n January 1 VH1, Viacom�s third channel in India after MTV and Nick, went on air. For the few lovers of international music in the country who had for long been subjected to remixes of Hindi songs and Punjabi pop music, and who had bemoaned losing the supposed English music channels MTV and Channel [V] to �local� content, this of course was something to cheer about. Though MTV claimed that VH1 had excited advertisers across different categories (The Brand Reporter, January 1-15, 2005), two months down the line VH1 is still �commercial free�.
In India, VH1 caters to a niche audience in the SEC A and B in the age group of 16-44 years. This upscale audience would attract advertisers from categories such as music labels, automobiles and other high-end goods which are a �natural fit� for the channel, MTV had said. The channel still takes this stand: "VH1 will continue to target a premium segment of advertisers such as automobiles, premium liquor, financial products, insurance and telecom products. Most importantly, it will serve a need gap for music labels to advertise their international repertoire," a spokesperson for the channel says.
"It was important for us to initially get some amount of metro-centric distribution in place before approaching potential clients," says VH1, explaining the absence of advertising on the channel. "Having done that, we�ve devised Premium Value Packs for some of our strategic category partners. Our ad sales team is all set to take this out shortly." Internationally, VH1 has a host of advertisers including Pepsi, Sony, Volkswagen, BMW, Johnson & Johnson and Kellogg among others.... more