ITV

Category: GECs

  • RAISE YOUR FINS FOR SHARK WEEK’S 30th ANNIVERSARY FILLED WITH JAWSOME SHARK PROGRAMMING AIRING Monday, September 3rd to 9th on DISCOVERY Channels

    RAISE YOUR FINS FOR SHARK WEEK’S 30th ANNIVERSARY FILLED WITH JAWSOME SHARK PROGRAMMING AIRING Monday, September 3rd to 9th on DISCOVERY Channels

    Delhi, August 31, 2018 – SHARK WEEK, television’s longest-running event takes a bite out of summer for its 30th anniversary, premiering Monday September 3 on Discovery network channels in India – Discovery, Animal Planet, Discovery Turbo, Discovery Science and Discovery Tamil continuing through Sunday, September 9. After three decades and hundreds of shows, SHARK WEEK 2018 celebrates this milestone with an all-star lineup of athletes and celebrities including Shaquille O’Neal, Ronda Rousey, Aaron Rodgers, Rob Gronkowski, Lindsey Vonn, Mark Cuban, Barbara Corcoran, Kevin O’Leary, Daymond John, Guy Fieri and Bear Grylls. In addition, SHARK WEEK’s team of renowned scientists deliver all-new groundbreaking shark stories incorporating innovative research technology to reveal compelling insight into the mysterious world of sharks. Finally, SHARK WEEK 2018 will feature the most hours of shark programming ever on Discovery Channel with over twenty hours of celebrity surprises and jaws-dropping shark stories.

    Check out SHARK WEEK 2018’s fintastic programming schedule here:

    BEAR VS SHARK – Airing on 3rd September at 7 PM

    We’ve seen Bear Grylls survive almost every land-based scenario imaginable, but in Bear VS Shark, Bear takes on a whole new set of challenges against the ocean’s most powerful predators.  And in typical Bear Grylls fashion, he pushes the limits beyond anything we’ve seen in the history of Shark Week. Chumming from a helicopter? Check. Diving into a feeding frenzy? Check. Human bait? Check! Produced by Electus.

    SHAQ DOES SHARK WEEK – Airing on 3rd September at 8 PM

    In the hopes of securing the ultimate symbol of fame and fortune – your very own week – Shaquille O’Neal inadvertently signed himself up to be thrust into the teeth of the 30th Anniversary of Shark Week. There’s only one problem. Shaq doesn’t do Sharks. To overcome his fear of sharks, he’s going to need some help – enter Ex-Marine and comedian Rob Riggle who will help train him at Atlantis, Paradise Island in The Bahamas for the big plunge. Produced by Anomaly Entertainment / Will Packer Productions.

    NAKED AND AFRAID OF SHARKS – Airing on 3th September at 9 PM

    Stranded on a barren island in the middle of the most shark-infested waters on earth, 5 Naked and Afraid All-Stars must survive for 14 days, exclusively on what the ocean provides. Ky Furneaux, Ryan Holt, Chris Fischer, Steven Lee Hall, and Eva Rupert are separately inserted by boat on an island in the Bahamas. They may be Naked and Afraid veterans but here they are in Shark territory.  The boat lands and our Shark Expert comes ashore with the familiar looking bags and some unfamiliar items. These items will help the all-stars survive and get to their completion point over the next 14 days. Produced by Renegade.

    SHARKS GONE WILD – Airing on 4th September at 7 PM

    Discover everything that has happened in the world of sharks this year – the unbelievable viral videos, the It’s Shark Week’s 30th anniversary celebrate with familiar faces like Craig Ferguson, Tracy Morgan, Andy Samberg and more as we count down the 50 GREATEST SHARK WEEK MOMENTS of all time!

    biggest news stories, and the latest cutting-edge shark science. Produced by Main Event Media / All3Media.

    SHARK WEEK’S 50 BEST BITES- AIRING ON 5TH SEPTEMBER AT 7 PM:

    It’s Shark Week’s 30th anniversary celebrate with familiar faces like Craig Ferguson, Tracy Morgan, Andy Samberg and more as we count down the 50 GREATEST SHARK WEEK MOMENTS of all time!

    RONDA ROUSEY UNCAGED – AIRING on 6th SEPTEMBER at 7 PM

    Olympian and UFC Hall of Famer Ronda Rousey sets out to test her courage and prove the fighter mentality that made her a champion will allow her to stare down any opponent- even the Mako Shark. Former Navy diver and shark attack survivor, Paul De Gelder, coaches rookie diver Ronda Rousey through three rounds of survival training against heavyweight opponents including deadly Bull Sharks, all building to a historic “Main Event” where Ronda attempts to step outside the safety of any cage to face the ultimate fighter of the sea – The Mako. Produced by Propagate Content.

    MONSTER TAG – AIRING ON 7TH SEPTEMBER AT 7 PM

    In this thrilling and urgent Shark Week special, Aaron Rodgers, Lindsey Vonn and Rob Gronkowski will join forces with top shark scientists to learn crucial information about the ocean’s top predators. Shark populations are in trouble worldwide, but a daring collection of dedicated shark researchers are using the latest satellite technology to try and save them. If researchers can use satellite wildlife tags to figure out where sharks feed, mate, and birth their pups, the information will be critical to conserving the species. Produced by Propagate Content

    SHARK TANK MEETS SHARK WEEK –AIRING ON 8TH SEPTEMBER AT 7 PM

    In a never-before-seen matchup, two titans of TV come together in SHARK TANK MEETS SHARK WEEK. This time, the Sharks aren’t battling to buy businesses; instead they are all vying for a $50,000 donation on the line. The Sharks are each paired with a shark-centric non-profit where they interact with sharks and uncover the issues sharks are facing. They’ll discover the threats of finning, micro-plastics and the shark-saving measures of tagging or ecotourism. Armed with their newfound knowledge and life changing experiences, our Sharks head back to the Shark Tank studio where, for the first time ever, they have to pitch each other. Mark Cuban, Daymond John, Barbara Corcoran, and Kevin O’Leary have to convince their fellow Sharks, including Robert Herjavec, why their non-profit deserves to win the $50,000 donation. It’s a feeding frenzy of Shark versus Shark. Produced by Radley Studios.

    ALIEN SHARKS: GREATEST HITS- Airing on 9th September at 7 PM

    To flying jaws… To flailing saws… From ghostly green eyes… Unbelievable adaptations…and unique mutations… Deep below the ocean’s surface live some of the strangest creatures and most frightening sharks on Earth. And the deeper you go, the more mysterious they get. In Alien Sharks: Greatest Hits, we’re recounting the biggest discoveries, weirdest adaptations, and most memorable moments from the past five years of Alien Sharks. Produced by Discovery Studios.

  • Sudhanshu Vats unveils Voot’s audacious plans in Viacom18 show of strength

    Sudhanshu Vats unveils Voot’s audacious plans in Viacom18 show of strength

    Viacom18 put on quite a show as it offered a peak into what’s in store for its OTT platform Voot at a five-star hotel in Mumbai on Thursday. Leading the charge was managing director Sudhanshu Vats with key colleagues Monika Shergill, Ajit Andhare, Ravish Kumar and Akash Banerji in tow. The company made a series of box-office announcements, throwing down the gauntlet to competition. Voot showcased the first bundle of its upcoming Voot Originals – 18 multi-lingual premium web series cutting across genres. Viacom18 Motion Pictures, the network’s movie studio, will now be producing web series for VOOT under the banner of Tipping Point Films. 

    In a bid to tap into the country’s regional markets, the regional broadcast entertainment cluster of company will produce multi-lingual Voot Originals. The streaming service will add news (16 live channels across 13 languages) to its diverse portfolio in partnership with Network18. Sprucing up its content and product play, Voot is set to go international, beginning with the United Kingdom in November this year.

    Driving synergies within the network, Vats’ vision is to build a future-ready Viacom18 that is screen, platform and pipe agnostic. In a bid take rapid strides, Viacom18 is bound to throw the might of all its media and entertainment properties behind Voot. Case in point, utilising Reliance Jio as a platform to showcase content and a carrier of the app’s services.

    To ramp up its engagement and user interactivity experience, Voot will be adding to the user search experience and facilitating easy discoverability will be the adoption of Google Watch Action, an industry first in APAC for premium OTT players. The introduction of dolby surround sound for all Voot Originals is a first amongst Indian OTT brands.

    Viacom18’s show of strength not only signals intent but also suggests that the company is building up ammunition in order to go the distance in the OTT warfare. Vats’ ambitious roadmap for Voot is likely to get the early entrants and leaders Hotstar, SonyLIV and Zee5 to sit up and take note.

    Vats, who was promoted last month, has seen the company transition from a joint venture with Viacom to one that is now majority-owned by Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries. After he and his team made the big-ticket Voot announcements, the big boss of Viacom18 sat down to express his views on a range of subjects.

    International distribution

    If you look at the model, particularly the behind paywall model, there are two very important components, which we have to be careful about. One is the acquisition cost, and the other is the marketing. So, at this juncture in our journey as we try and test the waters in the international market, our thinking is that going with a telco partner will be a good thing to do. And the choice of the market is because we wanted to go to a diaspora market, which has got a reasonably good representation of India. It has also got a good mix of traditional Indian families and now the younger audience. It is also a market where we could also test out some of the appeal of the Indian content with youth, population outside of our own diaspora. So from all of those, it was a good mix. UK has got two million south Asian diaspora. Our brand has been there for some time. UK is a market where we have Colors, Rishtey, Colors HD, MTV Beats, and we have a movie channel as well now.

    Partnership with Jio

    We are going to build a deeper relationship with Jio as we go forward. Some of the stuff is already happening. We want to build a lot of interactivity as well. Jio is our both parent and partner. So it makes perfect sense for us to be together. Instead of worrying about other telcos, we focus on what VOOT can do for Jio, and vice-versa. We are strengthening and deepening this partnership. We have a very dedicated partner. Jio has revolutionised the market, they are a leader in any case in data. 

    Revenue model

    You saw few of them (originals). Especially the last one Feet Up With The Stars coming on the AVOD platform. So I think it will be a mix, some of them will be ahead the paywall, some of them may come behind the paywall. It will depend on the timing of our launch, on our strategy. What our product offering will be, it’s premature to talk about this. We are doubling down on original content. As we will go along we will decide what comes where. But as far as AVOD is concerned these originals will also come on AVOD after windowing even these go behind the paywall.

    Marketing mix

    It will be a classic marketing mix. They (Voot) will get right network support that is always there. In case of certain originals, you’ll see 360 degree marketing. Otherwise, network and digital support will be there for all of our shows and that works very well for us. We’ll bring 360 for some others depending on which one and when it is being released. It depends on program to program.

    TRAI’s tariff order

    Let me answer it in three ways. We are working on our response on the tariff order. It is premature for me to comment so I won’t comment on anything specifically. In terms of the order, it’s still sub-judice in some ways because there is a further hearing in Supreme Court on 5 September, and there’s also a Delhi high court case which is on the merits of the order, so those two things are happening in parallel. You will see our response as well and I think like the other players in the industry we’ll respond early September depending on how the Supreme Court case is closed. And I have always said about this tariff order, that at the conceptual level I think it’s a good thing to do but we have to find the right ways to operationalise it. Because in principal, giving more choice to the consumer, it’s the right thing to do especially when digital is also coming in. Having said that TV has had a different phenomenon of bundling and there is some merit in bundling and giving in a bundle. So, we need to find a right balance.

    Voot Kids and the freemium model

    As we go forward we’ll build a portfolio play which is basically what you see currently is an AVOD play. We are going to look at Voot international, which we have announced today already, we are going to look at Voot premium, which we are working on. We’ll also look at a dedicated Voot Kids service and you will hear very shortly about that. That’s a very interesting service, so that’s something we are working on in a very different space. 

    No sports offering

    We’ll continue to evaluate as I have said always about sports, we’ll continue to evaluate the opportunities which will come our way. Some of the big-ticket events are gone for sometime. So, they are locked out for another four-five years. Most of the cricketing properties  like IPL are out. Even the different series of Boards are also out, but we’ll continue to evaluate and we’ll continue to build this.

    Future of OTT industry

    Two or three things that will happen I can say. One is that there is a small section that will get into smartphones, that will be consuming content more digitally even on a television, for example how Netflix is consumed in the US. I think there is a lot of work happening on infrastructure and transportation if you look at it so I see a lot of commute consumption and that will be interesting. The good news is all of it will be incremental consumption. India will  have national scale OTTs, segmented OTTs and in both you may have some national players and some international players. India is a pretty large country for it to have eight to ten very robust OTT models. Among these, four may come from content players like ourselves, there could be one or two very dedicated international players like Netflix and Amazon, there could be also two to three telco players and also some of the telco models. I think India will go the China way, it’ll be a hybrid market, there will be a large AVOD play but there will be also substantial SVOD or premium model.

  • Zee Telugu makes you fall in love this weekend with the World Television Premiere of Happy wedding

    Zee Telugu makes you fall in love this weekend with the World Television Premiere of Happy wedding

    Zee Telugu is set to make this weekend a romantic one for its audience! Super hit Telugu movie, Happy wedding which has Anand (Sumanth Ashwin) and Akshara (Niharika Konidela) as lead, will premiere on 2nd September 2018 at 6:00 PM, only on Zee Telugu and Zee Telugu HD.

    Happy Wedding is a story about Akshara (Niharika Konidela) breaking up with her boyfriend and moving on in life to fall in love with Anand (Sumanth Ashwin). It isn’t as simple as it sounds. The protagonist, Akshara, who is an independent indecisive girl living in Hyderabad, jumps to a decision of getting engaged to Anand who is an ad script writer living in Vijayawada. This love story shows all kinds of complications and confusions that Akshara goes through in having second thoughts about her decision of getting engaged to Anand when her ex-boyfriend starts plotting to claim her again. This confuses Akshara to choose between her boyfriend and her fiancée which later demand the participation of their families in getting them back together.

    Directed by Lakshman Karya, Happy Wedding is themed around how the younger generation is indecisive and unclear on the concept of life and marriage. This movie beautifully captures the complications that the lead pair go through and involve their families to make their way to a successful marriage.

  • Zee TV launches new show ‘Tujhse Hai Raabta’ to conquer 8-9 pm time band

    Zee TV launches new show ‘Tujhse Hai Raabta’ to conquer 8-9 pm time band

    MUMBAI: Zee TV just got its new business head in Aparna Bhosle and the channel is launching a new fiction show named Tujhse Hai Raabta on 3 September, weekdays at 8.30 pm, produced by Full House media.

    Set against a Maharashtrian backdrop, the show depicts the irony of the life when every relationship isn’t truly what meets the eye. It has a year’s contract with the production house and then will be renewed as per the ratings.

    Bhosle said that Zee TV is currently leading by a decent margin from 9 pm to 10.30 pm. “Kumkum Bhagya, Kundali Bhagya and Ishq Subhan Allah are the shows that doing well on the channel. So, if we divide the prime time viewing into three parts, we already have our 9-10.30 pm time slot working best for our channel, so we have 8-9 pm time slot that is left. The strategy is to constitute this slot with two launches,” she said.

    Zee’s shows will continue to show the middle class family. “Largely middle class issues are dealt with very strong female protagonists because we do stand for empowered women. So we are very rooted in that,” she said. There are almost six to seven shows in the pipeline but the trick is to observe and identify which shows works well, at what time and what kind of audiences watch a particular show.

    For now, the content isn’t going to be dubbed into regional languages but it might figure in their to-do list later since the content is also something that the rural audience would like.

    India being a single TV household, channels have to keep females above the age of 30 in their mind. “But you have to look at the least common denominator, which is why we have focused on the wholesome family viewing. So if you look at BARC terms, we target 2+ but we do keep women in mind,” Bhosle explained.

    As far as the marketing and promotional strategies are concerned, as the show is all about the Maharashtrian family, the focus will be on Zee Yuva and Zee Talkies. The channel has also planned above the line activities on other networks such as news channels. “We have also planned outdoor marketing. We will be doing digital marketing as well, but not much. Also, marketing via radio will also be happening in UP and Maharashtra,” she added.  

  • Sony SAB crowns the winner of the ‘FINDING FUNNY’ initiative

    Sony SAB crowns the winner of the ‘FINDING FUNNY’ initiative

    MUMBAI: Sony SAB has announced the winners of its unique activation, ‘Finding Funny’, aimed at spreading happiness and discovering hidden talent. Exclusively for media agencies, the initiative gave an opportunity to media professionals to display their talent for making people laugh. Contestants across media agencies in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore had sent their videos via WhatsApp with their introduction and a presentation of their talent. The shortlisted agency representatives were invited to the regional finals in Mumbai (August 3), Delhi (August 10) and Bangalore (August 14) and the top finalists from each city competed in the final round.

    Hosted and judged by the popular entertainers of AIB, the elimination rounds saw contestants doing various genres of stand-up comedy. The contest saw a different side of media agency professionals, with finalists from Publicis Groupe, Group M, OMD, Interactive Avenues, WM Global and Kantar Analytics Practice competing in the grand finale that was held in Mumbai on Friday, August 24 attended by key clients and senior industry people.

    Chetan Muley from OMD Mumbai was crowned the funniest in the grand finale, with Rahil Hafeez from Interactive Avenues and Rohith Sundaram from WM Global, marking their titles as first and second runners-up. The top three were awarded E-retail vouchers with the winner bagging vouchers worth Rs. 50,000/-

  • Pritam Jit Das joins BBC GoodFood India as chief operating officer

    Pritam Jit Das joins BBC GoodFood India as chief operating officer

    MUMBAI: BBC GoodFood India has strengthened its top-level management by appointing Pritam Jit Das to expand their presence in Print, Digital, TV, Social Media and Events.

    Das has joined BBC GoodFood India as Chief Operating Officer (COO).

    According to the numbers provided, BBC GoodFood India, recently crossed the milestone of over 2 Lac readership in August 2018 (Just 6 months after launching the India Edition). Also the FoodFood TV Channel has 40 million viewership.

    Das was previously working as a Director with One Media Group (OMG) and has handled International & India Projects from Events, Movies, Digital Content & IPs, Food & Lifestyle Shows and Branded Content. Prior to that he was working as Assistant General Manager (AGM) with Hindustan Times (HT Media Ltd), where he was responsible for setting up the overall sales function for Brand Promotions. He was awarded with over achieving Annual Targets and also for Monetizing a new Sub-Category for HT Brand Promotions Entertainment Division. Prior to HT Media Ltd, he had worked with Discovery TLC as India Producer for Ian Wright series (RoastBeef Productions, UK),Mudra Communications, Lintas India Pvt. Ltd and Epigram Advertising, He has rich experience of eighteen years having worked across categories from Entertainment, Travel, Real Estate, Food, Sports, Fashion & Lifestyle.

    He will be directly reporting to CEO & Editor-in-Chief, BBC GoodFood India and CEO & Editor-in-Chief, FoodFood Awards, Shafquat Ali.

    Commenting on his appointment, Das said, “I am excited to join BBC GoodFood India. I believe that going forward, we are all set to bring a big name in the B2B luxury segment for Hospitality Industry (F&B). The focus is to give clients value for money and promote the same via Print, Digital, TV, Social Media and Events. I look forward to workingwith Shafquat &the India team increating new IPs and to consolidate BBC GoodFood India& FoodFood TV Awards as market leaders.

    Commenting on his appointment, BBC GoodFood India, CEO & Editor-in-Chief and FoodFood Awards, CEO & Editor-in-Chief, Shafquat Ali said, “BBC GoodFood India has grown from strength to strength with a record rise in readership, unique visitors and engagement in just six months from its launch. One of the strong pillars of this property is that it has a lot of potential in the luxury B2B segment. With the perfect blend of International & Indian content, BBC GoodFood India along with our Publisher Chef Sanjeev Kapoor, BBC GoodFood India andowner of FoodFood TV Channel, we are confident of being a market leader in this luxury space. We have had a tremendous response for the FoodFood Awards & Summit 2018 (Regional Round already done for Delhi-North, Mumbai-West, and all set to host Bangalore-South (21st Sep), Kolkata-East (28th Nov) &Grand Finale of All the Regional Winners in Mumbai on 19th Dec). BBC GoodFood India magazine is the proud media partner for the same. With the appointment of Pritam, we are gearing up to create new IPs that could bolster our portfolio and shore up the bottom lineand best-in-class events for our valued clients.”

  • Do ideal sons also make for ideal husbands, questions &TV’s new fiction show ‘Perfect Pati’

    Do ideal sons also make for ideal husbands, questions &TV’s new fiction show ‘Perfect Pati’

    MUMBAI: Can an ideal son also be an ideal husband? What happens when a newly married woman realises her husband is not the man she expected him to be? Answering these questions will be &TV’s brand-new fiction offering, Perfect Pati which premieres September 3rd every Monday to Friday at 9:30 pm. Produced by Filmfarm India Pvt Ltd., Perfect Pati marks the television debut of veteran actress Jaya Prada who will be seen essaying the character of Rajyashree Rathod, a dynamic and modern mother-in-law. Television actor Ayush Anand essays the role of her son, the stylish and cunning Pushkar Rathod while Sayali Sanjeev will play the small-town girl Vidhita Rajawat.

    Set against the backdrop of Rajasthan, Perfect Pati will take viewers through the life of Vidhita, who like many young girls dreams of an idealistic image of her prospective partner. Her approach towards life and situations is in complete contrast to that of Pushkar’s, a rich, attractive and aggressively over-protective man. As the story progresses, Vidhita is in for a rollercoaster ride when her marriage with Pushkar leads to a ‘not so perfect’ married life causing her to deal with various unexpected ups and downs. The narrative touches upon how Rajyashree successfully manages the roles of both being a mother and mother-in-law. Narrating the non–idealistic married life of Vidhita and Pushkar, the show attempts to question the thought that whether an ideal son is capable of being an ideal husband. 

    Speaking about the concept of this show, Vishnu Shankar, Head, &TV said, “At &TV, our attempt is to present narratives which highlight the evolving mindset of new India. Our latest addition to this portfolio is Perfect Pati that provides a fresh perspective to the portrayal of a mother-in-law on screen and highlights how the daughter-in-law, being a woman of today deals with her life choices. While we are proud to introduce a strong concept that will prove to be a catalyst of change, we are equally excited that we have a personality of the stature of Jaya Prada leading it. We are positive viewers will appreciate this new offering from our end.”

    Talking about the show Rupali Guha, Producer, Filmfarm India Pvt Ltd said, “The concept of Perfect Pati is quite fresh and contemporary with an extremely relatable narrative. The show highlights the emphasis that is put into finding the perfect bahu with set parameters of how an ideal daughter-in-law should be for the son of the house. But very little or no attention is given to whether that son deserves a perfect wife. The show aims to create a change in the way society looks at the entire process of marriage in India, I hope this show is accepted by the audience and furthermore broadens our perspectives.”

    Speaking about her first stint on the small screen, the legendary Jaya Prada said, “The character of Rajyashree Rathod will redefine the way a mother-in-law is usually portrayed on Indian television. She is a confident and dynamic woman who will be seen juggling various responsibilities, be it her family business, social work or running a household. She shows her mettle when faced with the difficult decision of choosing between right and wrong. I’m glad that &TV offered me such a progressive character in Perfect Pati with which I begin a new chapter in my professional life.”

    Talking about essaying the character of Vidhita, actress Sayali Sanjeev said, “Vidhita, a charming and optimistic 20-year old is an educated, young and independent woman. She is deeply rooted in tradition, yet modern in her thoughts and approach towards life. As I set out on this new journey with Perfect Pati, I’m both nervous and excited to play Vidhita.”

    Ayush Anand, who will be seen playing a dark and intense character said, “My character Pushkar has a menacing attitude and a rather daunting way of protecting his family. While he seems lovable and protective, his is a complicated personality, unpredictable in nature and has many shades of grey to him. Viewers though will be intrigued by his character and keen to know his next step as the story unfolds.”

    Bringing forth a new outlook to a woman’s decision of choosing her life companion, &TV’s Perfect Pati will answer the much-ignored question of whether an ideal son can also be an ideal husband. Tune into Vidhita’s journey of finding her Perfect Pati from September 3rd, every Monday to Friday at 9:30 PM only on &TV!

  • A contemporary take on love online: COLORS launches Internet Wala Love

    A contemporary take on love online: COLORS launches Internet Wala Love

    MUMBAI: There was a time when shyly exchanged handwritten notes and a dropped handkerchief from a girl for her beau would be the onset of a potential relationship. Today, with the increasing use of the internet, you can swipe your way into a relationship because you’re just a click away from love.  COLORS,India’s premium Hindi entertainment channel brings viewers a vibrant and young, new age love story with its latest offering –Internet Wala Love. Jai (Shivin Narang) and Aadhya (Tunisha Sharma) are like chalk and cheese. Jai eats, breathes and lives for social media while Aadhya is wary of the Internet and limits her interactions on social media platforms. This quirky and playful narrative explores what happens when the duo unintentionally cross paths. The show boasts a stellar lineup that includes Minissha Lamba, Varun Badola, Jayati Bhatiaand others in pivotal roles. Produced by Sphere Origins, Internet Wala Love will premiere on 27thAugust at 7 pm only on COLORS. 

    Elaborating on this development, Manisha Sharma, Programming Head COLORSsaid, “Adding to our diverse programming line-up, we are very excited to present  Internet Wala Love – a vibrant and young show that has new age relevance. The story follows the journey of Jai, a young boy who is obsessed with the internet and Aadhya who finds the internet very invasive. The narrative, with its twists and turns will weave an intriguing story around social media that has taken over our worlds.”

    Commenting on the show, Producer Sunjoy Waddhwa from Sphere Originssaid, “With COLORS, we get the opportunity to explore subjects which are not only entertaining but also relevant. With Internet Wala Love, the idea is to present a youthful story that young audiences and their families can connect too. The narrative, the cast and the creative teams have all knit together to present viewers with a show that we believe will be a joy to watch.”

    Internet Wala Love is set in New Delhi wherein the protagonist Jai works as an RJ at a popular radio station and belongs to the growing tribe of people whose lives need to be chronicled over the internet. According to him, anything and everything can happen on social media – be it online shopping, banking or love. Aadhya on the other, is a self- disciplined girl who doesn’t believe in the concept of online dating or the perks of social media.  She works with a wedding planning agency which is headed by Mahira (Minissha Lamba), a perfectionist who likes things her way. 

    Commenting on his role, Shivin Narang exclaimed, “Jai is a happy go lucky guy, who lives in the present. He is free spirited, full of energy and wears his heart on his sleeve.  My character lives his life for social media which I personally find hard to do. Also, its first time I am playing an RJ which requires you to be very exuberant and I am undergoing training to do justice for the role.  I hope that all these efforts pay off and I can’t wait for the show to begin.” 

    Tunisha Sharma further added saying, “The internet has its pros and cons, but I do believe that with moderation, all goes well. There are glimpses of myself that you will see in my character Aadhya; the show has a beautiful concept and is very relatable. I hope the audiences shower us with their love and support.”

  • K Madhavan presents the cheque to Kerala CM Shri Pinarayi Vijayan

    K Madhavan presents the cheque to Kerala CM Shri Pinarayi Vijayan

    MUMBAI: Star India today announced it will increase its donation to Rs 5 crores for the CM’s Distress Relief Fund for the relief and rehabilitation efforts in Kerala. Star India had previously announced a Rs 2 crore donation however seeing the scale of the disaster, Star India and its employees stepped up to increase the donation along with its parent company 21st Century Fox. 

    Star India along with employee contributions of employees of Star India network and matching contributions of Star and parent company 21st Century Fox, have donated a cumulative sum of Rs 5 crores to the Kerala Chief Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund.

    K Madhavan, MD – South, Star India, presented the cheque to Shri Pinarayi Vijayan, Hon’ble Chief Minster of Kerala, today. (Picture attached)

    In addition, Star’s #AllForKerala campaign supported by over 60 stars and celebrities in 8 languages across 50 channels and Hotstar is inspiring millions to join the relief efforts. 

    Uday Shankar, President 21st Century Fox – Asia, and Chairman and CEO – Star India, said, “Our hearts go out to those affected by this tremendous natural disaster. But we are also heartened by the stories of communities helping each other through this difficult time. We believe we must do everything in our power to help along with leveraging the power of our platform to inform and inspire citizens to join the relief and rehabilitation process. I sincerely hope many other companies will be able to provide assistance to families and communities in need of help.”

    K Madhavan, MD – South, Star India,  said, “Kerala is in a terrible state, and we have a huge responsibility, as a media house, to support the situation. We are exploring all the possibilities of how to give them the right support. We think the next phase would involve moving beyond the initial mobilisation and awareness to the longer term focus on rehabilitation and repair, which we shall remain committed to help make happen.”

  • COLORS Continues to Spread the Joy of Its 10 Year Celebration with a humanitarian drive ‘Roshni – Andheron Mein Rang Bhariye’

    COLORS Continues to Spread the Joy of Its 10 Year Celebration with a humanitarian drive ‘Roshni – Andheron Mein Rang Bhariye’

    MUMBAI: COLORS, India’s premium Hindi entertainment channel recently celebrated its 10 Year milestone. Changing the country’s social narrative with compelling stories, the channel is now extending its brand philosophy Chuno Apne Rangfrom reel to real with the humanitarian drive‘Roshni – Andheron Mein Rang Bhariye’. This empowering initiative by the channel encourages viewers to take a pledge and donate theireyes to brighten the lives of the visually impaired. 

    ‘Roshni – Andheron Mein Rang Bhariye’aims at bringing light to the lives of the visually challenged. This initiative is the second phase of its Chuno Apne Rangbrand philosophy that encouraged viewers to choose an emotion that they relate to most and identify that with a specific colour, thereby inspiring one to express themselves in their unique way.Roshni…is choosing to make a difference and giving the gift of sight to the blind.

    To bring alive this vision, COLORShas partnered with the Eye Bank Association of Indiawhich is the most credible organization that works with eye donors across the nation. The drive is positioned to peak during the Eye Donation Fortnight from 25th August to 8th Sept. Showcasing its unwavering commitment to this cause, COLORS will be changing its main on-air logo to BLACKand back to its regular colour during the period of the campaign. Its social media assets will be following a similar route with all posts and video content becoming grey scale while flagging off on the campaign on  17thAugust. Bollywood superstar Salman Khan, Mouni Roy and the leads of the marquee shows on the channel like Jennifer Winger, Nia Sharma, Rubina Dilaik and Harshad Chopra will be seen making an appeal to viewers to be part of this noble cause. 

    Raj Nayak – COO, Viacom18 elaborated on the same saying, “COLORS has always ushered in positive change in society through its progressive and socially relevant story telling. We continue to bring this ideology to life with our association with the Eye Bank Association of India. Roshni…is an attempt to include our viewers in the social change we aspire to bring through and make a difference to the lives of the visually impaired. It’s time to spread colour in a world that is dark for many.”

    The campaign will further be amplified through radio announcements and on ground camps across the country.   

    COLORS believes that no territory is forbidden, no experiment too difficult, and no label strong enough to contain yourself. Join COLORS in this journey and pledge to make a difference to somebody’s life.