ITV

Tag: Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat

  • Colors slots ‘Bigg Boss 9’ at 10.30 pm; brands iffy?

    Colors slots ‘Bigg Boss 9’ at 10.30 pm; brands iffy?

    MUMBAI: Promoting the ninth season of its reality show Bigg Boss as ‘double trouble,’ Colors has piqued interest by slotting it late in the 10.30 pm band as opposed to the earlier 9 pm time slot.

    However, the media planning and buying community as well as advertisers are somewhat skeptical about the new timing for the popular show fearing that viewership might go down in the 10.30 pm slot.

    According to information available with Indiantelevision.com, the reason behind putting the show in the 10.30 pm slot was that Colors’ prime time shows Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat (9 pm) and Swaragini (9.30 pm) are doing exceptionally well in their respective time slots. WhileSwaragini has continuously managed to maintain its position amongst the top five progarmmes in Hindi GECs, Chakravartin Ashoka Samrattoo makes appearance in the top five every now and then.

    “Changes in the time slot will definitely influence the viewership as well as the ad rates for the show. The ad rates this year are likely to go down as compared to last year’s rates. Brands are unhappy with the channel’s decisions as prime time gives more visibility to them,” said a senior media planner, on condition of anonymity.

    Another media planner added, “The late hour time slot will certainly pose question marks on brands’ willingness to come on board as well as the ad rates pricing. But on the other hand, Salman Khan’s brand value has also gone up substantially. So while the time shift of Bigg Bosswill impact viewership and subsequently the ad rates in the initial periods, I feel that the broadcaster will pick it up by putting captivating content. Overall Bigg Boss will retain its charm.”

    Colors has roped in SnapDeal as the title sponsor for the show, powered by Oppo Mobile India and driven by Maruti Swift.

    While the opening episode of Bigg Boss 9 on Sunday, 11 October will be aired at 9 pm, subsequent episodes of the season will be telecast from 10.30 – 11.30 pm.

    With Bigg Boss 9 being slotted at 10.30 pm, Colors will do away with the repeat telecast of Ishq Ka Rang Safed at 10:30 pm. On the other hand, Code Red in the 11 pm slot will also go off air, according to the sources. Whether the channel will reschedule the show is not known as of now.

    With the tagline of ‘Double Trouble,’ Bigg Boss 9 and the new time slot does give some wind to the speculation that some of the show’s content may be risqué and not suitable for family viewing as per the country’s television guidelines. While the contestants’ antics coupled with Khan’s inimitable hosting style has managed to pack a punch more often than not, this season of Bigg Boss seems to promise doubled the fun.

    That said, it will be interesting to see whether the change in time slot for Bigg Boss 9 will work for Colors or not and whether brands show the same enthusiasm for the show as for its previous seasons.

  • BARC wk 24: No change in ranking order of Hindi GECs

    BARC wk 24: No change in ranking order of Hindi GECs

    MUMBAI: The pecking order of the Hindi general entertainment channels (GECs) remained the same in the week 24 of Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) ratings.

     

    Star Plus continued to rule all the way with 383533 (000’s) sum followed by Colors with 342535 (000’s) sum. Zee TV stayed steady at number three with 242265 (000’s) sum while Life OK took the fourth position with 234784 (000’s) sum. Last but not the least, Sab clocked 187356 (000’s) sum.

     

    Amongst the top three programmes, Star Plus’s Saath Nibhaana Saathiya turned out to be a clear winner with 6213 (000’s) sum. Colors’ two shows topped the list and occupied number two and three spot respectively. Thus, Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat registered 5044 (000’s) sum and Sasural Simar Ka noted 4610 (000’s) sum respectively.

     

    Sports category too did not witness any new winners this week. Though Ten Sports continued to hold the number one spot with 58221 (000’s sum), Star Sports 3 and Star Sports 1 were perched at the second and third spot with 29996 (000’s sum) and 28189 (000’s sum) respectively.

     

    Talking about the top three programmes in the sports category, while Ten Sports WWE Specials 2015 – Money in the Bank topped the chart with 1254 (000’s sum), Bangladesh vs India 2015 ODI’s Series Live – 1st ODI on Star Sports 3 garnered 1206 (000’s sum). In Star Sports 1 too, Bangladesh vs India 2015 ODI’s Series Live – 1st ODI   reported 1046 (000’s sum).

     

    In the Hindi news broadcasting space, Aaj Tak continued its stranglehold with 31491 (000’s sum). India TV claimed the second spot with 27603 (000’s sum) followed by ABP News at number three with 25186 (000’s sum).

  • Zee gains big in individual data; Colors’ five shows top the list

    Zee gains big in individual data; Colors’ five shows top the list

    MUMBAI: Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC), Zee TV is riding high on success. After winning back its third slot and dislodging Sab to number four in week 23 of TAM TV ratings, in week 24, the channel has garnered a significant rise in individual data. 

     

    Zee TV observed 167 GRPs, up from 147 GRPs at number three. Sony at number six was the second highest gainer with 119 GRPs, up from 113 GRPs. Life OK at number five too saw a marginal rise with 131 GRPs, up from 130 GRPs. &TV also witnessed a growth in ratings and recorded 68 GRPs, up from 58 GRPs. 

     

    Other channels like Star Plus and Sab were on the losing side in week 24. While Star Plus dropped from 244 GRPs to 241 GRPs in individual data, Sab dropped from 150 GRPs to 144 GRPs. 

     

    Interestingly, breaking the records of Star Plus’s shows always leading the pack with the maximum wins, this week Colors became the leading channel with five of its shows making it to the top 10 list.

     

    India’s Got Talent at number five topped the Colors chart with 3.14 TVR followed by Meri Aashiqui Tum Se Hi at number seven with 3.03 TVR followed by Comedy Nights With Kapil with 2.77 TVR at number eight. Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat recorded ninth position with 2.71 TVR, which was followed by Udaan occupying the tenth spot with 2.68 TVR. 

     

    For the rest, two of Star Plus’ shows continue to occupy the first and second spots. Thus Ye Hai Mohabbatein scored 3.94 TVR and Saathiya Saath Nibhana registered 3.83 TVR. Another hit from the kitty, Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai stood at number four with 3.40 TVR.

     

    Zee TV’s Kumkum Bhagya at number three reported 3.66 TVR. 

     

    Click here for the full individual report.

  • Colors bets big on historical ‘Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat’

    Colors bets big on historical ‘Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat’

    MUMBAI: History repeats itself… or so they say. From the time Indian television was born, historical and mythological shows have been an integral part of it. In the early 90s, Sunday mornings were dedicated to Mahabharata and Ramayana and today prime time slots are dedicated to the numerous gods and kings, as they battle it out for the ratings.

     

    Colors, the channel synonymous with edgy content and reality shows, is once again dabbling with historical show with Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat. Through the tale of a great emperor who charted the course of Indian history, the channel aims to write its own saga in the genre.

     

    “It is one of the biggest shows of 2015 from Colors stable,” said Colors CEO Raj Nayak at the dusty yet magnanimous sets of the show at ND Studios in Karjat. The idea of launching another historical show after Veer Shivaji was always on the cards, but the actual work on the new series started six months back.

     

    “We took Veer Shivaji off air because it gave us low ratings as compared to other shows on the same time band across channels. But in hindsight, we realised that we shouldn’t have. Hence, we have always been toying with the idea but it has taken us a lot of time to build on it. And we are glad that we have been able to put a great team together,” said Nayak.

     

    The one hour long historical, which goes on air from 2 February, is produced by Contiloe Entertainment and will see set designers Omung Kumar and Nitin Desai collaborating.

     

    “Our brief to the production house was simple – the show needs to be the best ever,” proclaims Nayak.

     

    Contiloe Entertainment, which has numerous genres to its credit, isn’t new to historic shows as well. After creating shows like Jhansi ki Rani, the production house is optimistic about the latest show on its platter. “Everybody knows about Ashoka the emperor and the story will resonate with urban as well as rural India. The show is about creation and will inspire viewers too,” said Contiloe Entertainment CEO Abhimanyu Singh.

     

    The show will follow the story of young Ashoka’s journey in a dramatised manner. “There are always gaps in history, which need to be filled and we’ve made sure that the dots are joined in a responsible way,” said Singh.

     

    A huge research team under the guidance of Srikant Sharma worked on the show. “A number of books have been written on it and we have read almost everything on the era to get story as real as possible,” added Singh.

     

    The young Ashoka is played by Dhoom 3 star Siddharth Nigam and will see Pallavi Subhash (Dharma), Sameer Dharmadhikari (Bindusara), Manoj Joshi (Chanakya), Tej Sapru (Seleucus Nicator), Suzanne Bernert (Helena), Sumit Kaul (Justin) and Ankita Sharma (Noor Khorasan) among others etching the roles.

     

    It wasn’t an easy task to get the cast right. According to Nayak, if the cast is right then a show will work. After numerous auditions, Nigam was shortlisted and had to undergo a three-month long training to play the part with ease.

     

    So far, 10 episodes have been canned. Shot with three Alexa cameras, an episode takes almost four to six days to shoot. “We shoot from 7 am till 10 pm, depending on the demand of the script. However, things have improved now as we have all got a hang of it,” said Prasad Gawandi, who has directed the show.

     

    Planned to be a finite show, which will be on air for six months, the channel will take a call on extending it based on audiences’ reaction. “At Colors we are very clear; if something doesn’t work, we kill it. But that doesn’t stop us from experimenting and taking a risk,” points out Nayak, when asked if the show will get an extension or if the one hour time slot would be shortened in the future.

     

    With Ghari Detergent as its title sponsor, Nayak is confident that many will follow suit once the show is up and running. “In case of fiction shows, one doesn’t have to bother about sponsors as they come on their own as ratings scorch unlike non-fiction where one has to get sponsors on board beforehand as they are expensive,” highlighted Nayak.

     

    The channel, which has a premium charge attached to it, expects Rs 1.5 to Rs 1.8 lakh for a 10 second ad slot.

     

    Media planners too believe that since the story has not been told on the small screen before, it will tend to work in favour of the show and the channel. “Other stories have been told and retold but the story of Ashoka on small screen with modern technology should work,” said a media planner.

     

    To market the show, Colors is routing through unconventional methods. For instance, Mumbai metro travellers are in for a surprise as they will get a coin used in the Mauryan era rather than the usual ticket token for a week. Apart from this, a special school contact programme will be executed in close to 200 schools in 50 towns in tier II markets where students will, in an interactive way, learn about Emperor Ashoka and his life.

     

    “A number of melas and yatras are on in the country and we are tapping in to these as well to give viewers a real life feel of the characters. For instance, people can engage through archery to get a feel of the era gone by,” said Nayak.

     

    One of the most expensive fiction shows apart from 24, the channel is betting high on the story of the young emperor and only time will tell how it fares.

  • Colors revisits history with ‘Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat’

    Colors revisits history with ‘Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat’

    MUMBAI: Colors today announced the advent of a new journey by taking viewers one step closer to Indian history with Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat.

     

    Written by author Ashok Banker, who is making his comeback to television after nearly two decades, Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat is the first time that the king’s story will be narrated on television. The show is being produced by Contiloe Entertainment.

     

    Commenting on the show, Colors CEO Raj Nayak said, “Nothing gives us more joy than recreating history by narrating the story of one of the greatest rulers of India. We are currently in the initial stages of production where the lion just can’t wait to roar.”

     

    “All the splendor and majesty of this great emperor will come alive on this extraordinary series as we promise to take our viewers through important chapters in Indian history. Further, the show’s concept and universal appeal is bound to entice our marketers and advertisers while creating multiple avenues to enable us to reach out to our collective target audiences,” he added.

     

    The historical retelling of this tale on Colors will showcase the journey and lifetime of emperor Ashoka, from his rise to power to his state of penance after the gory blood-bath in the battle of Kalinga that made him give up war to embrace Buddhism.

     

    Commenting on the show, Banker said, “It’s been a long and tedious process of carefully joining the dots and putting together a regal story for the viewers. While the epic story of Ashoka, the great Mauryan emperor, is waiting to be told, we hope to recreate history on Indian television with our significant efforts of retelling this great tale of Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat that changed the face of India’s cultural heritage.”