We believe luxury is here to stay: Ashit Kukian on new show ‘Luxury Time'

Times Network has launched a new show that will air across six of its channels and will span across genres, that is, news and entertainment/ movies. Based on premium luxury, the show, named ‘Luxury Time’, is slated to air on weekend primetime slots on ET Now, Times Now, Magicbricks Now, Romedy Now HD, Romedy Now SD and MN+. Scheduled to be aired from Saturday, August 27, 2016, the show will showcase luxury in the true sense – luxurious living, aspirational brands, gourmet cuisines, exotic destinations and the likes.

The show, designed for the high-end audience, aims to be an international barometer of luxury and sophistication.

The debut season will comprise 12 episodes of 30 minutes each and will span across categories like travel, lifestyle, personal care, accessories, fashion, gourmet, gadgets and premium stationery.

Each episode will feature notable experts and celebrities who will talk about the latest trends in each of the categories. The show will feature names such as:  Bulgari CEO, Jean-Christophe Babin; Chopard Co-President & Creative Director, Caroline Scheufele; Tag Heuer CEO, Jean-Claude Biver; Breitling VP, Jean-Paul Girardin; Maharaja Gajendra Singh of The Ummaid Bhavan Palace, Jodhpur; jewelry designer Nirav Modi; fashion designer Raghavendra Singh Rathore; and  Gauri Devidayal, Partner, The Table, among many others.

Commenting on the show launch, Ashit Kukian, President - Revenue, Times Network, said, “The luxury industry in India is a fast growing industry with an average growth rate of 15 per cent to 20 per cent. Being the strongest in the English language space, reaching 67 per cent of the English speaking audience, Times Network attracts the leisured and privileged class of the HNIs. This makes the network and the show, ‘Luxury Time’, the best platform for luxury industry to connect with its target audience and offer viewers unique experiences within the world of luxury. Additionally, the group lends brand ‘Luxury Time’ the rich history of being India’s largest and oldest media house, while leading in multiple segments.”

He further added, “It is expected that in 2020, the average age of an Indian will be 29 years, which reflects that the spending power of this population will continue to grow and they will be spending over 40 per cent of their monthly income on some of the world’s largest luxury brands. And keeping the same in mind, the timing for launching the show now was most appropriate to reach millennials who are ready for exclusive experiences. ‘Luxury Time’ will showcase forward-thinking ideas in luxury travel, business, culture, fashion, food and technology.”

On being asked about choosing luxury for the new show and not any other category, Kukian told AdGully, “It all depends on what we see as future. And we believe luxury is here to stay, keeping in mind the way India is progressing, the number of millennials concentrating on luxury, the number of people investing on luxury products. So this is the right time to launch the show.”

Instead of trying to attract a diverse set of viewers, Times Network is focusing on catering to its existing viewers for the new show, who are already at the top of the pyramid, higher than the English audience viewer. “We believe luxury is also one area of interest we take on it. And numbers will come if the subject is of interest. I don’t think it is the number game we are doing,” Kukian maintained.

He further said that ‘Luxury Time’ would not be an AFP, but a proper content driven show. “We have initially gone the pure content route on the channel. Let the content get established. Maybe a month from now, we will start seeing the product and get sponsors onboard,” he added.

Times Network will have inter-channel promos to begin with for ‘Luxury Time’. Once that is done, marketing activities will be undertaken on a larger scale.

Kukian informed that ‘Luxury Time’ would have a mix of people associated with brands, products and so forth. “That strategy of content is fairly fluid, but having said that. you will have who’s who of the luxury industry come and talk about maybe about the whole brand or the category per say. But it will be a very informative, nice-to-know information that we look to deliver going forward,” he concluded.