FEATURES
Wish Rewind Networks' Hits happy birthday too…
08 December 2014
8 December 2014: Rewind Networks' Hits turns 1 in December.By the time the Rewind Networks team parties with guests at its first anniversary party on 9 December, founder and chief executive Avi Himatsinghani will have released nine-month average ratings that will prove, among other things, that his Hits channel and "best of" concept can stand tall with big-time entertainers in the space.Hits last released ratings in July this year, showing the channel among Singapore's top three six months after its launch. Hits came in at #3 among international general entertainment channels, with an audience share higher than established rivals among all adults 25+ for the three months from 13 March to 25 June (source: Kantar Media Singapore). The channel was #1 of 14 international GE channels measured in average time spent during prime time on weekends (all people, women and adults 25+). Across the week, Hits ranked #2 in average time spent, with 42 minutes a day. The top channel by time spent was watched for 48 minutes a day and the third-ranked channel for 33 minutes a day. On weekends, Hits rose from #3 in audience share to #2. The latest ratings that show the nine-month average in Singapore were still being compiled at presstime, but Himatsinghani says they prove consistent ongoing performance.How delighted is he? Very with some aspects of the business, including carriage in key markets and viewership. Not so much with others, but he's working on it.One year on, Himatsinghani lists carriage on four major platforms in key markets – StarHub (Singapore), Astro (Malaysia), Indovision (Indo- nesia), SkyCable (Philippines) – as highlights."Would I like to be in more markets by now? Yes. I would have loved to be in Hong Kong and Thailand. Things are taking a little longer there... and I would have loved to be on SingTel in Singapore as well, given our great performance in Singa...
8 December 2014: Rewind Networks' Hits turns 1 in December.By the time the Rewind Networks team parties with guests at its first anniversary party on 9 December, founder and chief executive Avi Himatsinghani will have released nine-month average ratings that will prove, among other things, that his Hits channel and "best of" concept can stand tall with big-time entertainers in the space.Hits last released ratings in July this year, showing the channel among Singapore's top three six months after its launch. Hits came in at #3 among international general entertainment channels, with an audience share higher than established rivals among all adults 25+ for the three months from 13 March to 25 June (source: Kantar Media Singapore). The channel was #1 of 14 international GE channels measured in average time spent during prime time on weekends (all people, women and adults 25+). Across the week, Hits ranked #2 in average time spent, with 42 minutes a day. The top channel by time spent was watched for 48 minutes a day and the third-ranked channel for 33 minutes a day. On weekends, Hits rose from #3 in audience share to #2. The latest ratings that show the nine-month average in Singapore were still being compiled at presstime, but Himatsinghani says they prove consistent ongoing performance.How delighted is he? Very with some aspects of the business, including carriage in key markets and viewership. Not so much with others, but he's working on it.One year on, Himatsinghani lists carriage on four major platforms in key markets – StarHub (Singapore), Astro (Malaysia), Indovision (Indo- nesia), SkyCable (Philippines) – as highlights."Would I like to be in more markets by now? Yes. I would have loved to be in Hong Kong and Thailand. Things are taking a little longer there... and I would have loved to be on SingTel in Singapore as well, given our great performance in Singapore... but it hasn’t happened yet," he says, adding: "That's business - some things go as planned and some don't." What has gone as planned is the response to the channel's core proposition: A celebration of the best television shows ever made. Himatsinghani says it is this simple and clear positioning that is, ultimately, Hits' strongest selling point in a crowded entertainment environment. "There is nothing else in the market that delivers this. We fill a gap and that’s what platforms are looking for," he adds. Hits launched as a single regional feed with about 750 hours of programming rights across 13 markets for year one, including hand-picked series such as The Golden Girls, Seinfeld, The A-Team, Cheers, Moonlighting, The X-Files, Mad About You, Married With Children, Taxi, Star Trek – The Next Generation and The Cosby Show, along with early seasons of Criminal Minds and Grey's Anatomy.Series are stripped Mondays to Fridays, and stacked on weekends. "People want binge viewing and we want to give that experience in a linear environment. It's helping us retain audiences and keep them with us for longer," Himatsinghani says.As new carriage deals are signed, the challenge is making sure audiences tuning in for the first time have the same "best of" Hits experience. Himatsinghani and programming vice president and channel head, Sandie Lee, are working on an encore grid designed to keep both old and new audiences happy.Himatsinghani's belief in and support for linear channels is long-held and well known. But he stresses that Hits is not solely a linear channel. "We are a TV everywhere service that also allows authenticated pay-TV subscribers to watch on-demand or live streaming," he says, adding: "We may be called Rewind, but we are pretty forward thinking in terms of what needs to be done".ContentAsia Issue 6, 2014