Zing, formerly known as Zee Muzic and Music Asia, was repackaged as Zing in April 2009. Zing features humour, animation, spoofs and celebrity lifestyle in addition to music. Zing also has Chillax Mornings – a non-stop musical extravaganza for music lovers. One of its most popular shows, Chillax Mornings airs the most recent and “zingy” Bollywood music.
Pankaj Balhara, Dy. Business Head, Music Cluster, ZEEL speaks exclusively to Medianews4u on Zing’s performance and the curated content for the music genre and much more.
In this pandemic how did Zing perform?
After successful creation of IP’s like Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya, Aye Zindagi & Mission XPD, Zing started the year 2020 with a bang with a first of its kind gamified chat show with cricketers – “Zing Game On”. The show revealed the unplugged and fun side of cricketers for the first time and got tremendous response from the viewers. In midst of the coronavirus lockdown, we had to put a temporary stop to our other plans keeping in mind the change from production and ad revenue standpoint but Zing’s viewership increased by 40% during the lockdown and the share increased from 14% to 20% during this phase. Towards the end of 2020 we launched the 11th season of Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya which made a comeback after 2 years and it is receiving unwavering support from the viewers.
The GEC genre had no fresh content, how was content curated for the Music genre?
During the lockdown, Zing presented for all music lovers a fresh content line up to drive away their lockdown blues. We didn’t rely only on viewers to discover the entertainment quotient in the offerings but made a lot of efforts in curating songs/playlists that lift the morale and elevate their mood. The morning time-band was especially dedicated to make the everyday ordinary a little less ordinary and a lot more energetic. Keeping the core target audience in mind we dedicated the evening slot wherein the viewers could relax and party with their loved ones. This time slot brought party to their home and the viewers could also share their selfies which were to showcase on the channel. To amplify the same Zing encouraged the participation from the viewers around the country and got 20k+ entries within a span of 1 week!
TV & OTT saw a spike in viewership, what was the average viewership for the Music genre?
TV in general saw an increase during the lockdown period as it was the major source of entertainment & information. Total TV consumption increased by 42% during the lockdown. In fact, Zing’s viewership increased by 40% during the lockdown and the share increased from 14% to 20% during lockdown. (Source: Barc, Pre COVID period: wk 01-11’20, COVID period: wk 12-16’20, TG: nccs all 15+, mkt: hsm u+r)
What was the advertiser’s response during this lockdown?
With lockdown underway, we started conceptualizing our flagship show – Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya – which was set to make a comeback after 2 years. This received great response from advertisers & viewers alike where we got 6 sponsors & brand integrations which seamlessly integrated in the story line. They saw value in the content beyond ratings and collaborated with this concept. For the coming year, we have the entire line-up ready and we will soon reveal the same. We are coming up with some new seasons of old shows and some new concepts. So, the year looks exciting ahead!
Today with so many options when it comes to music, who is the TG that watches this genre?
While Indians are music lovers across age groups and demographics, core TG that consumes music on TV is 15-30
