a bit as it is a bigger market and should help us garner more eyeballs,” Agarwal said.

When asked whether expanding in the new market would increase the broadcaster's expenses as even with the Chhattisgarh market it was struggling to break even, Agarwal said, “To add MP was a natural corollary. In fact, if you consider other regional news players in this part of the country, except us, all the players are for twin states of MP/CG."

Despite cutthroat competition in the CG/MP market, SB Multimedia is assured that its high investment in IBC 24 in the MP market will yield good returns and the channel will establish itself as a relevant and credible broadcaster. “We have invested sizeable amounts in distribution of the channel in MP (earlier in CG as well) and the same should help yield returns over a period of time. Moreover, the management's philosophy is credible and relevant news above all commercial considerations,” Agarwal emphasized.

Encouraged with the response IBC 24 has received after the relaunch, SB Multimedia is also exploring the prospects of entering other states. “The channel's name, Indian Broadcast Company, gives us a pan-India appeal and doesn't restrict us to being a regional news channel,” Agarwal added.

Info@BestMediaInfo.com

Info@BestMediaInfo.com