India’s most trusted Media Company, ABP Network has announced its entry into the Tamil Nadu market with the launch of its brand new digital platform, ‘ABP Nadu’. The network plans to make major headway in the ultra-competitive Tamil digital news space. Extending its belief in empowering the audience with unbiased and credible news, ABP Nadu has now entered the market with the determination to create an informed and open society.
The new digital platform will promise to present authentic and compelling stories that appeal to Tamil audiences. ABP Network believes that the virtues of the Tamil language, its rich literature, and vibrant culture have always been an integral part of Tamil Nadu’s identity. ABP Nadu will, therefore, resonate with the new progressive evolution of the state and serve to bring alive its new narrative in a colorful, vibrant, and in a manner that accentuates its nativity.
In an exclusive chat with Medianews4U, Avinash Pandey – CEO, ABP Network, talks about the launch of ABP Nadu, opportunities in the Tamil Nadu market, brand strategies and more
The TN market is already saturated with too many news channels and digital news platforms, why did you want to foray into this market now?
The Tamil content market is well-primed for disruption, making this an opportune time for our entry. The market share of the news genre in TN is 5.06 percent and therefore, it has huge headroom for growth. Plus, Tamil Nadu has an extremely high internet adoption rate and the Tamil audience is also highly engaged in accessing news content online.
Secondly, if we go by consumer insight, the growth opportunity in the regional market is immense. The past few years have witnessed a huge surge in regional launches, as the viewers’ preference of native languages is now discernible.
According to a recent report by Google, 90% of internet users in India prefer to consume content in their local language. Plus, there was a 42% increase in daily heavy internet users last year. So, surely, the business of digital content is going vernacular, making Tamil Nadu – a tremendous offering for audiences and advertisers alike.
Wouldn’t it have been more ideal if you had launched this before the TN elections?
Voting is only one aspect of the Tamil Nadu market, which is currently brimming with opportunity. We did not want to rush our launch just because elections seemed to be an opportune time to enter.
We wanted to put our best foot forward as the ABP brand made its first impression in the Southern market. Our team has been dedicatedly working towards creating this platform and I’m confident that ABP Nadu will prove to be successful in Tamil Nadu – no matter what time of the year it is.
ABP is now the leader when it comes to regional platforms and you have created strong regional brand equity. What has your strategy been?
Over the years, all channels of ABP Network have fervently pursued their vision towards responsible, action-oriented, and impactful journalism.
Apart from bringing unique and meaningful stories to the people, our regional channels have completely embroiled themselves into the culture & ethos of every region they serve – through local on-ground initiatives and events.
Our focus on balanced and nuanced local coverage of regional issues has given us a leading edge in the regional sphere. For instance, for Bengal Elections, our channel ABP Ananda had 7 district studios based out of: Tamluk, Durgapur, Barrackpore, Siliguri, Midnapore City, Baharampur, and Cooch Behar, to ensure the viewers don’t miss out on anything.
Tamil audiences are very discerning, how differentiated will ABP Nadu content be?
From our overall look and feel to our content considerations, ABP Nadu caters to the strong, educated, and progressive youth of the state. These are the people who are keen on staying updated 24×7 and are consuming content every single minute.
We want to empower them, give them a platform to express themselves uninhibitedly, and encourage them to debate & put forth their opinions on important issues concerning the state. By and large, ABP Nadu will offer a wide range of content choices to all kinds of users such as unique pieces on the burning issues of Tamil Nadu, in various content formats such as expert opinion pieces, data stories, and videos. The platform will provide 360-degree coverage by showing political analyses, breaking news, news dissection and in-depth stories across various beats such as entertainment, education, finance, gaming, technology, and auto.
You have said this will cause a disruption in the TN Market and how the audiences will perceive news from now on….can you elaborate on this?
ABP Nadu is an extension of our belief in empowering the audience with unbiased and credible news to create an informed and open society.
We believe that the virtues of the Tamil language, its rich literature, and vibrant culture have always been an integral part of Tamil Nadu’s identity. ABP Nadu will, therefore, strive to resonate with the new progressive evolution of the state and serve to bring alive its new narrative in a colorful, vibrant, and in manner that accentuates its nativity.
Our progressive narrative coalesced with an avant-garde approach to content will ensure ABP Nadu cuts through the clutter and truly differentiates itself from other players within the highly competitive market of Tamil Nadu.
The Campaign by 82.5, how was this conceptualized?
Tamil Nadu has always been a land of rich culture, and it evokes a strong sense of pride amongst its people. In mainstream media, this cultural affluence is often linked to the past – temples, monuments, dynasties, etc. However, in reality, Tamil culture is seeing an evolution, a renaissance that is bringing a brand-new dimension.
The launch campaign devised by 82.5 Communications highlights the various dynamics of the Tamil culture, brought forth by the “New Tamilian”. This idea brings alive the new narrative of their culture in a vibrant style that accentuates its nativity.
