Turner announces Real Hindi channel, delays English movie channel

Turner Group announces Hindi entertainment channel Real; new English movie channel delayed

The U.S based production major Turner International now intends to enter the GEC (General Entertainment Channel) genre in India. The Turner group is now in a joint venture with the Alva Brothers Entertainment and has formed a new company called Real Global Broadcasting. This will be their first project in the GEC and promises to grab the attention of Indian viewers.

Turner Broadcasting System Asia Pacific Inc. president Steve Marcopoto said that they are excited to take their next step with Alva Brothers Entertainment and with the launch of Real –  their upcoming channel, they feel that India is one of their biggest growth opportunities and that they are now in a position to grab a decent share of the market.

Real’s differentiation is based on its approach to the manner in which it draws on ‘Real People’ and ‘Real Stories’ to create ‘Real Entertainment’ ” says the Alva Brothers Entertainment co-promoter and director Niret Alva. He also added that the channel has been specifically concocted for ‘Neo Indians’ who are urban oriented and broad minded.

The channel “REAL”  will go air in March 2009 and assures that Real will be successful with the young Indian Television viewers who will have a penchant for their daily soaps like “Vicky Ki Taxi” and “Hindi Hai Hum” and reality shows like “Sarkar Ki Duniya “ and “ Poker face”.

Vicky plays the reluctant protagonist in “Vicky Ki Taxi” with lots of twists and turns as the story progresses.
“Hindi Hai Hum” on the other hand tries to bring into people’s attention the power of unity among the youthful Indians.

Real is a digitally encrypted channel and will be available on various digital platforms and cable systems. Zee turner bouquet will be their distributors and the channel can be down linked from IntelSat-10.

RGM will begin their marketing and advertisements for their newly introduced channel from mid-February 2009.

Another English channel for India by the Turner International group which was supposed to be launched by the end of 2008 is delayed. When asked about the genre of their next release, Marcoopto replied that the new channel would be a mix of Hollywood movies and popular serials, while HBO featured more of Hollywood blockbusters. He added that the channel would be positioned differently for a different set of audiences.

Turner International already operates channels like CNN, HBO, POGO and Cartoon Network in India.