MUMBAI: 9XM claims to have achieved a more than two-fold audience share lead over Viacom’s global youth music brand MTV, and an audience share in excess of seven times that of News Corporation’s STAR TV music platform Channel [V], both of which have been active in the sub-continent for over ten years (see chart below).The INX Media floated music channel, which last month reached out to an additional six million subscribers across India with a distribution deal on government-owned Direct-To-Home platform DD Direct Plus, says it has established an unprecedented leadership position in only three months since its launch in October 2007.
“9XM has filled a void in the music television space. It has created a distinctive new space in music and entertainment that targets the needs and attitudes of youth, and not just the demographics,” said Anthony Pettifer, Group Director, Brand and Communication, INX Media. “That’s why we’ve seen the channel being watched not only at home, but in canteens, colleges, bars, shopping malls, gyms, coffee bars and eateries. We’ve even seen it being played in streets outside McDonald’s restaurants.”
9XM features only full-length, current hit Bollywood songs on a screen shared with irreverent graphics, animated characters and interactive viewer feedback.
Audience interactivity with the channel begins with on-screen SMS messaging via live quizzes and contests. “SMS traffic to the channel is averaging 25,000 messages each day”, says Pettifer. “This high level of interactivity has also contributed to the channel taking on a life of its own on the Internet, with 9XM and its characters being adopted by numerous Orkut and other user-generated online communities,” Pettifer added.
9XM features no VJs, no interviews, no news and no hype about itself. The animated characters who act as the channel’s “spokespeople” provide a stream of humorous interjections and asides that are fast becoming part of youth culture. “Each song that makes it onto the 9XM playlist is there as the result of a thorough research process,” said Vikas Varma, Head, Music Entertainment Channels at INX Media. “We sustain momentum through a continuous and live process of improvisation and animation to ensure that each song is never presented in the same way twice. We have created a space which has made Hindi music very cool to watch and listen to – the high ratings are proof of that,” Verma added.
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Advertising partners have a range of options, from traditional spot buys to messages and brand imagery that are carefully integrated into the on-screen experience.
Having established an unprecedented following among viewers since its launch, Pettifer is confident of continued growth. “The audience figures show that we’ve got our positioning right from the start.
We have deliberately not used conventional marketing to promote the channel and the 9XM brand. Instead we have let people discover it for themselves and this strategy clearly works,” he concluded.
