ITV

Category: Reality

  • Colors to actively engage viewers through Israeli singing show ‘Rising Star’ in early 2017

    Colors to actively engage viewers through Israeli singing show ‘Rising Star’ in early 2017

    MUMBAI: Colors launched its first singing reality show Sur Kshetra in 2012, a musical battle between teams of two neighbouring countries Pakistan and India. The show was indeed one of its kind.

    Staying true to its brand value of being at the forefront of innovation and disruptive programming, Colors has joined hands with the world-renowned production and distribution giant Keshet International to bring the Israeli singing reality show Rising Star to India.

    The show is one of the world’s most celebrated singing-based reality shows with live viewer engagement at its core. Rising Star is slated for an early 2017 launch on Colors, and will be produced by Optimystix Entertainment.

    Originally created and produced by Tedy Productions and Keshet Broadcasting, has, since its inception in 2013, enthralled the global audience with the most vivid talent. With more than 250 episodes globally to its credit, the format has been aired across more than 16 countries including Israel, the U.S, Brazil, Portugal, Argentina, China, Cambodia and Indonesia amongst others.

    Commenting on this landmark acquisition, Colors CEO Raj Nayak said, “For the first time, here is a reality show that will not only be Live but will also give the viewers sitting at home an opportunity to engage with the progress and build-up of the show. What is beautiful about the format is that it’s instant & Live. We are delighted to be collaborating with Keshet International to bring Rising Star to India. Our Channel boasts of having one of the biggest consumer engagement platforms in the country and one can assert that a format like Rising Star couldn’t have found a better stage than ours. The show’s USP is that it’s not only high on entertainment quotient but also has the ability to connect and communicate with the viewers directly.”

    With Digital India being the new order of the day, Rising Star is a first-of-its-kind futuristic interactive engagement-led format which puts the power of determining a contestant’s fate in the hands of the viewers. Through its app-based mass talent-led format, the show will welcome budding singers from across the country, bringing them together on a common platform.

    Keshet International head of Asia Gary Pudney said, “We are beyond excited about bringing Rising Star to the Indian audience. India is embracing technology more ferociously than ever before and, in partnership with our brilliant partners at Colors, we will be delivering prime time entertainment that satisfies viewers’ hunger to become more active and engaged viewers of high end content.”

    Apart from Rising Star, the recent adaptations of KIA formats include “Prisoners of War” India which will be aired on Star India’s Hindi general entertainment channel (GECs) Star Plus.

  • Siddhartha Basu’s ‘News Wiz’ quiz series on India Today TV

    Siddhartha Basu’s ‘News Wiz’ quiz series on India Today TV

    MUMBAI: Indian news is primarily consumed by older males 20 and above. Or at least that is the perception. And that has been a challenge for most news channel sales folks  when they have reached out to media planners and buyers to get on brands targeting a younger demographic to advertise. The latter’s rationale for their aversion has been that the generation is mostly getting its information through the web or  on social media, computers, tablets, phones or watching anything but news on TV. 

    Now India Today is taking a stab at filling that perception gap by creating a TV show that hopefully will lure  back the school going lot with a challenging and brand new television quiz show titled News Wiz. Slated to launch on 24 July, the thirteen episode long programme will be hosted by senior journalist and an ardent quiz buff himself Rajdeep Sardesai. Something along the lines of The Bournvita Quiz Contest which in its early days aired on Sunday mornings on TV. 

    With a duration of an hour, News Wiz  will air every Sunday at 11 am.

    public://rajdeep--621x414.jpg

    Produced by Anita and Siddhartha Basu of Big Synergy who brought mega quiz shows Kaun Banega Crorepati, Dus Ka Dum, Mastermind India, University Challenge, etc for television, News Wiz will have the brightest and the best informed students from 27 schools around the country competing for the title of India Today News Wiz 2016. The competitors will show off their knowledge of news and current affairs, incidents and events around the world, with each episode featuring three school teams  (two students each) being pitted against each other . The top scoring teams in the nine preliminary episodes and three semi-finals will participate in the grand finale the likes of which has never been seen before on Indian news television.

    “News is knowledge and knowledge is news. But today there is a lot of misinformation going on as there are so many mediums – TV, newspapers, magazines and most importantly internet. How do people get to know about things, particularly young people,” says Big Synergy chairman and MD Siddharth Basu.

    Adding further, “We shortlisted these 27 schools from close to 1000 entries we received. Some of the schools – around  400 – entered via an online test while the others the regular way. In the end we were down to 60 schools, and of these, after interviews and further elimination procedures, we arrived at 27. These 27 schools will now face each other.”  

    The competition is open to class IX to class XII  students. The aim:  encourage bright young minds to dig deeper and read more, going beyond the headlines, and take a shot at winning the title. Other than the title, on offer are various prizes … up for grabs but only for the best of the best.

    The teams will be provided with a phone-in helpline where they can take help on their answers from a journalist in the concerned field. Apart from that, the show will also have a web guide station where one team member can look up the answers and assist the other team member who will be attempting the question in an allotted time.

    Sardesai  is quite kicked up about anchoring News Wiz. Says he:  “It was a dream to host a quiz show. One of my proudest moment as a young school boy was winning the Bournvita Quiz Contest at the age of 12 or 13. This was with Ameen Sayani for a radio show. I am delighted to be the quizmaster on a news TV show.”

    Sardesai strongly believes that youngsters will start taking interest in news through this show. “I think that quiz shows grab the attention of school going kids and also encourage them to follow news more closely”

    While Tata Motors has come on board as the title sponsor, discussions are on with six other brands to hop on as co-presenting sponsors and associate sponsors. Among those interested include:  personal finance and new age tech gadget advertisers.

    “We couldn’t have managed to get an anchor better than Rajdeep who also has a quiz connection. He welcomes the show with his hands wide open. India Today is already the leader in this space and was keen on broadcasting this show,” adds Basu.

    A promo has been rolled out featuring Salman Khan posing a question to viewers. He will also be seen in the first episode where viewers can ask questions to the Bollywood star. 

    The channel will promote News Wiz through both traditional and non-traditional media. A massive outdoor campaign in the metros supported with a 3600 TV plan across various genres including sister channels has been drawn up.  And ads and promos will roll out in print,  theaters, and online.

    “An array of promos will mount with various celebrities throughout the series. Apart from marketing this show across our network, there will be heavy promotional campaigns on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. We have planned various marketing innovations happening on the digital front to increase interactivity with our viewers. There will be a daily quiz organised on various social media platforms and the users will be rewarded with exciting prizes,” voices TV Today VP marketing Vivek Malhotra. 

    Kudos to Basu, Sardesai and their team for finally bringing an exceptional brain twisting show back on TV!

  • Siddhartha Basu’s ‘News Wiz’ quiz series on India Today TV

    Siddhartha Basu’s ‘News Wiz’ quiz series on India Today TV

    MUMBAI: Indian news is primarily consumed by older males 20 and above. Or at least that is the perception. And that has been a challenge for most news channel sales folks  when they have reached out to media planners and buyers to get on brands targeting a younger demographic to advertise. The latter’s rationale for their aversion has been that the generation is mostly getting its information through the web or  on social media, computers, tablets, phones or watching anything but news on TV. 

    Now India Today is taking a stab at filling that perception gap by creating a TV show that hopefully will lure  back the school going lot with a challenging and brand new television quiz show titled News Wiz. Slated to launch on 24 July, the thirteen episode long programme will be hosted by senior journalist and an ardent quiz buff himself Rajdeep Sardesai. Something along the lines of The Bournvita Quiz Contest which in its early days aired on Sunday mornings on TV. 

    With a duration of an hour, News Wiz  will air every Sunday at 11 am.

    public://rajdeep--621x414.jpg

    Produced by Anita and Siddhartha Basu of Big Synergy who brought mega quiz shows Kaun Banega Crorepati, Dus Ka Dum, Mastermind India, University Challenge, etc for television, News Wiz will have the brightest and the best informed students from 27 schools around the country competing for the title of India Today News Wiz 2016. The competitors will show off their knowledge of news and current affairs, incidents and events around the world, with each episode featuring three school teams  (two students each) being pitted against each other . The top scoring teams in the nine preliminary episodes and three semi-finals will participate in the grand finale the likes of which has never been seen before on Indian news television.

    “News is knowledge and knowledge is news. But today there is a lot of misinformation going on as there are so many mediums – TV, newspapers, magazines and most importantly internet. How do people get to know about things, particularly young people,” says Big Synergy chairman and MD Siddharth Basu.

    Adding further, “We shortlisted these 27 schools from close to 1000 entries we received. Some of the schools – around  400 – entered via an online test while the others the regular way. In the end we were down to 60 schools, and of these, after interviews and further elimination procedures, we arrived at 27. These 27 schools will now face each other.”  

    The competition is open to class IX to class XII  students. The aim:  encourage bright young minds to dig deeper and read more, going beyond the headlines, and take a shot at winning the title. Other than the title, on offer are various prizes … up for grabs but only for the best of the best.

    The teams will be provided with a phone-in helpline where they can take help on their answers from a journalist in the concerned field. Apart from that, the show will also have a web guide station where one team member can look up the answers and assist the other team member who will be attempting the question in an allotted time.

    Sardesai  is quite kicked up about anchoring News Wiz. Says he:  “It was a dream to host a quiz show. One of my proudest moment as a young school boy was winning the Bournvita Quiz Contest at the age of 12 or 13. This was with Ameen Sayani for a radio show. I am delighted to be the quizmaster on a news TV show.”

    Sardesai strongly believes that youngsters will start taking interest in news through this show. “I think that quiz shows grab the attention of school going kids and also encourage them to follow news more closely”

    While Tata Motors has come on board as the title sponsor, discussions are on with six other brands to hop on as co-presenting sponsors and associate sponsors. Among those interested include:  personal finance and new age tech gadget advertisers.

    “We couldn’t have managed to get an anchor better than Rajdeep who also has a quiz connection. He welcomes the show with his hands wide open. India Today is already the leader in this space and was keen on broadcasting this show,” adds Basu.

    A promo has been rolled out featuring Salman Khan posing a question to viewers. He will also be seen in the first episode where viewers can ask questions to the Bollywood star. 

    The channel will promote News Wiz through both traditional and non-traditional media. A massive outdoor campaign in the metros supported with a 3600 TV plan across various genres including sister channels has been drawn up.  And ads and promos will roll out in print,  theaters, and online.

    “An array of promos will mount with various celebrities throughout the series. Apart from marketing this show across our network, there will be heavy promotional campaigns on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. We have planned various marketing innovations happening on the digital front to increase interactivity with our viewers. There will be a daily quiz organised on various social media platforms and the users will be rewarded with exciting prizes,” voices TV Today VP marketing Vivek Malhotra. 

    Kudos to Basu, Sardesai and their team for finally bringing an exceptional brain twisting show back on TV!

  • Vijay TV’s new celeb reality show ‘Achcham Thavir’ starts on June 2

    Vijay TV’s new celeb reality show ‘Achcham Thavir’ starts on June 2

    BENGALURU: Vijay TV’s new celebrity reality weekend show will start airing Thursday to Sunday starting June 2 at the 700 pm slot. The channel says that the Tamil television industry has seen shows involving small screen celebrities taking part in reality shows and performing extraordinary and thrilling tasks. Achcham Thavir differs from such run of the mill shows in as much as it has celebrities even from the film fraternity. The show has Tamil female film and television actor Divya Dharshini as the anchor.

    Amongst the participants include Sonia Agarwal, Gayathri of Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kanom fame, Sanjana Singh, Gayathri Jayaraman, Madumila of Office serial fame, Anchor Priyanka Deshpande, ‘Mettioli’ Gayathri, Ganesh Venkatraman, Bharani of Nadodigal fame, anchor turned actor Ma Ka Pa Anand, Amith Bhargav of Kalyanam Mudhal Kadhalvarai fame, RJ turned actor ‘Mirchi’ Senthil, Siddharth of Saravannan Meenatchi fame and Mudhavanan of Jodi fame.

    The channel says that the new show will be full of thrill, anticipation and emotions. It claims that all the stunts for the show have been done in a very protective environment under professional guidance so that no one is hurt. Vijay TV affirms that overall the show will be a perfect blend of fun, action and entertainment.

  • Vijay TV’s new celeb reality show ‘Achcham Thavir’ starts on June 2

    Vijay TV’s new celeb reality show ‘Achcham Thavir’ starts on June 2

    BENGALURU: Vijay TV’s new celebrity reality weekend show will start airing Thursday to Sunday starting June 2 at the 700 pm slot. The channel says that the Tamil television industry has seen shows involving small screen celebrities taking part in reality shows and performing extraordinary and thrilling tasks. Achcham Thavir differs from such run of the mill shows in as much as it has celebrities even from the film fraternity. The show has Tamil female film and television actor Divya Dharshini as the anchor.

    Amongst the participants include Sonia Agarwal, Gayathri of Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kanom fame, Sanjana Singh, Gayathri Jayaraman, Madumila of Office serial fame, Anchor Priyanka Deshpande, ‘Mettioli’ Gayathri, Ganesh Venkatraman, Bharani of Nadodigal fame, anchor turned actor Ma Ka Pa Anand, Amith Bhargav of Kalyanam Mudhal Kadhalvarai fame, RJ turned actor ‘Mirchi’ Senthil, Siddharth of Saravannan Meenatchi fame and Mudhavanan of Jodi fame.

    The channel says that the new show will be full of thrill, anticipation and emotions. It claims that all the stunts for the show have been done in a very protective environment under professional guidance so that no one is hurt. Vijay TV affirms that overall the show will be a perfect blend of fun, action and entertainment.

  • Marinating Films introduces Web Travel show ‘Desi Explorers’

    Marinating Films introduces Web Travel show ‘Desi Explorers’

    MUMBAI: Wanderlust for the unknown lies within most of us. The curiosity to explore other lands far from our own is common to most. Understanding this, Marinating films has introduced an entirely new concept of a web travel show- Desi Explorers.

    This is a Hindi travel show and the makers say that it will focus on how a country can have different facets for different characters.  The show is about five celebrities – Vishal Singh, Suyyash Rai, Kishwer S Merchant, Sukirti Kandpal, Vrushika Mehta exploring Jordan in their own way. It is a six- episodic web series, to be released in the next two weeks on Marinating films YouTube channel.

    The first season of Desi Explorers will be shot in four different places in Jordan. It will start with the Dead Sea in Jordan, followed by Wadi Rum. Petra, which is also known as the new seventh wonder of the world, will be the third destination and the final spot is the capital city Amman.

    Marinating films has partnered with Jordan Tourism Board and Air Arabia for the show. The partners have bartered services with the production house. Marinating films managing director Sunny Arora said, “Desi Explorers is a creative venture for us rather than a financial one. We are focused on creating experiences for our viewers as this is a pioneer show in this genre on the digital platform”.

    Desi Explorers is being financed by the production house itself. Sources revealed that besides talent, the major production cost is travel and accommodation which could vary between Rs 2.5 Lakh to Rs 3 Lakh per person.  

    The show will be followed by Aaj Tak and ABP News which will be covering the making of the show. The coverage will begin from May 26. The production house has clarified that coverage is a creative call from the channels and it has no business connections with the channels for Desi Explorers.

    There is a crew of 13 people that will be involved in the production of the show. It will be shot in the guerrilla filmmaking style with a Canon 5D Mark III and GoPro cameras to give it a natural look. Desi Explorers is being directed by Manav Binder, who has directed several short films before.

    The makers say that this is a series show, and they will come up with different editions for different countries. After Jordan, Taiwan is next on Marinating films agenda. The makers emphasize that the series will be followed by a travelogue at the end of every season of the show in which the celebrities will share their personal experiences and the making of the show in detail. The travelogue will be released online on various platforms.  .

    Desi Explorers will be promoted on all the digital platforms, including Marinating films in-house platforms. Besides, it will also be promoted through involved celebrity’s social media platforms. The involvement of Aaj Tak and ABP News is expected to bring mileage as well.

    The makers of the show claim that this is one of a kind show due to many factors and will leave a mark amongst audiences. “The show is shot in Hindi with known celebrities to garner the audiences from the region. Desi Explorers is about the spirit to travel and also we are exploring our creativity as well,” concluded Arora.

     

  • Marinating Films introduces Web Travel show ‘Desi Explorers’

    Marinating Films introduces Web Travel show ‘Desi Explorers’

    MUMBAI: Wanderlust for the unknown lies within most of us. The curiosity to explore other lands far from our own is common to most. Understanding this, Marinating films has introduced an entirely new concept of a web travel show- Desi Explorers.

    This is a Hindi travel show and the makers say that it will focus on how a country can have different facets for different characters.  The show is about five celebrities – Vishal Singh, Suyyash Rai, Kishwer S Merchant, Sukirti Kandpal, Vrushika Mehta exploring Jordan in their own way. It is a six- episodic web series, to be released in the next two weeks on Marinating films YouTube channel.

    The first season of Desi Explorers will be shot in four different places in Jordan. It will start with the Dead Sea in Jordan, followed by Wadi Rum. Petra, which is also known as the new seventh wonder of the world, will be the third destination and the final spot is the capital city Amman.

    Marinating films has partnered with Jordan Tourism Board and Air Arabia for the show. The partners have bartered services with the production house. Marinating films managing director Sunny Arora said, “Desi Explorers is a creative venture for us rather than a financial one. We are focused on creating experiences for our viewers as this is a pioneer show in this genre on the digital platform”.

    Desi Explorers is being financed by the production house itself. Sources revealed that besides talent, the major production cost is travel and accommodation which could vary between Rs 2.5 Lakh to Rs 3 Lakh per person.  

    The show will be followed by Aaj Tak and ABP News which will be covering the making of the show. The coverage will begin from May 26. The production house has clarified that coverage is a creative call from the channels and it has no business connections with the channels for Desi Explorers.

    There is a crew of 13 people that will be involved in the production of the show. It will be shot in the guerrilla filmmaking style with a Canon 5D Mark III and GoPro cameras to give it a natural look. Desi Explorers is being directed by Manav Binder, who has directed several short films before.

    The makers say that this is a series show, and they will come up with different editions for different countries. After Jordan, Taiwan is next on Marinating films agenda. The makers emphasize that the series will be followed by a travelogue at the end of every season of the show in which the celebrities will share their personal experiences and the making of the show in detail. The travelogue will be released online on various platforms.  .

    Desi Explorers will be promoted on all the digital platforms, including Marinating films in-house platforms. Besides, it will also be promoted through involved celebrity’s social media platforms. The involvement of Aaj Tak and ABP News is expected to bring mileage as well.

    The makers of the show claim that this is one of a kind show due to many factors and will leave a mark amongst audiences. “The show is shot in Hindi with known celebrities to garner the audiences from the region. Desi Explorers is about the spirit to travel and also we are exploring our creativity as well,” concluded Arora.

     

  • Splitsvilla is back on MTV with season 9

    Splitsvilla is back on MTV with season 9

    MUMBAI: Love is always thickened with various elements and fights or clashes are an innate part of it. After 8 successful seasons, MTV is back with one of the most popular reality show Splitsvilla. Television viewers can witness all the drama, clashes and fights from 12 June 2016 every Sunday at 7 pm. The show will hit TV screens right after the completion of Roadies X4.

    Produced by Colosceum Media, the channel has retained Sunny Leone and Rannvijay Singh as the hosts for the show. For the 15 episodic Splitsvilla, MTV has roped in four sponsors for this season and is likely to lock a deal with Karbonn.

    A source close to the development said that the per episode production cost of Splitsvilla  is approximately Rs 23 to Rs 25 lakh. Revealing further, the source said, “The hosts are all spiced up like never before. Viewers will be able to see many known TV personalities as contestants in the show”. With fights, jealousy, hatred, friendship, backstabbing and love, the show will see 16 wild contestants getting together.

    A 10 second slot rates for the show should be in the region of Rs 10,000 for originals and Rs 5,000 for repeats, opines a media planner.

    Splitsvilla is being shot in Pondicherry with many twists and clashes. In this season as well, show followers will be able to see the male and female ratio continuously changing during the entire course of the show.

     

  • Splitsvilla is back on MTV with season 9

    Splitsvilla is back on MTV with season 9

    MUMBAI: Love is always thickened with various elements and fights or clashes are an innate part of it. After 8 successful seasons, MTV is back with one of the most popular reality show Splitsvilla. Television viewers can witness all the drama, clashes and fights from 12 June 2016 every Sunday at 7 pm. The show will hit TV screens right after the completion of Roadies X4.

    Produced by Colosceum Media, the channel has retained Sunny Leone and Rannvijay Singh as the hosts for the show. For the 15 episodic Splitsvilla, MTV has roped in four sponsors for this season and is likely to lock a deal with Karbonn.

    A source close to the development said that the per episode production cost of Splitsvilla  is approximately Rs 23 to Rs 25 lakh. Revealing further, the source said, “The hosts are all spiced up like never before. Viewers will be able to see many known TV personalities as contestants in the show”. With fights, jealousy, hatred, friendship, backstabbing and love, the show will see 16 wild contestants getting together.

    A 10 second slot rates for the show should be in the region of Rs 10,000 for originals and Rs 5,000 for repeats, opines a media planner.

    Splitsvilla is being shot in Pondicherry with many twists and clashes. In this season as well, show followers will be able to see the male and female ratio continuously changing during the entire course of the show.

     

  • ‘Bigg Boss’ gets Snapdeal as its new presenting partner

    ‘Bigg Boss’ gets Snapdeal as its new presenting partner

    MUMBAI: Controversies and criticism is nothing new to the show, on the contrary it survives on it.

     

    Bigg Boss, which will soon air its eighth season, has been a hit since its inception and managed to pull enough viewers every time, thanks to the fights and love affairs between contestants.

     

    The reality show, a premium property from the Colors bouquet, is coming back with a new appeal. The two teasers of the programme have already hit the television screens with the first one aired on Independence Day.

     

    Clearing all the speculations and rumours of Salman Khan opting out of the show, the popularly known bhai has returned as the host for the fifth time. Produced by Endemol, the first 30 second teaser of the series has Khan putting on the uniform of a pilot walking and giving viewers a salute. Soon an aircraft is shown on the screen that flies across the blue sky.

     

    The second teaser, which hit the screen on 21 August, showcases Khan in an office wearing a pilot’s uniform once again but this time he is busy making paper planes. He flies one of his paper planes which, thanks to the computer graphics, goes on to become an original plane as it flies off into the sky.

     

    The highlight of these teasers is that this time around the eye logo of Bigg Boss is different.  It has a futuristic look unlike the previous versions, which were more like a human eye, to match with the theme of the house. The pupil is a turbofan of an aircraft while the borders of the eye have a shiny metallic skin.

     

    Apart from this, another different thing about the show is the presenting sponsor. After five-long years, the channel has got on-board Snapdeal as its new presenting sponsor instead of Vodafone India. It has also roped in Oppo Electronics as the powered by sponsor. According to a media planner, the title sponsorship is pretty high and would be around Rs 20 crore. . “If you look at the e-commerce space, there is a war going on television and a lot of funding is coming in. E-commerce brands are also willing to pay a premium which the normal brands might not be willing to pay.”

     

    Media planners believe that the show is an established property and enjoys a huge fan following and the market knows it will get the ratings. “I don’t think one can say that it will be either a hit or a fail. The benchmarks are pretty much set and people who actually like the show keep watching it. Colors comes up with a new theme every season just to keep the interest levels in the show alive,” says Maxus managing partner north and east region Navin Khemka.