MUMBAI:  Contemporary Hindi music channel MTV Beats has announced the launch of a dedicated slot for young and upbeat Punjabi music. Aptly named ‘Punjabi Beats’, the dedicated break-free 30 minutes slots will air on MTV Beats and Beats HD starting 10 August, every day at 11 am and 4.30 pm Punjabi Beats will feature non-Bollywood, popular independent Punjabi songs and new Punjabi releases from prominent artists.

Viacom18  MTV Beats, business planning and content partnerships, youth, music and English entertainment head Vikas Boni said, “Punjabi music is an instant favourite and is the next most popular genre after Bollywood music amongst youth. In this lockdown period, MTV Beats has seen substantial growth with 25 per cent increase in viewership* which is backed by innovative and original music content. With a dedicated bloc like Punjabi Beats, our line up becomes even more exciting for viewers. It will further strengthen our position as the most loved contemporary music channel in the country.”

The Punjabi Beats slot will also have an interesting in-show vignette, Punjab Di Boliyaan, where different artists will take up one typical Punjabi word such as “Siyaapa”, “Patola”, Chhetti, “Gedi and tell viewers what it actually means. We have already on-board popular artists such as Gippy Grewal, Tony Kakkar, Sukh-E, Bohemia, Milind Gaba for the Punjab Di Boliyaan vignette. MTV Beats has partnered with music labels such as Sony Music, VYRL Originals, Humble Music, White Hill Music and Desi Melodies for Punjabi Beats.

MTV Beats is the market leader in the contemporary Hindi music category with 40 per cent of its audience comprising youth. Even during the lockdown phase when there was a complete halt on shoots of music videos, MTV Beats remained the go-to brand for music labels and artists and managed to capture and promote new songs and albums, thus striving hard in the lockdown. MTV Beats premiered six exclusive songs, while music properties like Fresh Beats and MTV Beats Discover premiered 13 and 12 new songs, respectively. The channel was also home to original programming amidst the lockdown and launched four properties namely MTV Beats Pyaar Karo Na, MTV Beats Sessions From Home, Dil Beats Lockdown Love with Darshan Raval and MTV Beats Baba Ki Chowki Lockdown Edition.

MTV Beats and Beats HD are available on all DTH and cable platforms priced at 10 paise and Re 1 per month, respectively.