Mahuaa Media, which has been running a popular Bhojpuri channel for a year and a half, on Tuesday announced a foray into the Bengali GEC (general entertainment channel) space.
?We are taking the regional route to go national,? said Tapas Kumar Bhattasaly, COO, Mahuaa Media, an associate concern of Century Communication. Bhattasaly said there was less growth in the Hindi GEC sector and that ad revenues were now being spent more on C and D cities or regional markets.
With the Bhojpuri channel showing good traction, Bhattasaly said ?it makes sense strategically to be in the Bengali market?, which has a reach in Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa and Chhatisgarh.
The Bengali GEC, Mahuaa Bangla, which is to be launched this month, is targeting the youth and the vast untapped 40-55 age group. The GEC has drawn up plans to host ?good programmes? for children, including a reality show, Chottorai Thik, where a child will take on an adult.
To woo football-crazy Bengal, it has also roped in Endemol India to produce a football reality show, The Match. The show aims at searching for 11 unfulfilled football talents in the age group of 16-19 years from across India and train them to play one single match under the guidance of famed Indian and International football legends Romario and Branco from Brazil and Subhash Bhowmick from India.
This challenger team will play against a well renowned football club, said Bhattasaly.