ITV

Category: GECs

  • Star Plus gears up for 22nd Annual Screen Awards

    Star Plus gears up for 22nd Annual Screen Awards

    MUMBAI: Star India has acquired the rights to the 22nd Annual Screen Awards, which are slated to take place on 8 January in Mumbai. The awards will be aired on Star Plus.

     

    While the telecast rights of the Screen Awards vested with Star Plus from 2000 to 2011, Colors showcased the awards in 2012 and 2013. However, for the last two years (2014-15), Star India’s second Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) Life OK aired the awards. This year, the network has decided to put back the awards extravaganza on its flagship Hindi GEC Star Plus.

     

    While the final telecast date of the awards has not yet been decided, it is likely to be aired on Star Plus in the last week of January.

     

    The 22nd Annual Star Screen Awards will see a stellar line-up of some of the biggest names in Indian cinema along with the characters of Star Plus’ shows.

     

    “Screen Awards are the Indian film Industry’s most coveted and distinguished awards built on credibility and integrity, recognising the best of talent. With the acquisition of Screen this year, the reason for celebrations has doubled. We hope to set a new benchmark with Star Screen Awards 2016 cherishing and celebrating the star studded night,” said a Star Plus spokesperson.

  • Colors lines up new shows; ‘Krishnadasi’ to replace ‘Bigg Boss 9’ on weekdays

    Colors lines up new shows; ‘Krishnadasi’ to replace ‘Bigg Boss 9’ on weekdays

    MUMBAI: Colors is all set to ring in the new year with a bunch of new shows in the reality as well as fiction space. And kick-starting the new show launches will be the fiction series Krishnadasi, which will be replacing Bigg Boss 9 on weekdays from 25 January as the popular reality show reaches its finale later this month. 

    Krishnadasi will be a one hour show and will  be aired in the 10.30 pm – 11.30 pm time slot. 

    Produced by South Indian producer Kutty Padmini and Optimystix Productions, Krishnadasi will revolve around the life of a young girl Aaradhya. Krishnadasi is the tale of unconditional love of a woman for Lord Krishna. Though the concept is not necessarily new to the audience with the tale of Meera that was aired on NDTV Imagine in 2009, it will be interesting to watch how Colors’ offering is different. 

    What’s more, with Arjun Kapoor as the host of the show, Colors will be back with season seven of Khatron Ke Khiladi – Kabhi Peeda, Kabhi Keeda. A source close to the development informed Indiantelevision.com that the show is likely to be aired from 30 January as it will replace Bigg Boss 9 on weekends (Saturday and Sunday) at 9 pm.

    The promo of the show is currently on air. As was earlier reported by this website, the 20-episode season of Khatron Ke Khiladi – Kabhi Peeda, Kabhi Keeda, produced by Endemol Shine India has been shot extensively in Argentina.

    Another show in the pipeline is the second season of Mission Sapne. To make someone’s dream come true, Bollywood stars will spend one day as a common man. The show is produced by Sobo Films and will be aired at 11 am every Sunday from 17 January.

    In week 51 of Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India ratings, Colors propelled to the number position in the Hindi general entertainment channels’ (GECs) genre thanks to the Bigg Boss 9 power packed weekend episode featuring Shah Rukh Khan along with the show’s host Salman Khan.

    It will be interesting to see how the fresh line-up of new shows affects Colors’ ratings in the near future. 

  • Rashmi Sharma Telefilms upbeat with 7 shows on air; mulls comedy show

    Rashmi Sharma Telefilms upbeat with 7 shows on air; mulls comedy show

    MUMBAI: What’s common between Star Plus’ Saath Nibhana Saathiya and Colors’ Sasural Simar Ka and Swaragini, which incidentally have also been among the top rated shows across the Hindi general entertainment channels (GEC) genre?

     

    The answer is simple – Rashmi Sharma Telefilms. All three chart topping shows have been produced by this decade old production house. 

     

    Apart from the three mentioned above, the production house currently has another three shows running across channels including Bhagyalakshmi and Santoshi Maa on &TV as well as Sarojini on Zee TV. What’s more, come 4 January, 2016 and Rashmi Sharma Telefilms will be taking its total shows on air tally to seven with the launch of Silsila Pyaar Ka on Star Plus, which will be aired in the 8.30 pm time band.

     

    What’s more, after trying its hand at different genres, Rashmi Sharma Telefilms is now planning to dabble into yet another genre. Speaking to Indiantelevision.com Rashmi Sharma Telefilms producer Rashmi Sharma says, “We are working on a comedy concept but it’s too early to talk about it. But yes, in 2016 we might come up with a comedy show.”

     

    Throwing light on the production house’s run on Indian television so far, she further adds, “It’s purely hard work and the consistency that we maintain in changing the thought process of the shows. Not only with Saath Nibhana Saathiya or Sasural Simar Ka but with other shows like Swaragini and Santoshi Maa as well; we keep innovating with content and introduce new twists and turns, which makes the shows interesting and lively.”

     

    Saath Nibhana Saathiya and Sasural… are the banner’s two longest running shows and are also among the top five shows in Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India’s ratings. “One show is based on a Gujarati family, while the other is a Delhi based story and both stories are completely different from each other. We started with Simar’s story in Sasural Simar Ka but today the elements in the show are different. Not only that, they are also different from other shows that are on television. We try to maintain the DNA of our shows throughout their journey,” informs Sharma.

     

    The production house’s newest offering, Silsila Pyaar Ka revolves around the story of a mother who has controlled her son’s life and wants to write every chapter of his life. The story creates a twist when a girl enters his life.

     

    Silsila Pyaar Ka is replacing Balaji Telefilms’ Kuch Toh Hai Tere Mere Darmiyaan, which was launched on 29 September. Speaking on the same, Sharma says, “I can’t comment on the show as I have never seen it but I believe every show has its own destiny. When I started my shows Saathiya… and Sasural… I never thought that the shows would cross 1300 episodes. We believe in hard work and TRP is something, which is not in our hands. We look for quality and ratings are just the motivation to do better. But one can’t make shows on the basis of ratings. I still remember till about 80 episodes of Swaragini, we sustained at an average level but we never pulled down the show because of ratings. We never touched the foundation of the show. Even with Saathiya,till 100 episodes the show didn’t work well but we didn’t take off the show and today it’s one of the top shows on Star Plus.” 

     

    Talking about the early prime time slot that Saath Nibhana Saathiya created with its popularity, Sharma says, “For our show Saathiya, we waited for seven months for the time slot and at that time 7 pm was the slot that the channel agreed to give. As a production house we were excited to launch the show and it created its own prime time. It has worked well for us and for the channel as well. Even with Sasural Simar Ka, the channel was ready to give us the 7.30 pm time band as at 8 pm they had Balika Vadhu. Moreover, their others shows were also doing well and so we opted for 7.30 pm and it worked again. Initially Sasural Simar Ka didn’t work well and took time to establish. Today, it is one of the top rated shows on the channel.”

     

    With seven shows on air and another in the pipeline, the production house sure seems upbeat about its journey ahead.

  • Hindi GECs to celebrate New Year with special programming

    Hindi GECs to celebrate New Year with special programming

    MUMBAI: Hindi general entertainment channels (GECs) are all set to welcome 2016 with a host of special programming. From Star Plus, Zee TV to Colors, while some have lined up special shows, some others have kept their line-up unchanged for New Year’s eve.

    Let’s look at what the major Hindi GECs have in store:

    Star Plus

    To make New Year’s eve special for viewers, Star Plus will be airing the sixth edition of Big Star Entertainment Award 2015. The award function will be aired on 31 December at 7:30 pm.

    Star Plus has roped in Vaseline as the presenting sponsor for the show and Panasonic smart phones as the co-powered by sponsor. Some of the other brands that have associated with the special show are Godrej No.1 and Reliance.

    Colors

    Colors will be playing it safe on 31 December and will be moving away from the traditional award night airing on New Year’s eve. Instead it will be airing the Stardust Awards on 10 January at 7 pm.

    Though the channel has kept the programming line-up unchanged on 31 December, it plans to introduce new twist & turns on its current shows. Therefore, under the label of 31 New Year Dhamaka, Colors will start its prime time from 6:30 pm with its shows namely Ishq Ka Rang Safed (6.30 pm), Thapki Pyar Ki (7 pm), Sasural Simar Ka (7.30 pm),Balika Vadhu (8 pm), Udaan (8.30 pm), Chakarvartin Ashok Samart (9 pm), Swarigini (9.30 pm), Meri Ashiqui Tum Se Hi (10 pm) and ending with Bigg Boss Nau New Year special at 10.30 pm.

    Zee TV

    On New Year’s eve, Zee TV’s primetime dramas namely Ek Tha Raja Ek Thi Rani and Tashn-E-Ishq will welcome 2016 with a star-studded evening showcasing performances by popular faces of Indian television.

    With each of Zee TV’s shows seeing twists & turns, the new primetime on 31 December will be from 6 – 11 pm.

    It may be recalled that to mark the end of this year, Zee TV aired Jashn-E-Umeed 2015  on 27 December, a two hour special celebration episode, which was aired from 5 – 7 pm. The highlights of the year gone by was presented through thematic acts and hilarious gags by the most popular faces of Indian television.

    Sony Entertainment Television

    Sony Entertainment Television will welcome 2016 by raising a toast to movies, Bollywood actors and music with the telecast of the Guild Awards 2015, which will be aired on 1 January at 8 pm.

    The channel has roped in Renault as the presenting sponsor, whereas Lux and Quick Heal have hopped on board as the co-powered by sponsors.

    Life OK

    Life OK will be ringing in the New Year with a two-hour special called Comedy Classes – Hansi ka Shree Ganesh on 31 December. Along with the regular cast, other popular comedians and celebrities from tinsel town and television will also be seen in this special, which will air at 10 pm on 31 December.

  • Zee TV welcomes the New Year with ‘Jashn E Ummeed’

    Zee TV welcomes the New Year with ‘Jashn E Ummeed’

    MUMBAI: To mark the end of this year, Zee TV presents Jashn-E-Ummed 2015, a two hour special celebration of the highlights of the year that has gone by – presented through thematic acts and hilarious gags by the most popular faces of Indian television. The celebration will have the most sought after faces of the television industry bringing alive your evening with performances that depict the milestone events of 2015 on chartbuster songs! This special celebration episode will air on Dec 27th from 5-7 pm.

     

    So, as the stars do a recap of the most defining moments of 2015 through song and dance, the vivacious hosts Ali Asgar & Gaurav Gera will add their own flavor of masti to all the madness on the show. Bringing the romance alive on stage in the special Romantic act, Gurmeet Choudhary-Sargun Mehta and Vishal Singh-Sana Khan will floor everyone by their graceful moves and the romantic feel with which they perform to songs like Sun Sathiya, Gulabo, Tung Tung baje and Main rang sharbato ka.

     

    As a part of the Special Achievement Act that raises a toast to films of 2015 that set the cash registers ringing, actors Karan Wahi, Gauahar Khan and Manav Gohil will enthrall viewers with their spunky act on Selfie Le Le Re,Welcome Back and Banno Tera Swagger. Another exciting highlight of the show will be an ode to the most iconic movie of the 90’s – Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge celebrating 1000 weeks. The tribute will be paid by the much adored love birds of television -Rithvik Dhanjani & Asha Negi who will recreate the magic of the iconic jodi SRK-Kajol on songs like Mere Khwabon mein, Ruk ja o dil diwane and others!

     

    Funnyman Kiku Sharda and Rajiv Thakur will tickle the audience’s funny bone with their impersonation of Baba Ramdev & MSG. Gorgeous Puja Banerjee will have viewers in splits with her hilarious rendition of Radhe Maa. Adding an extra punch with their chemistry on the Retro special -Karan Tacker & Krystle Dsouza and Arjun Bijlani & Riddhi Dogra will groove to the remixed version of Dheere Dheere Se & Tumhe Apna Banane Ki Kasam Khayee Hai.  The two hour celebration will culminate with a Celebration act with hot steppers Mouni Roy, Gautam Gulati & Rashmi Desai on Shaam Shandaar…

  • Viacom asks shareholders to reject ‘Mini-Tender’ offer by TRC Capital

    Viacom asks shareholders to reject ‘Mini-Tender’ offer by TRC Capital

    MUMBAI: Canadian firm TRC Capital, which has been known for making “mini-tender” offers for stock in big companies at below-market prices, has now targeted Viacom Inc. 

     

    TRC Capital has made an unsolicited “mini-tender” offer to purchase up to 2.5 million shares of Viacom Class B common stock at a price of $38.88 per share, which is approximately 4.7 per cent below the closing price on 22 December, 2015, the day before commencement of the offer, and approximately 5.6 per cent below Wednesday’s closing price of $41.18. The offer is for approximately 0.72 per cent of the outstanding Class B shares of Viacom common stock as of 4 November, 2015.

     

    Viacom says that it does not endorse TRC’s unsolicited mini-tender offer and recommends that shareholders do not tender their shares.

     

    The media behemoth has recommended that shareholders exercise caution with respect to TRC’s unsolicited mini-tender offer, and notes that the offer price is below Viacom’s current share price. The company also noted that the offer is subject to the satisfaction of a substantial number of conditions, including the absence of any decrease in the market price of the company’s shares from the price on the date of the offer and the ability of TRC to finance the offer. If the market price of Viacom shares falls or TRC cannot obtain financing, TRC is permitted to terminate the offer and not purchase any shares.

     

    “Viacom strongly encourages shareholders to obtain current market quotations for their shares, and to consult with their broker or financial advisor. Shareholders who already have tendered their shares are advised that they may withdraw their shares by providing the written notice described in the TRC offering documents prior to the expiration of the offer, currently scheduled for 12:01 a.m. eastern time on Friday, 22 January, 2016,” the company said.

     

    TRC Capital has made many similar mini-tender offers for the shares of other companies. Because TRC Capital’s mini-tender offer is for less than five per cent of Viacom’s outstanding shares, it is not subject to many of the disclosure and procedural requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that are designed to protect investors. The SEC has cautioned investors about mini-tender offers, noting that “some bidders make mini-tender offers at below-market prices, hoping that they will catch investors off guard if the investors do not compare the offer price to the current market price.”

  • Decoding Colors’ voyage to top in TAM ratings: wk 50

    Decoding Colors’ voyage to top in TAM ratings: wk 50

    MUMBAI: With the year 2015 coming to end, the Hindi general entertainment channels’ (GEC) genre has got itself a new leader in Colors, as per analysis conducted by S-Group, an analytical arm of TAM Media Research.

    The analysis depicts airing of the Kapil Sharma starrer – Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon and Big Boss Double Troublein the weekend playing a pivotal role in the channel’s ascend to the pole position.

     

    Additionally on an overall level, the genre has seen a growth of 51 GRPs compared to week 49. Zee TV was the highest gainer in the genre growing to 181 GRPs in week 50 from 152 GRPs in week 49.

    For Colors, the growth was majorly driven by the back-to-back airing of Kapil Sharma starrer Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon on 6 December, 2015 (first airing – 13:00 to 15:54 & second airing – 15:59 to 18:53) driving up the performance of the entire time band.

    Besides Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon, Big Boss Double Trouble – Weekend was another major contributor to the growth of the channel due its increased time spend levels.

    The growth story for Zee TV was its self created property – Zee Rishtey Awards 2015. The award night, which aired on 6 December, 2015, garnered close to 2.8 TVR for the entire event. Moreover the channel saw the launch of the new season of India’s Best Dramebaaz on 12 December, 2015, which saw a rating of 2.3 TVR for the entire episode of 92 minutes.

    Sony Entertainment Television’s 14 GRP growth was driven to a large extent by the premier of Indian epic film – Bahubali: The Beginning, which was aired twice on Sony during week 50. The first airing on 6 December, 2015 garnered 3.2 TVR for the entire movie followed by the second airing on 12 December, 2015, which saw a rating of 1.02 TVR for the entire movie.

  • Colors snaps ‘Box Cricket League’ rights; slots it on Sundays at 4.30 pm

    Colors snaps ‘Box Cricket League’ rights; slots it on Sundays at 4.30 pm

    MUMBAI: Colors has joined hands with Balaji Telefilms and Marinating Films to bring together television and cricket in a power packed season 2 of Box Cricket League (BCL). The first season of the property was aired on Sony Entertainment Television. 

     

    Season 2 of Box Cricket league will be a long six month reality show, which will be aired every Sunday. The channel will start shooting for the show in the second week of February.  

     

    With a stellar line up of 200 celebrities in 10 teams, the one and a half hour show BCL will be aired on Colors and Colors HD from 28 February, 2016 every Sunday at 4.30 pm with a repeat telecast on Rishtey. 

     

    It may be recalled that on Sony, BCL season 1 had 150 celebrities and eight teams. The weekly show was aired at 7:30 pm.   

      

     

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Colors CEO Raj Nayak said, “We had a talk with Ekta (Ekta Kapoor) one day and we were discussing on how we can do better with BCL and she felt that the show can be better on Colors. We genuinely believe in the format and felt that if it’s strategically positioned well, packaged and marketed with a creative tweak to the format, then it has the potential to make it big this time.” 

     

    Talking about the late afternoon time slot for the show, he says, “About 99 per cent of people are at home from 4:30 – 6 pm on a Sunday. This is also the time when women who watch different shows on television want to see a different side to their celebs. Cricket is just a backdrop, it has drama, emotions and passion. BCL can be a great reality show. We air movies in the 4:30 evening slot and we garnered the maximum ratings. I think if the content is good then people will follow it.” 

     

    This star-studded cricket league will have 10 teams named after 10 cities namely Ahmedabad Express, Kolkata Babu Moshayes, Chandigarh Cubs, Delhi Dragons, Jaipur Raj Joshiley, Chennai Swaggers, Mumbai Tigers, Pune Anmol Ratan, Rowdy Bangalore and Lucknow Nawabs led by celebrities like Sunny Leone, Nandish Sandhu, Ajay Chaudhry, Mrunal Jain, Anita Hassandani, Kamya Punjabi and others.

     

    The high point of the game is the mix of men and women in every team. The inclusion of males and females across all teams, makes it a battle of equals where the celebrities will be fully charged to kick the dust up.

     

    Commenting on the time slot, Balaji Telefilms joint managing director Ekta Kapoor said, “The slot has seen ratings earlier. It’s a movie slot and also and Sunday evening is family time when the entire family can watch cricket together specially the ladies of the house. Therefore we think it’s the perfect time band for BCL.” 

     

    With a huge number of television stars vying to play this season of BCL, the league owners have had to set new guidelines for player qualifications. 

     

    The strict diktat ensures only top lead actors (who’ve starred as main leads for a minimum of 250 episodes) and second lead actors (who’ve had at least 500 episodes to their credit) can partake in this season. Besides popular fiction faces, GEC reality show winners and top contestants are also qualified to play. 

     

    Marinating Films managing director Sunny Arora asserted, “I used to organise cricket tournaments since my childhood. So one night this idea crossed my mind to have a cricket league and I discussed it with my partner Anand that we should have men and women playing together. We announced on Whatsapp that we were coming up with this league and since sending that message, the next three days were the most busiest days of my life. So that’s how the idea came about.”

     

    Arora also added, “Colors is one of the leading channel in India and no one can compete with them when it comes to non-fiction series. Also Colors has a very strong team including Raj Nayak, Manisha and Sheetal, they are so clear in their thought and every show on Colors works and we believe that BCL will also work.”

     

    With 200 celebrities in one show, BCL is no doubt an expensive proposition. Talking about the same, Arora informed, “This year the production cost of BCL has increased three times compared to last year. This time we are using a bigger venue, larger crew and more technicians. We have also incorporated more software to make the show as good as international matches. So yes, it’s an expensive show and we have invested much more than last year. And we are confident that the cost will be recovered because we are on Colors.”

  • Sab TV slots new office comedy ‘Sahib, Biwi Aur Boss’ at 10 pm

    Sab TV slots new office comedy ‘Sahib, Biwi Aur Boss’ at 10 pm

    MUMBAI: Sab TV is all set to launch a new office comedy called Sahib, Biwi Aur Boss on 21 December. The show will be aired from Monday – Friday at 10 pm.

     

    The channel has roped in Vimal Pan Masala as the presenting sponsor for the show. 

     

    The story will revolve around these three central characters – a husband, wife and her boss. The show is produced by Sanjay Kohli, who also produced police station based comedy show F.I.R. The show will see Vipul Roy as Sahib, Mugdha Chapekar as the Biwi and Resham Tipnis as the Boss. 

     

    Speaking about the show, Sab TV senior EVP & business head Anooj Kaoor said, “We are very excited about Sahib, Biwi Aur Boss; the concept of the show is very refreshing. The show hinges on situational comedy, which always resonates with various kinds of audiences. We have worked with Sanjay Kohli in the past on F.I.R, which was a big hit. This time too, we hope to have another fruitful association.”

  • Colors to pull all stops to make Stardust Awards bigger & better

    Colors to pull all stops to make Stardust Awards bigger & better

    MUMBAI: Colors is gearing up to pull all stops to make the 13th edition of the Sansui Colors Stardust Awards bigger and better this year.

     

    The awards, which will be held on 21 December in Mumbai at the Reliance Jio Gardens in BKC, will see more investment being pumped in for a larger stage and bigger performing acts.

     

    A source close to the development informed Indiantelevision.com, “The production cost of last year’s Stardust Awards was approximately Rs 12 crore, which has gone up by 30 per cent this year to approximately Rs 15.6 crore.”

     

    Commenting on this year’s awards, Colors CEO Raj Nayak said, “Last year we partnered with the biggest names in the consumer electronics and publishing business namely Sansui and Stardust to launch The Sansui Colors Stardust Awards. This partnership of three leaders went on to make the Sansui Colors Awards the No. 1 Awards show on Indian television. This year, based on feedback from all stakeholders in the industry, we have re-looked at the categories to make it more credible and robust. Our aim is to make the event exceedingly significant, entertaining and colossal this year.”

     

    Talking about the association with Stardust, Sansui COO Amitabh Tiwari said, “At Sansui, it is our goal to make entertainment synonymous to the brand, and through our continued association with Stardust and Colors, we feel more connected to this vision. Last year, Stardust Awards was rated as the best award show and this year we are all geared up to raise the bar of entertainment to the next level. We aim to bestow upon our audience the best of entertainment and are all set to enthral them. We have had a wonderful kick start with Stardust and are confident that the relationship will strengthen with each passing year.”

     

    Magna Publishing chairman Nari Hira added, “If last year’s scale and grandeur was top-notch, we are all set to surpass all benchmarks and make this new edition an even bigger entertainment extravaganza. 2015 has been an outstanding year for Indian cinema and we are looking forward to paying homage to the stalwarts whose showmanship has added to the industry’s success not only in India but also internationally.”

     

    The evening will be hosted by Abhishek Bachchan and Riteish Deshmukh along with co-host Farah Khan.

     

    Given their expertise in putting together large scale shows, Cineyug has been roped in as the events partner for the affair. The sets have been designed by Omung Kumar.  

      

    “The award show is planned on a very grand scale this year. Last year we brought Stardust Award from Sony Max to Colors. This year we have a grand star cast with some amazing performances. We also have we have the Dilwale team performing on the award night. Apart from that we have a great line up of actors performing including Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Shahid Kapoor and Jacqueline Fernandez. This year, we are performing acts on the new grand ground Jio Garden,” said Cineyug Entertainment director Mohammad Morani.  

     

    Magna Publishing marketing head Shivendra Parihar added, “This year the focus will be making award night bigger and better than last year. Last year, we were the number one rated award show on Indian television.  This year the focus will be taking it a notch higher and having great viewership across the world for which we have made award content and performances engaging.”