MUMBAI: Sri Adhikari Brothers (SAB) is taking its Hindi GEC channel Dhamaal to Gujarat. The channel, which is already present in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, will be on a test run from 17 January and will commence regular programming from 7.30 pm on 21 January.

"The channel has comedy shows with comedians like Rakesh Bedi, Anant Desai, Raju Shrivastav, Siddharth Randheria and Sailesh Lodha along with two hours of music content and a cookery show," said Dhamaal AVP programming Ritu Chopra.

Dhamaal?s prime time shows include Madam Ki Paathshala, Bachchan Pandey Ki Toli, Galat Family, Bahut Khoob and Kya Samachar Hai and will leave them in splits. With the launch of the channel in Gujarat, the channel will have "Gujjubhai Girish Kumar adding Gujarati Tadka to this Hindustani Thali."

SAB?s other regional Hindi GEC Dabangg has Hindi content with a local tadka catering to the audiences of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttaranchal.

MUMBAI: Softline Creations has debuted in the television space with the launch of its first 24-hour satellite Hindi movie channel Cinema TV, a genre that is grappling with rising acquisition cost of movies and cut throat competition among the top three players.

A free-to-air channel, Cinema TV is currently available on three DTH platforms - Reliance Big TV, Videocon D2H, and Airtel Digital TV. To extend its reach in non-C&S markets, the channel is exploring partnership with DD Direct plus.

Headed by Hitesh Sabharwal, the channel has roped in Raju Shrivastav as brand ambassador. The channel is being promoted through digital, print, and outdoor ads besides running cross-channel promos.

"We have a library of 800 movies comprising across genres like drama, action, comedy, thriller and classic," says Sabharwal, who has earlier worked with Zee TV, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Times Group and Astro Group.

Some of the movies that the broadcaster will air include Don, Rang De Basanti, Murder, Tangewala, Quickgun Murugun, Humse Badhkar Kaun, Wardat, and Sanam Hum Aapke Hain. A large chunk of the library comprises yesteryear classical movies.

So how will Cinema TV tackle competition? "We have defined the prime time in the evening at 7.45 pm; we have also introduced kind of an appointment viewing for our viewers. Movie channels can be differentiated through presentation of content and the kind of programming that is offered in between movies," says Sabharwal.

The brand tagline is derived from "Har cheez ka sahi waqt hota hai". "This will relate to the the fact that every movie has an appropriate time to watch. Through our channel, we aim to bring the family together by catering to the tastes of each member through several genres of movies," he says.

The channel is following a distribution strategy that will move up from lower towns. "Our distribution strategy is different from other channels as we are starting from Tier V cities and then moving on to Tier I cities," avers Sabharwal.

The fight in the movie space, however, won?t be easy as it is dominated by biggies like Max, Star Gold and Zee Cinema.