Category: GECs

TV’s Diwali Dhamaka

This Diwali, there’s enough and more to keep audiences entertained, with television channels set for a firecracker of a weekend.

At Star TV, the celebrations started on 27 October and will reach a crescendo on 3 November; kicking off with a repeat of Ang Lee’s Oscar-winning film Life of Pi at 1pm, followed by a repeat of Star Diwali at 5pm, and Indian Television Awards 2013 from 9pm.

Not to be left behind, Zee TV will telecast Diwali Dhamaka on 2 November, 7pm onward.

The highlights of the show include: the Ram Leela act presented by child participants – Praneet, Zenith, Chinamay, Nihar, Aditya, Tejaswini and Honey – of the reality show India’s best Dramebaaz and DID Lil Masters – Jeet, Om, Shreya, Shalini and Rohan performing on numbers like Lungi Dance from Chennai Express, among others.

Says ZEEL content head (Hindi GECs) Ajay Bhalwankar: “This year, we will wish our viewers a happy, healthy, prosperous and successful Diwali and New Year with Diwali Dhamaka. It aims to get every member in the family to have a smile on their face with its amazing and diverse line-up of acts. It’s a fitting celebration on the occasion of Diwali with all actors from Zee TV shows presenting performances to give an all new fresh dose of entertainment as the New Year is brought in.”

Colors will run Diwali tracks across its shows including Balika Vadhu, Sanskaar, Comedy Nights with Kapil and Bigg Boss with actors wishing viewers a happy Diwali.

Sab TV will telecast SAB Ka Diwali Mela – Andekha, Adbhut, Albela on 1 November, 9 pm onward.

The fun show will feature everyone, from the residents of Lapataganj to the courageous cops of Iman Chowki, from Gokuldham Society wasis to Chidiya Ghar’s humble Narayan family.

Says Sab EVP & business head Anooj Kapoor: “We have always endeavoured to provide entertaining and engaging content to our viewers. This year, our two big initiatives SAB Ki Holi and SAB Ke Anokhe Awards garnered an overwhelming response resulting in high viewership. Continuing with our brand promise, Asli Maaza SAB Ke Saath Aata Hai, we are confident that SAB Ka Diwali Mela will offer our viewers an extravagant celebration that they can enjoy with their families.”

If you thought GECs were the only ones in the fray, think again.

Movie channels like MAX have changed their colour palette from 25 October, to be on-air till 9 November.

1 November will see MAX’s Pataka Weekend with the telecast of Talaash (morning), Bajate Raho (afternoon), Yamla Pagla Deewana (evening) and Robot (prime time).

2 November will see Bajate Raho (morning), Chak De India (afternoon), Mohabbatein (evening) and Once Upon Ay Time in Mumbaai Dobara (prime time).
It’s a full plate on 3 November as well with Aashiqui 2 (morning), Rowdy Rathod (afternoon), Band Baaja Baraat (evening) and Dhoom 2 (prime time).

MAX aside, Zee Cinema will host the world television premiere of Phata Poster Nikhla Hero at 9 pm on 2 November while UTV Movies will telecast newbies like Race 2, ABCD, Himmatwala and Khiladi 786 while revisiting classics like Sarfarosh, Swarg, Aankhen and more.

Coming to English movie channels: Movies Now will have blockbuster-packed days, starting 11am, 3 November. Some of the titles include Karate Kid, X-men Last Stand, Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Unknown.

Zee Studio is ready for its Diwali best with hits like Real Steel, I am number four, Pearl Harbour, Goal II, Pirates of the Caribbean– on Stranger Tides among others.

From 1-3 November, ‘Studio Dynamites’ will bring action flicks 8 pm onward whereas Diwali day will see ‘Studio Binge’ – a marathon 8 am to 8pm day with five great movies back to back.

On the digital front, Zee Studio plans to bring its #StudioDynamite campaign, where viewers have to watch out for explosions on their TV screens during the film, decode the message and tweet the correct answer with #StudioDynamite to win prizes.
If GECs and movie channels are prepping to celebrate the festival of lights, kids’ channels aren’t far behind.

Hungama TV’s Dusshera to Diwali special started on 14 October and will be on-air till 2 November, with movies including Shinchan Bungle in the Jungle, Luv Kushh and the Ghost Army, P5 – Pandaavas, Impy’s Wonderland and The Incredibles among others.

Disney meanwhile will have a special episode of Best of Luck Nikki season 3 with the Singh Family on 3 November.

POGO’s Diwali treat includes movies like Chhota Bheem Aur Ganesh In The Amazing Odyssey!, Kaalia Ke Chele Special, Gol Mol Gongol, Chhota Bheem Dholakpur To Khatmandu, Chatur Chetan and Hanuman & Friends Special every day from 28 October to 3 November at 12 pm.

Says Turner International India senior director & network head Krishna Desai: “Chhota Bheem and the Shinobi Secret is a brand new special to air on POGO from 3 November at 12pm. This is not it; the channel makes this season absolutely spectacular by giving kids the chance to win amazing prizes by participating in Zabardasti Diwali Contest every day, 10am onward. The prizes include Digi-cams & smart phones.”

On Cartoon Network, children can watch movies like Kid Krrish, Tom and Jerry in the Wizard of Oz, Oggy ki Olly and Krish Trish Baltiboy: The Battle of Wits, etc every day from 28 October to 3 November at 12pm.

Adds Desai: “Oggy: I Love India is a brand new special that will premiere on 1 November at 12pm.”

The Nickelodeon cluster (Nick, Nick Jr./Teen Nick and Sonic) too has a dhamakedar treat lined up for kids, promising a crackling yet safe Diwali.
Nick will run new episodes of its shows Motu Patlu and Pakdam Pakdai apart from calling Diwali ‘Nickwali’ and bringing its popular Nicktoons together to sing Diwali jingles titled ‘Diwali Fungoli’.

Like they say, music is the food of life, so play on… music channels too have jumped onto the Diwali bandwagon in a big way.

9XM has launched a special video based on the concept of ‘light writing’, displaying trails of light in different forms, with a message to boot: ‘This Diwali Light it Up!’

This apart, one of its animated characters Bheegi Billi will be seen in a new avatar called Billi Don while Bade Chote will open their special Kaun Karega Bakwaas Season 3.

Coming to Bollywood gossip channels like Zoom, it is ready with a string of new and exciting shows.

A bevy of Bollywood stars including Sonakshi Sinha, Shahid Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez, Imraan Khan, Chitrangada Singh and Vivek Oberoi will grace the Zoom show, Planet Bollywood News, with episodes aired between 1-3 November at 7pm.

Diwali eve will see the launch of a new show called 100 Crore Club at 8 pm. Starting 1 November, watch out for Zoom’s on-air lead contest called – ‘Watch More. Talk More’ powered by Freecharge. There are mobile free charges worth Rs 1.5 lakh to be won by viewers.

UTV Stars will telecast special interviews with stars including Aditi Rao Hydari, Prateik Babbar, Tusshar Kapoor, Amrita Rao, Vivek Oberoi, Hrithik Roshan, Kareena Kapoor, Imran Khan, Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone.
On AXN, audiences can catch the all new series of Sherlock, Chosen and So you think you can dance season 10.

With TV channels all set, the question remains are you ready for the bombarding of programmes.

October 30, 2013
Zee to launch one more GEC?

MUMBAI: Indiantelevision.com has learnt that there is more in the offering from the Zee Network. Zee, which is known for its pioneering initiatives in the broadcasting space, soon plans to add one more general entertainment channel (GEC) to its kitty.

According to highly placed sources in the industry, the network is preparing to launch the channel under the ‘&’ franchise. “The network is planning to launch yet another GEC which will have all original shows. In the coming six to eight months, viewers will have a clear picture,” reveals the source.

The network launched their first interactive movie channel titled, ‘&pictures’ on 18 August. And within a few weeks, on 1 September, the network launched another channel – a GEC christened ‘Zee Anmol’ that airs re-runs of the best of Zee TV shows like Dance India Dance, Pavitra Rishta, Kasam Se among others.

At the recently held Mipcom event at Cannes, the network announced that it has acquired 20 programs from Geo TV, a Pakistan based television channel.

And if the source is to be believed, all the shows may be aired on this soon to be launched new GEC. “Right now, they are masking it all by saying it is for Zee Anmol but eventually it will be aired on the ‘&’ franchise sister GEC,” remarks the source.

When we contacted the channel officials, they refused to comment. But with the recent developments, it seems something interesting is brewing up at the network.

October 30, 2013
Majority of Indian business houses dependent on IT

NEW DELHI: The VMware Cloud Index 2013 reveals that Information Technology is seen as a change enabler and source of business value for organisations by 85 percent of the respondents.

Indian organisations are turning to IT to help them grow their business in the current economic environment, VMware said.

Fast provisioning and zero downtime from networks (80 percent) and storage (81 percent) have been identified as key areas for IT to address over the next 12 months in the study. A total of 65 per cent claim will have a formal strategy in place for supporting end user computing, clearly showing that Indian businesses are acting to cater to the needs of the new age worker.

The study reveals that nearly nine of every 10 per cent respondents in India believe that Cloud Computing or ‘as-a-service’ approach is relevant to their organisation.

Nearly eight of every 10 respondents in India say they currently have a cloud-related initiative in place within the organisation or are planning to implement cloud, or ‘as-a-service’ approach, in the next 12 months.

In terms of the top business priorities in India over the next 12 months, 87 per cent of IT decision makers said improving the quality and capabilities of their products and 85 per cent said addressing the rising expectations of customers and improving customer satisfaction.

The current perception of IT remains positive in India with 63 per cent of respondents noting that the perceived credibility, influence and power of the CIO in their organisation is increasing.

Business priorities are clearly shifting at a time when optimism is slowly returning to the Indian economy.

In terms of priorities for IT over the next 12 months, improving IT agility and responsiveness to business demands was high at 82 per cent and operational efficiency was noted by 80 percent of respondents.

Additionally, server consolidation via virtualisation continues to be a strong priority at 77 per cent.

Respondents in India are also aware of and are planning new and evolutionary priorities.

A software-defined approach to implementing and managing data center resources (servers, storage, networks) was stated by 71 percent of respondents. Furthermore, mobility and consumerisation of IT was also noted by 71 per cent as expected to create a lasting impact for organisations over the next two to three years.

While 71 per cent of IT decision makers are concerned about end users accessing corporate systems and applications from mobile devices, 73 per cent believe that their IT organisation are able to keep up with the end user computing needs of their employees.

October 30, 2013
Govt. may soon ban Google, Yahoo to protect official data

NEW DELHI: The government is set to ban e-mail services such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc for official communications by December this year to safeguard its critical and sensitive data.

The Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DEITY) is drafting a policy on e-mail usage for government offices and departments and the policy is almost ready. The department is now taking views from other ministries on it, according to Secretary J Satyanarayana.

The government is expected to route all its official communication through the official website NIC’s email service, according to a report.

Google and Yahoo are the prominent email tools used by government officials.

“The e-mail policy of the government of India, as this policy will be called, is almost ready and we are taking views from other ministries on this. Our effort will be to bring it in to effect by mid or end-December,” said Satyanarayana.

The proposed policy aims to make it mandatory for government offices to communicate only on the nic.in platform rather than commercial email services.

The policy is expected to cover about five to six lakh Central and State government employees for using the email service provided by National Informatics Centre (NIC).

The Indian government needs about Rs four to five crore to ramp up the NIC infrastructure. But, the total investment needed for the full operation of the e-mail policy could be around Rs 50 to Rs 100 crore.

This will also include integrating the e-mails with cloud so that official data can be saved on a cloud platform, which can then be easily shared with the concerned government ministries and departments.

The development is learnt to be related to concerns being raised by a section in the government, especially intelligence agencies, over use of email services, provided by foreign firms (mostly US-based), which have their servers located in overseas locations, making it difficult to track if sensitive government data is being snooped upon. In addition, the Snowden saga contended that US intelligence agencies used a secret data-mining programme to monitor worldwide internet data to spy on various countries, including India.

October 30, 2013
Zee Q, Discovery Kids to get competitor

MUMBAI: One more edutainment channel – Da Vinci Learning – is prepping to hit Indian shores next year.

Come late Q2 or Q3 next year, the children’s entertainment space will see a new player – Da Vinci Learning.

Launched world-wide on 15 September, 2007 by its parent media company Da Vinci Media GmbH – the edutainment channel – is aired across 29 territories in 15 different languages.

It takes time to reap results and we will do whatever it takes to reach out to a large number of people, says Mohit Anand

So what brings it to Indian shores? “The Indian television industry is dynamic and growing, and our philosophy has been to spread knowledge,” replies Da Vinci Learning country manager Mohit Anand, adding that the channel believes today’s children are far more curious and plans to cash in on this quality.

With at least two other ‘edutainment’ channels – Zee Q and Discovery Kids – launched just last year, won’t it be an up-hill task for Da Vinci Learning? Anand shrugs off the implication saying: “We believe in learning in a fun way and not many channels do so in the kids’ genre. We are an edutainment channel and today, there aren’t any products which use the TV medium to enhance kids’ desire to learn. And this is what will distinguish us from the rest.”

With its content a mix of animated and non-animated, not ruling out a documentary-style, everything will be done in a manner so as to attract kids. The channel will target not only children in the age group of 6-14 but also parents since it’s a family-based one.

With most channels today having regional counterparts or feeds to reach out to the maximum number of viewers, will Da Vinci Learning follow suit?

“When you study Newton’s Law, do you do it in a regional language or in English?” counters Anand and adds, “Information about the kind of subjects we are talking about, even in vernacular mediums, is primarily in English. Having said that, we are definitely evaluating the need to have regional languages – something we’ve found in the course of our research as well.”

While Da Vinci Learning will premiere in English and Hindi next year, Anand is quick to point out: “We will not shy away from launching in a regional language if the need arises because we want to reach out to as many people as possible.”

Otherwise an ad-free channel running on the Pay-TV model, in India however, the channel will incorporate ads.

Reasons Anand: “The channels have to depend a lot on ad sales for revenue, but with digitisation, the subscription revenues are heading in the right way. Over the years, we will see less dependence on ad revenue. Also, the kids channels might be the third-largest viewed (almost 11 per cent) category but has a way smaller share in the whole ad pie. Hence, with kids becoming key influencers and the channel being uniquely different, there will be advertisers who will want to associate with us.”

Though the subscription rate hasn’t been decided yet, Anand says: “It will be within the dynamics of the market,” quickly adding, “We still have to decide though whether we will start with a certain subscription charge or decide to go free for a certain period to let viewers know what the channel is all about.”

To be available on digital platforms, the channel is already in talks with various DTH players.

Meanwhile, a city-based media planner isn’t too hopeful that Da Vinci Learning will be able to get a lot of viewers if it comes with a subscription rate attached. “It will be able to gather interest in metros and tier II cities at best but overall, it will find it difficult to garner viewers. However, it is good that such a channel is entering the market,” he says.

Marketing-wise, the channel plans to concentrate on activations as it believes it will be able to capture families in malls, museums and zoos. There will be on-air promotions, print and OOH as well. “Around 90 days prior to the launch, we will start with all the buzz and hype about the channel,” says Anand, adding they are still in talks with creative and media agencies.

Asked about investment, Anand says apart from the minimum network requirement of Rs 5 crore, which is mandatory for a broadcast license, the channel will do whatever it takes to be successful as it is here to stay. “It takes time to reap results and we will do whatever it takes to reach out to a large number of people,” says Anand.

October 29, 2013
New media to lead growth for south Indian media and entertainment industry

BENGALURU: The Digital March-Media and Entertainment in South India, a Deloitte-FICCI report was released on the eve of FICCI-MEBC 2013 in Bengaluru. The two day event commences on 29 October.

Note: This is for the year ended 31 March 2013.

The report says that the South Indian Media and Entertainment (SIM&E) industry is slated to grow from its current estimated size for FY-2013 of Rs 23,900 crore to Rs 43,600 crore in FY-2013 at an CAGR of 16 per cent.

The internet continues to have a profound effect on consumers’ viewing habits and the proliferation of devices is altering their media consumption behavior. With the increasing popularity of mobile broadband (3G) and the impending launch of 4G LTE services, mobile phones are expected to emerge as the preferred platform for consuming content. India already has over 65 million smartphone users currently.

In south India, new media, with an estimated size of Rs 690 crore in FY-2013 will grow at 23 per cent CAGR to reach Rs 1600 crore in size by FY-2017, followed by television which will grow at a CAGR of 20 per cent from a present estimated size of Rs 13,470 crore to Rs 27,960 crore.

The television industry in south India is on a transformation path, driven by the government’s digitisation mandate, says the report. It is one of the most flourishing regional media segment in terms of availability of content, reach and distribution. Over the years, it has seen increased action from regional as well as national advertisers. In fact, regional advertisers now contribute almost 40 per cent of the TV industry’s advertisement revenues in states such as Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Radio will grow at a CAGR of 19 per cent from an estimated present size of Rs 420 crore to Rs 830 crore by FY-2017. The radio industry enjoys greater acceptance in the south than in the rest of the country and thus stands out amongst its peers. This is indicated by relatively higher average radio listenership in cities like Bengaluru where people spend about 20 hours / week on radio while those in Delhi and Mumbai spend 13-14 hours / week says the report.

Films with a present estimated size of Rs 2,680 crore will grow at a CAGR of 12 per cent to reach Rs 4,220 crore by FY- 2017. The report says that the south Indian film industry with 831 films, accounted for over 50 per cent of total films certified across India. The number of films certified increased by 36 per cent over 2011, primarily driven by a spike in cable and satellite (C&S) rights’ prices. However, the number of films released increased by only eight per cent during the same period as some producers chose not to release their films due to the high marketing costs associated, and as a result of a correction in the C&S rights’ prices in some of the markets.

Print, a laggard relatively, will grow at eight per cent from the present Rs 6,880 crore to Rs 9,020 crore by FY-2017. South India, driven by a high literacy rate and a sizable vernacular readership base (30 per cent of total readership in India) is one of the strongholds of the Indian print industry. Amongst the four regional states, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh account for about 58 per cent of the total revenue. Most of the markets in the region are dominated by English print in terms of revenue except Kerala, where vernacular prints accounts for nearly 90 per cent of the revenue. However, the advertising revenue from vernacular print in the region is estimated to grow at twice the pace of that of English, largely driven by local advertisers and increasing focus of national advertiser’s beyond tier I cities.

Among the four southern states or southern sisters as they are known, Tamil Nadu with a FY-2013 SIM&E estimated size of Rs 8,420 crore will grow at a CAGR of 17 per cent to reach Rs15,850 crore by FY-2017. SIM&E in Andhra Pradesh with a FY-2013 estimated size of Rs 7,140 crore will reach an estimated size of Rs 12,740 crore by FY-2017 at a CAGR of 16 per cent.

SIM&E in Karnataka with an estimated FY-2013 size of Rs 4,340 crore will grow at a CAGR of 15 per cent to reach Rs 7,710 crore by FY-2017. The smallest in terms of size of SIM&E, Kerala with a FY-2013 estimated size of Rs 3,350 crore will grow to Rs 5,7,30 crore by FY-2017 at a CAGR of 14 per cent.

October 28, 2013
AMC Networks to acquire Chellomedia from Liberty Global

MUMBAI: Cable television networks’ AMC Networks has reached a definitive agreement to substantially acquire all of Chellomedia, the international content division of Liberty Global for €750 million (approximately $1.035 billion). The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2014.

The acquisition would bring AMC Networks a wide number of television channels on board that are distributed to more than 390 million households in 138 countries. The channels span a range of genres, including movie and entertainment networks, providing significant long-range opportunities for AMC Networks to distribute its popular original programming from AMC, IFC, Sundance Channel and WE tv across an expansive global footprint.

“Chellomedia has developed a remarkable portfolio of popular channels that reach millions of people around the world. As AMC Networks has expanded internationally, we have had a great desire to do something we consider fundamentally strategic, which is to take our content and put it on channels we own. This acquisition allows us to secure a large, global platform on which to distribute our increasingly successful original programming through a collection of strong, well-established and well-managed assets worldwide,” said AMC Networks president and CEO Josh Sapan. “Together, we can grow these assets and make them even more popular and valuable around the world.”

Chellomedia president Niall Curran said, “AMC Networks are content professionals with an excellent creative and business track record. They are highly enthusiastic about the business we have built at Chellomedia and are ambitious to develop it further, making AMC Networks a great owner and partner for Chello’s next phase of growth.”

In addition to the AMC channel, AMC Networks also owns IFC and IFC Films, WE and the Sundance Channel.

The agreement includes the acquisition of Chellomedia’s operating businesses including: Chello Central Europe, Chello Latin America, Chello Multicanal, Chello Zone, the ad sales unit Atmedia and the broadcast solutions unit Chello DMC.

Chellomedia’s has many channels in various genres such as movies, entertainment, sports, children, lifestyle and documentary.
Guggenheim Securities, LLC served as lead financial advisor to AMC Networks as well as providing capital structure and financing advice. Bank of America Merrill Lynch has provided a commitment for debt financing for the transaction and also served as financial advisor to AMC Networks. Legal advisors were Clifford Chance.

October 28, 2013
Sab and Toy-Kraft launch Baalveer board game

MUMBAI: To celebrate the completion of Baalveer, a fantasy drama set against the mystical worlds of fairies and evil Paris, Sab in association with Toy-Kraft have launched a ‘Baalveer and the Evils of Bhayankar Pari’ board game.

Post the success of their first venture SABurbia.com board game, the two plan to bring kids one-step closer to the world of the child superhero.

Sharmilee Raj, Lavina Tandon, Dev Joshi, Aditi Sajwan and Shreedhar from Balveer at the launch of Balveer and the evils of Bhayankar Pari board game

On the new initiative, Sab EVP and business head Anooj Kapoor stated, “With Baalveer board game, we provide a unique opportunity for the consumers to engage with the brand and its most popular characters. We are glad to partner with Toy Kraft and I’m sure this experience will create lasting memories for children”.

Adding to it, Toy-Kraft director Dr. Shyam Makhija said, “By releasing the new board game – Baalveer, Toy-Kraft and SAB TV have now forged a stronger link into this licensing foray after the success of the first release – SABurbia.com. This has been a joint action all the way and the complementary synergies of both the companies have been very well exploited. The company is very bullish on the future prospects as more licensed ventures are being explored with SAB besides board games. So far Toy Kraft has released 13 IP based games which is a record of sorts.”

Baalveer Board game was unveiled at ‘Kids India’s’ toy exhibition by Anooj Kapoor, Shyam Makhija, and the entire starcast of the show.

‘Baalveer and the Evils of Bhayankar Pari’ priced at Rs 549 will be available in 42 major cities in leading stores. Moreover, on-ground activations will also be carried out in leading malls to generate curiosity and buzz around the product.

October 26, 2013
Nach Baliye 6 to take a bold turn this season

MUMBAI: Come 9 November, Star Plus’ viewers are going to get to witness the flavours of love, passion and romance amongst reel and real life TV star couples once again as the channel flags off Nach Baliye Season 6. The 13-week long series will air every weekend at 9.00 pm, coming in as a replacement for Junior Masterchef which is coming to a close.

With a brand new season, the channel, says it plans to make Nach Baliye bigger, better and bolder this year, though with the same format and the seductive campaign line “Hadh se badhega romance…is bar hoga Aisa dance.”

Produced by Frames Productions, Nach Baliye season six brings together 11 celebrity couples that include: Raju and Shikha Shrivastava, Rakesh Vashisht and Ridhi Dogra, Kanika Maheshwari Ghai and Ankur Ghai, Gurmeet Choudhary and Debina Bonnerjee, Ripu Daman Handa and Shivangi Verma, Yash Sinha and Amrapali Gupta, Kiku and Priyanka Sharda, Bruna Abdalah and Omar Farooque, Sanjeev and Lataa Seth, Rithvik Dhanjani and Asha Negi and last but not the least Vinod and Raksha Thakur.

“After making successful seasons of four and five, this season, we plan to take it to the next level. Our endeavour is to sustain this legacy of success achieved so far and bring viewers much closer to their favourite stars. Behind every couple there is a unique story not known to the public. We will strive to bring out each of their unique stories to engage Nach Baliye fans,” says Frames Production producer Hemant Ruprell.

“Normally, these TV couples are so busy with their day to day schedules they may not give each other so much time. Participating in the show enables them to come together and explore more than what they know about each other over three months of competition. Nach Baliye is based on the principle that dancing together will bring you closer and it serves to reignite romance between couples,” Star Plus non-fiction head Ashish Golwalkar exults. “And of course on top of this there is a strong layer of entertainment in terms of comedy and moments that get played out on TV. People sitting at home will enjoy the journey.”

The channel has retained the judges this season. Viewers will get to see Bollywood’s yummy mummy and dancing diva Shilpa Shetty, celebrated choreographer Terrence Lewis and director Sajid Khan. Hosts Gautam Rode and Karan Wahi are expected to add their brand of humour and banter to this drama filled dance show. Interestingly, the shooting has already begun with two episodes been canned in Filmistan Studio, Mumbai even as this story is being penned.

“There is nothing subtle about this season,” asserts Star India EVP content strategy Gaurav Banerjee. “Each act will be conceived to show you a vibrant and exciting expression of love.”

The Star Plus programming team is quite sanguine that Nach Baliye 6 will have no problems in getting in the TVTs once again.

“Last year our content was pure and because of that purity of content, we were the No 1 show from the launch day till the end,” asserts Golwalkar. “There is going to be competition in any slot and at any given point of time on TV. But viewers have really appreciated and supported us. We have done our bit, and have really worked hard to put it together and it will be bigger, different and better than any other show.”

Even though an announcement of the presenting sponsor was not made at the time of writing, the show’s season 6 facebook page, has Vaseline associated as presenting sponsor once again with Babool being the powered-by sponsor. Last year, LR Active Oil was the powered-by sponsor.

The channel is really pressing hard on the marketing pedal in a bid to get the viewership numbers it hopes to achieve. For starters, there’s TV. A series of promos revealing the main contestants, Gurmeet and Deblina, and Raqesh and Riddhi Vashist has already hit the Star Network channels. Secondly, its facebook page has attracted around 6,500 likes, a fortnight before launch.

Then the various couples’ online fan clubs have been encouraged to talk about them on twitter, apart from the handle #NachBaliye6 being flashed on its @StarPlus account to generate the buzz.

Thirdly, activities revolving around traditional media (hoardings, television spots, radio, cinema) are already being rolled out. According to an estimate, close to Rs 2 crore has been set aside as marketing spend for the show.

With that kind of muscle being put behind Nach Baliye 6, it is quite likely that it could well match its main rival Dance India Dance Season 4 step for step on the performance front.

October 26, 2013
Nach Baliye 6 to take a bold turn this season

MUMBAI: Come 9 November, Star Plus’ viewers are going to get to witness the flavours of love, passion and romance amongst reel and real life TV star couples once again as the channel flags off Nach Baliye Season 6. The 13-week long series will air every weekend at 9.00 pm, coming in as a replacement for Junior Masterchef which is coming to a close.

With a brand new season, the channel, says it plans to make Nach Baliye bigger, better and bolder this year, though with the same format and the seductive campaign line “Hadh se badhega romance…is bar hoga Aisa dance.”

Produced by Frames Productions, Nach Baliye season six brings together 11 celebrity couples that include: Raju and Shikha Shrivastava, Rakesh Vashisht and Ridhi Dogra, Kanika Maheshwari Ghai and Ankur Ghai, Gurmeet Choudhary and Debina Bonnerjee, Ripu Daman Handa and Shivangi Verma, Yash Sinha and Amrapali Gupta, Kiku and Priyanka Sharda, Bruna Abdalah and Omar Farooque, Sanjeev and Lataa Seth, Rithvik Dhanjani and Asha Negi and last but not the least Vinod and Raksha Thakur.

“After making successful seasons of four and five, this season, we plan to take it to the next level. Our endeavour is to sustain this legacy of success achieved so far and bring viewers much closer to their favourite stars. Behind every couple there is a unique story not known to the public. We will strive to bring out each of their unique stories to engage Nach Baliye fans,” says Frames Production producer Hemant Ruprell.

“Normally, these TV couples are so busy with their day to day schedules they may not give each other so much time. Participating in the show enables them to come together and explore more than what they know about each other over three months of competition. Nach Baliye is based on the principle that dancing together will bring you closer and it serves to reignite romance between couples,” Star Plus non-fiction head Ashish Golwalkar exults. “And of course on top of this there is a strong layer of entertainment in terms of comedy and moments that get played out on TV. People sitting at home will enjoy the journey.”

The channel has retained the judges this season. Viewers will get to see Bollywood’s yummy mummy and dancing diva Shilpa Shetty, celebrated choreographer Terrence Lewis and director Sajid Khan. Hosts Gautam Rode and Karan Wahi are expected to add their brand of humour and banter to this drama filled dance show. Interestingly, the shooting has already begun with two episodes been canned in Filmistan Studio, Mumbai even as this story is being penned.

“There is nothing subtle about this season,” asserts Star India EVP content strategy Gaurav Banerjee. “Each act will be conceived to show you a vibrant and exciting expression of love.”

The Star Plus programming team is quite sanguine that Nach Baliye 6 will have no problems in getting in the TVTs once again.

“Last year our content was pure and because of that purity of content, we were the No 1 show from the launch day till the end,” asserts Golwalkar. “There is going to be competition in any slot and at any given point of time on TV. But viewers have really appreciated and supported us. We have done our bit, and have really worked hard to put it together and it will be bigger, different and better than any other show.”

Even though an announcement of the presenting sponsor was not made at the time of writing, the show’s season 6 facebook page, has Vaseline associated as presenting sponsor once again with Babool being the powered-by sponsor. Last year, LR Active Oil was the powered-by sponsor.

The channel is really pressing hard on the marketing pedal in a bid to get the viewership numbers it hopes to achieve. For starters, there’s TV. A series of promos revealing the main contestants, Gurmeet and Deblina, and Raqesh and Riddhi Vashist has already hit the Star Network channels. Secondly, its facebook page has attracted around 6,500 likes, a fortnight before launch.

Then the various couples’ online fan clubs have been encouraged to talk about them on twitter, apart from the handle #NachBaliye6 being flashed on its @StarPlus account to generate the buzz.

Thirdly, activities revolving around traditional media (hoardings, television spots, radio, cinema) are already being rolled out. According to an estimate, close to Rs 2 crore has been set aside as marketing spend for the show.

With that kind of muscle being put behind Nach Baliye 6, it is quite likely that it could well match its main rival Dance India Dance Season 4 step for step on the performance front.

October 26, 2013