In an unprecedented move, the channel has gone completely international on Saturdays to cater to the younger audience in socio-economic classifications A and B. Says Puneet Sira, executive producer, Channel V India: ``We decided in January to have a special day for western music lovers. Our core target group through international music would ideally be in the age group of 15-24 years.''

Channel V's strategy is clear: To woo the westernised, English-educated youth who have high spending power. They are a loyalist audience who are tuned in to international music but have been neglected by the other music channels who have turned to Hindi programming to increase their reach. But at the same time, Channel V realises it has to play Hindi music on other days to achieve a critical mass and appeal to the 12 to 29-year-oldviewer.

An internal research showed kids and young adults spend more hours watching television on Saturdays, while Sundays are reserved for family-viewing. Which is why Channel V packages and plays the best international music shows of the week on Saturdays, while Sundays have a predominant dose of Hindi music.

``The idea to increase international music is excellent as other music channels are overloaded with Hindi music,'' says Meenakshi Madhvani, chief executive officer, Carat India.

The channel's ratings on Saturdays have shown marginal improvement. The best results are seen in the afternoon time band between 12-4 pm where the channel's reach for the age-group 15-24 years has gone up from a week's average of 1.68 per cent in December to 3.47 per cent in the first week of March, according to Carat analysis (in Sec A and B, C&S homes).

The 4 pm-7 pm time band has also seen a rise from 1.31 per cent to 3.07 per cent during the same period while the channel's reach in the 7 pm-10 pm slot has slippedfrom 2.55 per cent to 1.31 per cent. The lowest rating is in the 10 pm-12 midnight period where it dropped from 1.85 per cent to 0.74 per cent.

Channel V has been able to open up the late night slot on Saturdays through its international music. The channel's reach has gone up from 0.1 per cent to 0.05 per cent between 2 am-6 am.

Though the ratings have not shown dramatic change, media analysts say there has been a positive effect on the channel. Says Madhvani, ``The television rating points (TRPs) may not show significant growth as it is a small audience which longs for international music. But advertisers and youth marketers are trying to woo that segment.''

The Saturday lineup starts with Get Up And Dance TV, a non-stop three-hour dance show. The other hot shows are Turn On TV (back-to-back international videos), Hot Seat (a celebrity show) and Sophia's Choice (across genres).On Sundays, Channel V airs the best Hindi-based shows of the week except Sunday Specials (artiste, event or band-based). SaysSira, ``We have to appeal to a wide group as Sunday is a family-viewing day.''