In the updated reference interconnect offer (RIO) released by JioStar following the 7th annual e-auction of DD Freedish, the media mogul announced the departure of nine channels, w.e.f., March 15, 2025.
Among the list are SD and HD versions of three notable entertainment brands—Comedy Central, Vh1, MTV Beats—that have kept the entertainment index of Indian people quite buoyant for many years. It is to be noted that before the merger of Viacom18 and Disney Star, all the aforementioned channels were owned by the former.
Although the broadcaster refused to comment on the development, industry sources said that the tough market conditions played a big role in bringing the curtains down on these three brands.
More than revenue, the audience these channels were catering to has been moving to OTT platforms, leaving no hope for their return to television in the future.
“Revenue is a byproduct of audience. When marketers are convinced that hardly any affluent viewer consumes English or music content on television, the broadcaster had no choice but to take this tough call,” said one of the sources.
“The affinity and appetite for the content of these channels have not vanished. That audience has moved to digital and that’s why the content will be served to them on JioHotstar,” the source said.
With this, JioStar is now left with Colors Infinity as the English general entertainment channel and Star Movies as the English movie channel.
When asked about the future of these brands, sources said that these brands will remain a part of the overall offering of the broadcast network, which has close to 120 channels.
Here’s a look at how the three channels – Comedy Central, Vh1 and MTV Beats – catered to a niche audience with a substantial chunk of viewers common for all three channels.
Comedy Central
Comedy Central arrived in India in January 2012, when Viacom18 (a JV between Network18 and Viacom International Media Networks at the time) catapulted it to the Indian masses. The channel became a quick favourite for people who preferred Western-style comedy content.
Comedy Central showcased a wide variety of well-regarded programs. Among these were numerous award-winning series, such as The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, as well as internationally popular shows like Saturday Night Live, The Office, Suits, 30 Rock, Seinfeld, The Wonder Years, and That 70s Show.
The channel's comedic offerings spanned a broad spectrum, from sitcoms and sketch comedy to British humour, stand-up performances, and short comedic bits.
The channel housed various popular sitcoms such as The Big Bang Theory, Friends, and How I Met Your Mother, in addition to sketch comedy programs like the Comedy Central Roast series, which often featured celebrity guests.
The content offered by the channel resonated with the younger demographics in the urban areas of the country. It provided the viewers with the right mix of light-hearted and escapist entertainment, becoming a hotspot for people looking for comedic relief.
Vh1
With a sprawling history of stimulating users with Western music, Vh1 entered the Indian market two decades ago in 2005. The channel was instrumental in shaping the pop culture landscape for the Indian audience and popularising Western music among adult English-speaking viewers in the country.
Originally, Vh1 India was launched as part of a joint venture between Viacom and Zee-Turner, before coming under the ambit of Viacom18. Apart from featuring chart-topping hits, the channel also conceptualised and executed events like Vh1 Supersonic, which was, at the time, touted as India's biggest music festival.
The channel hosted myriad programs including Top 20 Countdown and Vh1 Unplugged which became an instant favourite among English music listeners in India. The channel also had reality shows and documentaries in its slate of shows.
MTV Beats
MTV Beats entered the picture in the later months of 2016. In September of that year, Viacom18 announced the launch of MTV Beats, replacing Pepsi MTV Indies. MTV Beats was offered to Indian music lovers as a destination for 24x7 Hindi music.
Sudhanshu Vats, who was leading Viacom18 as Group CEO, called the channel a carrier of the MTV brand to a more mass audience. As a result, MTV Beats was the first foray for the brand into Hindi music and targeted the audience between the ages of 15 to 30 years, across urban and rural India.
MTV Beats, for its regular users, was a companion of sorts that fulfilled the music needs of the youth of urban and rural India throughout their daily routines. It had programs such as Love Beats with Darshan Raval, Flashback, Dil Beats Lockdown Love, House Party with DJ Chetas, among others that had the audience hooked to the channel.
The article was originally published by Best Media Info.
