The first big move after revamping the channel: Associating with Ram Gopal Varma's movie Mast. The channel is airing special capsules of the movie in its various shows like Channel V Oye and Channel V News under the banner Movie of the Week, besides running contests.

The preview of the movie songs will have a high rotation on the channel. "Movies will be one of the vehicles to ensure better bond with the youth in the country. Mast is an ideal movie to extend our brand as it targets the 15-25-year-olds," said Ajay Vidyasagar, director, commercial, Channel V India.

Channel V is sending the hero of the movie, Aftab, to colleges and youth hangout joints in 10 cities of the country to have autograph and interactive sessions. The entire on-ground activity is being branded as AftabAffair. The aim: To distribute and merchandise caps and T-shirts. "We will have logos of Channel V and the movie on our products. This is Channel V's first effort to get into merchandising," said Vidyasagar.

The channel is also running an on-air contest, the winners of which will be given tickets to see the first show on the first day. "We are using a bunch of our assets on the box and outside the TV sets to market the movie and project ourselves as a youth channel brand," said Vidyasagar.

Barely a month after its revamp, Channel V has succeeded in segmenting the youth market. Companies like Coca-Cola are advertising their products in the different time bands in line with their audience fit. While Sprite is advertised on the teenage strip between 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Coca-Cola is on the `mainstream' band (7-10 p.m.) and Diet Coke on the `young adult' (10-12 p.m.). Arvind Mills has also taken spots on the three different time bands for its products. While Lee which is targetted at the young adult is on thelate night band, Excalibur is on the `mainstream' strip and Lee Youth on the `teen' show.

"We are the only channel to offer an opportunity for advertisers to segment the youth market," said Vidyasagar.