‘&’ Now Showing...‘&pictures’!

India’s first interactive movie channel launches on 18 August

The new premium and interactive Hindi movie, ‘&pictures’, unveiled details surrounding its launch. Officially going on-air on 18 August 2013, it goes beyond a television channel to help viewers come close to their favourite movie stars. Targeting viewers with a younger mindset, ZEEL, CCCO, Bharat Ranga and ZEEL, Marketing Head (National Channels) Akash Chawla and ZEEL, Cluster Programming Head (Hindi movie channels), Ruchir Tiwari introduced ‘&pictures’ innovations, programming slate and marketing strategy.

ZEEL Chief Content & Creative Officer, Bharat Ranga said, “&pictures’ marks a defining moment for us with the launch of a movie channel for people who are young at heart. Over the past 20 years, ZEE has built a reputation for content that is entertaining, profitable and of high quality…while at the same time, it has been inspiring and empowering to audiences. A new movie channel allows us to build upon our existing film and digital resources to create a continuing conversation with an audience that is interested in staying connected and engaged with the world around them.”

Speaking about the symbol ‘&’ and the logo, Ranga adds, “The Ampersand sign in ‘&pictures’ signifies ‘Udaan’ (flight) & ‘Neev’ (rooted) and celebrates the duality of contemporary Indians. The Ampersand in the logo merges seamlessly with the ‘p’ of pictures and connotes the ease with which today’s viewer blends his ambition to soar high while remaining rooted to his sacrosanct values. The color red similarly radiates his bold ambition as well as the richness of his traditions.”

With a view to set new benchmarks in engaging audiences, many innovations have been lined up in the coming months. Taking the first step towards interactivity the channel has announced a contest for India’s first digital crowd sourced film on Twitter. It will be a democratic movie in every sense of the word – of the people, for the people, by the people. The channel will also soon be launching some advanced products that will take interactivity to a new level altogether. ‘&pictures’ programming slate is anchored by 24 hours of daily content including the premieres of upcoming big ticket films in its first year. The premieres include much awaited releases, Chennai Express, Zanjeer, Besharam, Ghanchakkar, Commando and Aatma.

Akash Chawla, ZEEL Marketing head (National Channels) said, “The name and logo of the channel has been decided post a detailed study of more than 1000 brands across the world and after testing it with consumers in India. The main differentiator for ‘&pictures’ will be the innovative mediums of interactivity initiated to engage with audiences. ‘&pictures’ will redefine the consumer experience around content. We intend to spark change through entertaining interactive initiatives. We have just launched the first digital crowd sourced film that will significantly enhance consumer access to the content they're looking for – from wherever they choose to access and consume content. The core of brand ‘&pictures’ stems from the fact that today, viewers are not watching TV as the sole activity that they do…TV viewing is accompanied with time spent on mobiles, chatting on various, social media platforms, etc.”

Adds ZEEL, Cluster Programming Head (Hindi movie channels), Ruchir Tiwari, “Our programming model is designed to disrupt conventional wisdom. ‘&pictures’ aims at entertaining and celebrating today’s Indian irrespective of their age and is a reflection of how people across different mindsets are evolving. Our content will be specifically designed for the viewers who also have the strong desire and inimitable capacity to conquer the world and yet stay rooted to their culture. Building credibility and trust with our audience is paramount, so naturally we’ll provide a rich schedule right out of the box…and, we’ll do it the ‘&pictures’ way!” The library consists largely of films released in the last 10 years. It includes newer titles include Kai Po Che, ABCD, Barfi, English Vinglish, Tanu Weds Manu, Love Aaj Kal, Agent Vinod, Agneepath, Desi Boyz, Kambakt Ishq and Break Ke Baad.

‘&pictures’ will be available through all Pay TV packages across the country.