UTV Movies Arabia hopes to lure Arab audiences

Mandarins at the media house say contemporary content from its young movie library will set it apart from other Hindi movie channels currently airing in the region.

A fresh, feel-good approach targetted at Arabic audiences will fuel growth, feels M.K. Anand, MD, Media Networks, Disney UTV.

Content is king for Anand who is confident advertisers and viewers will be impressed with what his channel has to offer in the long term. Excerpts from an interview with Khaleej Times.

Why a new Hindi channel for the Middle East and the UAE when we have a glut of channels?

There is great interest and appetite for Bollywood content among Arab audiences. UTV Movies Arabia is a new age Hindi movie channel which upholds its promises to entertain its viewers with blockbuster Bollywood films. The channel has been localised keeping in mind the popularity of Hindi film content in the region and our young library is sure to appeal to the audiences.

What is your USP that will set you apart from the rest?

We aim to have a larger share of Arabic dubbed content as compared to existing Bollywood channels. Also as mentioned earlier, our library consists of fresh titles which will definitely engage audiences.

What is your target audience? Youth among the South Asians?

UTV Movies Arabia is a family entertainment channel and is targeted at Arabic households within the Middle East and North African region. The channel is available as a free-to-air service on the AB7 satellite in addition to major pay-TV platforms in the UAE.

As a new channel, you don’t have the first-mover advantage or brand recall when you go head to head with names like a Zee or Sony. How do you plan on changing that perception?

The UTV brand name is synonymous with quality film entertainment. Box office releases of our studio titles are equally popular with Arab audiences as much as South Asians. UTV Movies Arabia has an enviable library of over 700 titles comprising of latest blockbusters like Khiladi 786, Vicky Donor, Oh My God, Cocktail, Paan Singh Tomar, Ekk Main Aur Ek Tu, Shirin Farhad and many more. Content is king and will speak for itself.

Arab and Emirati viewers are a growing audience. Any innovative plans to reach out to them?

A 360-degree marketing campaign is planned to reach out to the audiences in the region.

Moving on to revenue? How do you plan on breaking even? What’s the revenue model for the channel?

We have partnered with a robust media agency in Dubai and we are confident that advertisers will find value in the channel as there is great interest among Arab audiences for Bollywood content.

Do you have a team based in Dubai?

Our team based in Mumbai is controlling the operations and is working closely with our advertising sales concessionaire who is based in Dubai.

Is the movie production house-television channel synergy the future of the entertainment business?

It surely gives us an edge over competition especially in the movie channel business. We have access to a newer library which is constantly refreshed.

allan@khalejtimes.com