Non-stop music 038; comedy

Targeted at audiences who loves music and comedy,Sri Adhikari Brothers new channel Mastiii is a fun destination that has something for everyone

Targeted at audiences who loves music and comedy,Sri Adhikari Brothers new channel Mastiii is a fun destination that has something for everyone
A song for every season and laughs without a reason,thats what the new music and comedy channel Mastiii from the house of Sri Adhikari Brothers promises. Positioned as an electronic radio,Mastiii is a 24-hour free-to-air fun destination for everyone,from the age group of six to 60. It will offer a mix of Hindi music and varied comedy formats like gags,jokes,spoofs,parody,banter,pranks and so on. Unlike other music channels which have half-hour or one hour format shows,Mastiii will deliver music throughout the day,interspersed with humour. An act of comedy of one to two minutes will follow after a couple of songs. The pattern will continue through the day.

The channel has created different time-bands 8211; morning,afternoon,tea-time and prime-time 8211; during each of which certain types of music would be played. For example,it will play old and new love songs at early morning,popular blockbusters from 9 am to 12 noon,peppy songs in the evening and retro numbers post-9 pm. When viewers are not swaying to popular film songs,they will have something to laugh about. From relevant to irreverent,the fun will continue between songs as the channel promises to poke fun at everything and everyone. The comedians roped in to make fun on Mastiii include Raju Srivastav,Suresh Menon,Sunil Pal,Shailesh Lodha,Raj Vyas,Kiku Sharda and Sugandha Mishra.

But at a time when some of the popular music channels like MTV and Channel V have reduced their music content considerably,will Mastiii stand out in the clutter of multiple entertainment options? There are hardly any channels that offer 24 hours of non-stop music. The USP of Mastiii is non-stop music and comedy. It is not a niche channel targeting only the youth. Our target audience is the entire Hindi speaking market and we have taken care to pack in something for everyone across age groups, says Markand Adhikari,vice-chairman and managing director,Sri Adhikari Brothers Television Network Ltd,which owns the channel. While 70 per cent of the content will be music,the rest will be comedy.

Broadcasting business,particularly general entertainment,is too capital-intensive and requires deep pockets. Markand admits that the GE space is saturated and requires huge investment. Among all the GE channels launched in the last couple of years,only Colors has stood out in the clutter. But its success has come at a huge cost, he points out. This is the reason why the Adhikaris have opted for a niche genre that is relatively less capital-intensive as well as less competitive. Markand says that according to industry estimates,both MTV and 9 XM have an annual turnover of around Rs. 75 crore. The music genre business is worth around Rs. 400 crore and the segment is doing quite well, he adds. The Adhikaris investment in Mastiii is in the range of Rs. 75 to 100 crore,raised entirely through internal funds. We hope to break even after a gestation period of two years, he claims.

Incidentally,Sri Adhikari Brothers have had stints in production and broadcasting before. They had created the popular comedy brand SAB TV in the late 90s. But intense competition compelled them to exit from general entertainment business by selling the brand to Sony five years ago. Their subsequent entry into broadcasting with Mee Marathi hasnt been smooth either; they hold only 27 per cent stake in it now. So will Mastiii mark their re-entry into broadcasting on a serious note,given the fact that market perceives them more as investors rather than serious broadcasters?