MUMBAI: Times Television Network?s Bollywood channel Zoom has launched a social TV show zoOmit which integrates television viewing and social media interaction.

The one hour weekend interactive show will air requests and dedications received on the zoOm FB app along with the requestors? name, Facebook profile picture and dedicated message.

The show is an extension to the recently launched Facebook app (apps.facebook.com/gozoomit). It will be telecast at 6 pm every Saturday and Sunday starting 8 December.

The show will be hosted by a social jockey who will share the interesting dedications, set topics and themes for upcoming episodes, chat live via twitter and showcase interesting content and trends from social media sites.

Zoom CEO Avinash Kaul said, ?zoOm is one of the top youth channels in the country. We have taken an initiative to integrate the two platforms that the youth use the most for entertainment ? Bollywood and Social Media. We aim to create more and more synergies between the 2 mediums and this show is a step in that direction.?

MUMBAI: Reliance Broadcast Network (RBNL) has appointed Ashwin Sashital as vice president for Big RTL, Minal Sharma as sales head - West and South for Big CBS and Preeti Nayyar as national sales head impact and sales head South and West for Language TV.

Sashital‘s last stint was with Star Pravah as AVP. At Big RTL, he will oversee the business operations across the functions of marketing, revenue, creative and operations for the business. In his new role, he will be reporting to Language TV head Sunil Kumaran.

Sashital said, "Big RTL is in an exciting phase where it is set to grow in leaps and bounds and I would like to steer and accelerate it in the right direction and make it a part of the leading network of channels in India."

Sharma‘s new role entails revenue generation for the channels along with her team. She will report into Big CBS channels business head Anand Chakravarthy.

"With digitisation set to bring in transparency, improved quality of service and fair play, I am excited to be at the core of the revolution, as we offer marketers tremendous measurable value," Sharma said.

Nayyar‘s last stint was with Radio Mirchi where she witnessed the evolution of radio, while handling functions including retail and corporate sales. She will report to Language TV sales head Arjun Singgh Baran.

In her current profile, in addition to overseeing the sales function Nayyar will also make multi-media solutions for marketers, which see integration across television, radio, OOH, print and on ground.

Nayyar said, "The growth story for Indian Television lies in the regional space, and am glad to come on board RBNL in these exciting times. I look forward to working with the team, as we together offer marketers solutions that are tailored to reach their regional audiences, while delivering optimal RoI and minimal spill-over."

Prior to joining Big RTL, Sashital has also worked across companies like Star, Zee and Radio Mid Day.

Armed with over 12 years of work experience, Sharma has worked across media brands ranging UTV Bindaas(Disney), Zoom, Zee TV, India TV and India Today.

Nayyar too comes in with over 12 years of understanding of activation and sales. She has worked across the M&E industry spanning radio and print.

MUMBAI: Bollywood news and entertainment channel Zoom is launching a new show titled ‘Bollywood Storytellers‘ on 24 September. The show will air every Monday at 8 pm.

‘Bollywood Storytellers‘ will showcase the industry‘s "hot-shot" gen-next filmmakers who have set new rules of Bollywood storytelling, the channel said.

Featuring filmmakers like Rohit Shetty, Imtiaz Ali, Farhan Akhtar, Anurag Kashyap, the show takes a peek into the directors‘ motifs, signature styles, trials and moments of glory.

ET Now, Times Now and Zoom CEO Avinash Kaul said, "Youth is the biggest audience segment for Bollywood and, much like Zoom, these young directors have got their finger on the pulse of the youth. Bollywood Storytellers will give our audience an intimate understanding of what makes these stellar filmmakers tick. Their stories are not just interesting but also inspirational for our young viewers."

From Imtiaz Ali‘s new age romances to Rohit Shetty‘s action-comedies, from Farah Khan‘s revamp of the quintessential masala Bollywood films to Dibakar Banerjee‘s edgy storytelling, Zoom will give Bollywood enthusiasts a chance to learn all about these filmmakers.

MUMBAI: Bollywood music is slowly losing its charm among the youth and music channels as it does not bring any exclusivity or premium value. The main reason: similar content is also available on multiple platforms.

So does that mean that the viewer is no longer looking for the feel of FM radio in the visual space? Is this the reason behind Channel [V]?s latest announcement of doing away with music content completely?

The answer is yes. Bollywood Music has become a commodity and the players are not making the moolah.

So has Channel [V] taken a wise decision to move away from Bollywood music? Answers Channel [V] EVP and GM Prem Kamath, ?We didn?t want to be a commodity channel. We were working on this strategy since over two-and-a-half years and we built it in phases as the cost of original content is too high compared to music. But yes, we are making good progress as the time spent on the channel is too high and all our shows are getting good numbers.?

Last year, the whole youth and music genre got divided into two categories? pure play music channels and youth channels. However, it seems that now there will be four. There will be pure music, gossipy and news-based (Zoom, UTV Stars, E24), youth channels which also air music content (MTV, Bindass), and youth content channels (Channel [V]).

Explains MTV India EVP and business head Aditya Swamy, ?Music in itself has two different categories today. One is acquired music that is Bollywood and all the channels are just platform providers. The second is original music, upon which MTV is focusing more. With shows like Coke Studio, Sound Trippin, and Unplugged, we have created over 150 songs in the last one year. So there is definitely a market.?

These channels need to differentiate in a cluttered market. And by virtue of being a youth nation with 70 per cent youth population, all the channels have youth viewers. So the music channels claim to be youth channels in disguise, says a senior media executive.

Flarepath president Saurabh Kanwar, who has worked at both MTV and Channel [V], believes that music is harder to monetise as it is the same content. "It will, however, continue to survive on channels for some more time. What has changed today is that consumption of music videos has become an internet phenomenon. Ultimately, digital will change the way the channels air content in future. Having said that, original content is very expensive compared to music and it may work on branded platforms because of the legacy.?

But does that mean that music channels will not survive? 9X Media EVP Punit Pandey believes that there is enough market for both the genres to co-exist. ?Why then are so many pure play music channels launching if there is no scope? Our research shows that a viewer knows what he or she wants. If he wants music, he comes to music channels like ours. If he wants fiction or nonfiction shows, he goes to such channels. And monetisation is merely a reflection of performance.?

The genre has 19 players fighting over Rs 3.5-4 billion that they have to share amongst themselves a year as they generate 200-240 GRPs (gross rating points) on a weekly basis. This goes to explain their volatile nature.