MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Networks India further strengthens its spot in Hindi Music space with the launch of a brand new music channel Sony Rox HD. Also, for the first time a music channel collaborates with Dolby Digital, for 100 per cent Dolby audio content.

The premium ‘true-blue’ HD Hindi Music channel which was launched yesterday 15 January 2016, in Mumbai, is ready to be the ultimate destination for contemporary music enthusiasts.

Today, 16 January 2017, at a press conference, Sony ROX HD highlighted the latest Hindi film music in high definition visual format that is enhanced by Dolby Audio. The most recent player in the Hindi music channel site, assured only one of its kind programming along with distinctive interstitials such as ‘ROX School of Music’, 'ROX Recommends', ‘Gigs in your Town’, ‘ROX Original Artiste of the Month’, ‘Rhythm and ROX’, ‘Red Hot ROX’, ‘ROX Night Out’ and more.

Talking about it in terms of accusation curation, playout, Sony Pictures Networks India senior EVP and business head Neeraj Vyas said, “It is going to be the music of the last ten years and that is the endeavour. There are already 15-18 music channels of different genres, however, there is a lot that should be done and which is why we came up with this. The view of the channel is neat as the focus was minimal. We have put a lot of effort in quality and visuals. End of the day, it is an HD channel and in collaboration with Dolby, we can assure that our viewers will enjoy the music in HD households.”

On asking about what was the demand in the market before launching another music channel, NP Singh stated, “We must expand our footprint, and this time pure high definition, youth focused, best of HD quality video and Dolby audio. There is not always a demand, you have to create the demand. There are 15 music channels and when we did some research before venturing out and got the insights, we saw that today’s youth don’t have a dedicated destination when it comes to music they want to listen to and the kind of video and audio quality they want to go for. However, with this launch, we are geared to take the leadership position in the broadcast of music entertainment. We decided, let Sony ROX HD be the next hub for best for top quality content including audio and video, again after Sony MIX.”

He also added while Sony MIX will cater to SD households, ROX HD should be set as the premium contemporary music channel for youth in HD households.

As the independent music outlook in India is booming now, Radioandmusic.com asked Neeraj Vyas about their estimation on it. “Bollywood is everywhere. Promoting independent artist is a challenge as the viewers/listeners are less compared to Bollywood. However, we are featuring ‘ROX Original Artiste of the Month’ where indie artists from all over India will be featured,’’ he put it up in plain words.

On this collaboration, Dolby laboratories senior director Pankaj Kedia stated, “For a cinematic experience a great sound is essential and Dolby is excited to unveil a dynamic audio experience for consumes.”

According to Neeraj Vyas and NP Singh, this channel is mainly for youth aged between 15-21. Initially, the target audience will be specifically for the six metros with leading DTH and Digital cable platforms. They will pay attention to mini metros and throughout the country later on. Vyas further added that they are also planning to execute many things including, star interviews, music reviews and more.

While talking about competition strategy and differentiation, the head honcho, Vyas said that they have some unique features such as trending songs of the week, gigs in town, ROX school of music, something that the other Hindi music channels are not catering to.