CBC South Asian TV: 5000 years of great TV in the making

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  • CBC South Asian TV On Demand went beyond Bollywood clichés. It was a mix of documentary, infotainment, history, biography and culture that appealed to white collar, highly educated professional South Asian Canadians. We addressed their intelligence and cultural confidence, positioning this CBC offering as the sum of 5000 years of glorious culture, all of it fit for television, a big idea in a single phrase. CBC South Asian TV: 5000 years of great TV in the making.

    A series of print ads promoted individual titles: superstar Aamir Khan’s Bob-Hope-style meet-the-troops tour documentary during the Kargil crisis; a gritty award-winning documentary on a uniquely Indian subculture: India’s ladyboys; the hugely successful Walk the Talk interviews with Bollywood’s biggest stars at their most candid, fumbles, warts and all. Advertorials supported the sophisticated launch print with a strong educational message. A special DVD mailing/sampling gave key opinion leaders a test drive to close the loop.

  • CBC South Asian TV emerged as a high-impact, tangible and cost-efficient diversity initiative for CBC.
    This launch produced an 18-fold increase in CBC on Demand’s viewership.

    CBC South Asian TV became the most-watched “folder” on Rogers On Demand at 30,000 viewings per month, accounting for 25% of all viewings at the time. CBC South Asian TV helped Rogers battle satellite TV and increased digital cable subscriptions.

    The advertising and the service itself both received favourable reviews and extensive coverage from the ethnic media.