MUMBAI: Hindi music channel Sony Mix has made it to the position of best music channel in India for eight weeks, according to TVT (television viewers in thousands) ratings for week 51 of 2013 to week 6 of 2014 by TAM. The channel beat its closest competitor, 9XM by almost 10 million visitors in the said eight week period. Executive vice president & business head, Sony MAX & Sony MIX, Neeraj Vyas spoke to Radioandmusic.com about the feat, the channel’s programming team, change in advertising rates and business strategies for 2014.

What do you think has contributed to this success? Have you seen a rise in viewership for particular shows?

MIX was established as a destination dedicated to music and all that belongs to it. We were and continue to be the only music channel that is completely focused on providing the entire Indian family a wholesome and expansive music based entertainment. To this effect we acquired one of the largest music libraries by having deals with all leading labels, day-parted the playout to suit our viewers mood, credit every artiste involved in putting together a composition, developed the only platform where leading artistes share their music experiences – MIX Solos, ensured retro songs look better through technological intervention, innovated the breakthrough tie-up with Fever 104 FM in launching TV KA Pehla Radio Show and ensured that our channel is available across all leading cable and satellite platforms. Results are there for everyone to see now as we are the undisputed No. 1 music channel no matter how you cut the audience groups. The rise in viewership has been across all day parts. Unlike in appointment viewing genres, in our case there is no particular show that unilaterally works. The channel is looked at as a bouquet of offering and the rise and fall in viewership is a judgment of the overall channel, not a particular time band or program.

What have your unique visitors per month been for the past eight weeks?

This has been the biggest success parameter for us. Our cumulative reach for the last 8 weeks i.e. from TAM week 51 of 2013 to TAM week 6 of 2014, stands at 54.5 million. This is almost 10 million more than the No. 2 reach channel i.e. 9XM with its eight week average standing at 44.9 million.

Has your social media activity and presence contributed to this success?

One cannot directly extrapolate any of our other platforms' presence to the success of on-air channel. Though standalone our organic growth on Facebook has been an unbelievable upwards of 7 lakh likes. Our page interactivity given the base is also at a healthy scale.

Tell us about your programming team

Ours is a very small but highly 'invested in Music' team. Under Alleyah (MIX Programming Head) we have a very capable three member core programming team supported excellently by 2 people each in music scheduling and on-air scheduling and further bolstered by a two people manned On-air Programming unit. There is one person who takes care of Marketing and Research. Overall it is an 11 member team which supports me in running MIX while I head both MIX and MAX. Programming-wise the idea is to focus on Music. Not just the newness of it, but also its variety and range; Not just the focus on songs, but also on the people behind them; Not just break-less music, but programming and scheduling as per mood and tempo of the audience; Not just filler spots, but innovative and interesting programs like MIX Solos and TV Ka Pehla Radio Show.

Will this affect your ad rates?

The ad rates have to definitely go up for the entire music genre not only for Sony Mix which is currently the No. 1 but for all the music channels in India. This is because the genre has been terribly undersold but it provides substantial reach in the Hindi speaking market

What are your plans for 2014?

In the coming months you will find a lot of scaling up from MIX in terms of growing existing properties with bigger names of the music industry and also a few more innovative concepts on the line of original music production.

What will your business strategy be for 2014?

Our strategy for 2014 and all of MIX's future will be to position the channel as a channel dedicated to music and all that belongs to it. We intend to do this by continuing to invest in the widest music acquisition possible and support it with the most extensive distribution and promote through network support, extensive ground activations in all digitised markets, a regular and strong PR push and a strong online presence.