ITV

Tag: ETV Kannada

  • Bigg Boss Kannada is a success story

    Bigg Boss Kannada is a success story

    BENGALURU:  A few weeks ago, some film producers from Sandalwood held a protest in front of Innovative Film City in Bidadi, where the Bigg Boss house is located, demanding the actors not to participate or host reality shows on television. Season 4 of Endemol’s global format Big Brother through Endemol Shine India was and is still being held there. The current season will run through 100 days to culminate on 15 January this year on Colors Kannada. 

    During the protests the Kannada film fraternity bigwigs also tried to impose a ban on the show because of its popularity affecting the performances of movies in the box office. These few opening lines indicate how much of an impact, how much of a success Bigg Boss has been in its Kannada avatar.

    Right from the first season when the show was aired on ETv Kannada (now Colors Kannada), Bigg Boss has been a huge hit. Even during season 2, when Star India’s Kannada GEC Suvarna TV brought the rights, the show ended up with about 25 percent increase in viewers for the channel say industry sources. “We at Suvarna could not capitalise on the success and ended up losing money on the show,” revealed a source at Suvarna TV. 

    Bigg Boss returned to Viacom 18 though it’s now renamed channel – Colors Kannada and grew even bigger for season 3, which was shot at Film City Bidadi for the first time. The location for the first two seasons of Bigg Boss Kannada was near Pune. And as for season 4, as mentioned above – is history.

    A channel and its shows are successful because of the people behind them. With his vision of making Colors Kannada emerge as the ultimate storyteller, Parameshwar Gundhkal joined the channel in September 2012 as Business Head. Based in Bengaluru, he has escalated the growth of the channel from a number 4 player to being numero-uno. Gundhkal, who began life as a journalist, has experience as fiction head and later as programming head at the Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (Zeel) Zee Kannada.

    “Today Colors Kannada continues to retain its number one position with a significant margin,” Gundhkal told www.indiantelevision.com

    /sites/default/files/styles/large/public/Untitled-1_3.jpg?itok=mx8dnTPD

    Gundhkal has been personally involved in Bigg Boss as a de facto director say people at Colors Kannada. Season 4 has 55 cameras and 300 people working around the clocking recording the happenings in the house, picking up stories that could interest viewers and following them up.

    “Bigg Boss is a study of human behaviour when cut off from the outside world. Their core character comes out because of the isolation. Though contestants sometimes become predictable, Bigg Boss is all about characters that really surprise you, some of whom have a very salted approach towards life, they will never become predictable,” explains an enthusiastic Gundhkal.

    A big chunk of the success of Bigg Boss Kannada must be attributed to its weekend anchor. All the four season have been hosted by Sandalwood superstar Kiccha Sudeep whose name has become synonymous to the show and its format in the Kannada entertainment world. Rumours allege that Sudeep has signed a Rs 18 crore five season deal starting with Season 3 with Colors Kannada to host the show.

    A special home has been setup for Sudeep at the Film City in Bidadi. The actor comes in on Friday nights, watches the interesting stories picked up for broadcast and then with the channel and production teams scripts the questions and the remarks that he will make for the weekends when he is host. So passionate are they for the show that the star and the channel head often work through the night for the weekend episode and sleep for a short time at about 500 am on Saturday revealed Gundhkal. 

    On rumours that the drama on the show is a scripted, induced and does not come out from within the characters, Gundhkal explained, “It cannot be induced. Bigg Boss’s intervention is limited to tasks. Eventually when the participants come out, they will definitely share notes when they meet and would speak out if the show were scripted. More than 50 contestants have taken part in the show so far. It would be difficult to control the participants because they will have some level of disagreement with the direction team. Each of the contestants wants to be popular, to win, and there can be only one winner. At the end of the day it is a 90 minute piece of content per day telecast picked from a 24 hour period shot with multiple cameras. Of course the initial part where Sudeep speaks during weekend episodes is scripted, but then the continuation is not. Based on the response, Sudeep has to react, respond himself, often impromptu.”

    Continuing on Sudeep and his role in questioning the contestants for the weekend episodes, Gundhkal explained, “We take a very neutral stand as far as any contestant is concerned. Based on our interpretation – Sudeep’s and my own, we script the questions and the possible follow-ups for these episodes.”

    The show has been drawing in sponsors like a magnet does a piece of iron. For season 1 Bigg Boss Kannada was presented by jewellery brand Bhima and powered by slipper brand Paragon. The number of brands increased for season 3 which had OLX as the main sponsor and was co-sponsored by food brands Nisargalaya Brahmi Oil, Gemini Cooking Oil and Eastern. Season 4 has five brands associated with it- Vaseline as the presenting sponsor and it was powered by Nutrigain for the first 50 days. Special partners for the current season are Airtel 4G, McDowell No.1 Soda and MTR.

    The show is aired on Colors Kannada and Colors Kannada HD simultaneously from 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM every day. This is the first season of Bigg Boss Kannada to be shot and aired in High-Definition. A spin-off show, Bigg Boss Night Shift is being produced and aired on Colors Super from 10:00 PM to 11:00 PM every day.

  • Bigg Boss Kannada is a success story

    Bigg Boss Kannada is a success story

    BENGALURU:  A few weeks ago, some film producers from Sandalwood held a protest in front of Innovative Film City in Bidadi, where the Bigg Boss house is located, demanding the actors not to participate or host reality shows on television. Season 4 of Endemol’s global format Big Brother through Endemol Shine India was and is still being held there. The current season will run through 100 days to culminate on 15 January this year on Colors Kannada. 

    During the protests the Kannada film fraternity bigwigs also tried to impose a ban on the show because of its popularity affecting the performances of movies in the box office. These few opening lines indicate how much of an impact, how much of a success Bigg Boss has been in its Kannada avatar.

    Right from the first season when the show was aired on ETv Kannada (now Colors Kannada), Bigg Boss has been a huge hit. Even during season 2, when Star India’s Kannada GEC Suvarna TV brought the rights, the show ended up with about 25 percent increase in viewers for the channel say industry sources. “We at Suvarna could not capitalise on the success and ended up losing money on the show,” revealed a source at Suvarna TV. 

    Bigg Boss returned to Viacom 18 though it’s now renamed channel – Colors Kannada and grew even bigger for season 3, which was shot at Film City Bidadi for the first time. The location for the first two seasons of Bigg Boss Kannada was near Pune. And as for season 4, as mentioned above – is history.

    A channel and its shows are successful because of the people behind them. With his vision of making Colors Kannada emerge as the ultimate storyteller, Parameshwar Gundhkal joined the channel in September 2012 as Business Head. Based in Bengaluru, he has escalated the growth of the channel from a number 4 player to being numero-uno. Gundhkal, who began life as a journalist, has experience as fiction head and later as programming head at the Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (Zeel) Zee Kannada.

    “Today Colors Kannada continues to retain its number one position with a significant margin,” Gundhkal told www.indiantelevision.com

    /sites/default/files/styles/large/public/Untitled-1_3.jpg?itok=mx8dnTPD

    Gundhkal has been personally involved in Bigg Boss as a de facto director say people at Colors Kannada. Season 4 has 55 cameras and 300 people working around the clocking recording the happenings in the house, picking up stories that could interest viewers and following them up.

    “Bigg Boss is a study of human behaviour when cut off from the outside world. Their core character comes out because of the isolation. Though contestants sometimes become predictable, Bigg Boss is all about characters that really surprise you, some of whom have a very salted approach towards life, they will never become predictable,” explains an enthusiastic Gundhkal.

    A big chunk of the success of Bigg Boss Kannada must be attributed to its weekend anchor. All the four season have been hosted by Sandalwood superstar Kiccha Sudeep whose name has become synonymous to the show and its format in the Kannada entertainment world. Rumours allege that Sudeep has signed a Rs 18 crore five season deal starting with Season 3 with Colors Kannada to host the show.

    A special home has been setup for Sudeep at the Film City in Bidadi. The actor comes in on Friday nights, watches the interesting stories picked up for broadcast and then with the channel and production teams scripts the questions and the remarks that he will make for the weekends when he is host. So passionate are they for the show that the star and the channel head often work through the night for the weekend episode and sleep for a short time at about 500 am on Saturday revealed Gundhkal. 

    On rumours that the drama on the show is a scripted, induced and does not come out from within the characters, Gundhkal explained, “It cannot be induced. Bigg Boss’s intervention is limited to tasks. Eventually when the participants come out, they will definitely share notes when they meet and would speak out if the show were scripted. More than 50 contestants have taken part in the show so far. It would be difficult to control the participants because they will have some level of disagreement with the direction team. Each of the contestants wants to be popular, to win, and there can be only one winner. At the end of the day it is a 90 minute piece of content per day telecast picked from a 24 hour period shot with multiple cameras. Of course the initial part where Sudeep speaks during weekend episodes is scripted, but then the continuation is not. Based on the response, Sudeep has to react, respond himself, often impromptu.”

    Continuing on Sudeep and his role in questioning the contestants for the weekend episodes, Gundhkal explained, “We take a very neutral stand as far as any contestant is concerned. Based on our interpretation – Sudeep’s and my own, we script the questions and the possible follow-ups for these episodes.”

    The show has been drawing in sponsors like a magnet does a piece of iron. For season 1 Bigg Boss Kannada was presented by jewellery brand Bhima and powered by slipper brand Paragon. The number of brands increased for season 3 which had OLX as the main sponsor and was co-sponsored by food brands Nisargalaya Brahmi Oil, Gemini Cooking Oil and Eastern. Season 4 has five brands associated with it- Vaseline as the presenting sponsor and it was powered by Nutrigain for the first 50 days. Special partners for the current season are Airtel 4G, McDowell No.1 Soda and MTR.

    The show is aired on Colors Kannada and Colors Kannada HD simultaneously from 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM every day. This is the first season of Bigg Boss Kannada to be shot and aired in High-Definition. A spin-off show, Bigg Boss Night Shift is being produced and aired on Colors Super from 10:00 PM to 11:00 PM every day.

  • Viacom 18 launches second GEC – Colors Super for Kannada audiences

    Viacom 18 launches second GEC – Colors Super for Kannada audiences

    MUMBAI: Viacom 18, after ruling the rating charts in the Kannada market for 62 weeks, now is set to launch its second GEC in the same space. Come 24 July 2016 Karnataka will have a new channel, Colors Super offering new programming. The channel will launch with four hours of original programming with mainstream genres per day during weekdays and a movie premiere on Sundays.  Colors Super will be available on all the major DTH players. 

    Speaking on the launch of new channel, Viacom 18 group CEO Sudhanshu Vats said, “In terms of market size in the Indian television scenario, regional entertainment is next only to Hindi general entertainment, as a category. This translates into a sizeable ad market, growing at a CAGR of 15 per cent, similar to the overall TV ad market, over the next few years.”

    Elaborating further, Vats stated, “Within the regional entertainment pie, the Kannada GEC ad market alone stood at an estimated Rs 500 crore in FY16. As we cemented our dominance on this market, we realized we had a lot more to offer – both in terms of content and brand solution opportunities. Colors Super will expand our offering to both the viewer, by bringing in missing genres into the market, and the advertiser, by increasing the available ad inventory, thereby plugging in existing gaps in the current market.”

    public://Sudhanshu Vats and Ravish Kumar at the launch of Colors Super.JPG

    Viacom18 has planned a marketing blitz across 179 major towns of Karnataka, targeting both the urban and rural markets of the state. The group is selling the channels separately.  Colors Super has roped in Vizeum as a media planning company from Mumbai. The channel will aggressively use 360 degree to market the channel across platforms including television channels, print, outdoor and digital.  The channel is spending more than Rs 5 crore on an ad campaign.

    With the launch of Colors Super, the group’s aim is to create a superb family viewing experience by offering viewers an exciting mix of stories and genres that are currently absent but much in demand. The two channels Colors Kannada and Colors Super will complement each other and offer viewers holistic and superlative entertainment. Viacom 18 regional channels (Colors Kannada, Colors Super and Colors Bangla) project head Ravish Kumar explained, “The biggest point is the kind of content we will be airing is different from the shows that there are in the market today. We have many ideas but we were not able to do execute them because of limited number of time slots and were not just able to do them. Hence we realized that there is a very strong demand from the viewers on the content. Therefore the logical step was to launch the new GEC.”

    With an eclectic mix of content, spanning mythology, fantasy and supernatural, romcoms, reality television and world satellite premieres of movies, Colors Super promises to induct a diverse mix of genres in the Kannada general entertainment market. Kannada heartthrob Yash, who started his career with Colors Kannada, will be leading the marketing campaign for Colors Super.

    In todays’ time, Hindi general entertainment channels are extending their prime time. Talking about the trend in the Kannada market, Kumar explained, “If you look at the Karnataka GEC market in the past people have experimented with the morning programming. Even in Colors Kannada we used to have the original slots in the morning, we used to have original programming in the morning and over a period of time we discovered that the original programming was not working for us. Later when we started the repeats of the original programming they started rating better than the original. So, the buzz for the prime time is from the 6 pm to 10.30 pm. 6pm time slot is still early but the core prime time is from 7pm to 10pm.”

    As mentioned above, Colors Kannada ruled the rating charts for 62 weeks – Kumar added on being a competitor of its own channel, he said, “We want to compete with ourselves because that brings out the best in us.”

    The new offering provides significant opportunity for content innovation and business growth and is set to emerge as a high decibel entertainment destination for the viewers.

  • Viacom 18 launches second GEC – Colors Super for Kannada audiences

    Viacom 18 launches second GEC – Colors Super for Kannada audiences

    MUMBAI: Viacom 18, after ruling the rating charts in the Kannada market for 62 weeks, now is set to launch its second GEC in the same space. Come 24 July 2016 Karnataka will have a new channel, Colors Super offering new programming. The channel will launch with four hours of original programming with mainstream genres per day during weekdays and a movie premiere on Sundays.  Colors Super will be available on all the major DTH players. 

    Speaking on the launch of new channel, Viacom 18 group CEO Sudhanshu Vats said, “In terms of market size in the Indian television scenario, regional entertainment is next only to Hindi general entertainment, as a category. This translates into a sizeable ad market, growing at a CAGR of 15 per cent, similar to the overall TV ad market, over the next few years.”

    Elaborating further, Vats stated, “Within the regional entertainment pie, the Kannada GEC ad market alone stood at an estimated Rs 500 crore in FY16. As we cemented our dominance on this market, we realized we had a lot more to offer – both in terms of content and brand solution opportunities. Colors Super will expand our offering to both the viewer, by bringing in missing genres into the market, and the advertiser, by increasing the available ad inventory, thereby plugging in existing gaps in the current market.”

    public://Sudhanshu Vats and Ravish Kumar at the launch of Colors Super.JPG

    Viacom18 has planned a marketing blitz across 179 major towns of Karnataka, targeting both the urban and rural markets of the state. The group is selling the channels separately.  Colors Super has roped in Vizeum as a media planning company from Mumbai. The channel will aggressively use 360 degree to market the channel across platforms including television channels, print, outdoor and digital.  The channel is spending more than Rs 5 crore on an ad campaign.

    With the launch of Colors Super, the group’s aim is to create a superb family viewing experience by offering viewers an exciting mix of stories and genres that are currently absent but much in demand. The two channels Colors Kannada and Colors Super will complement each other and offer viewers holistic and superlative entertainment. Viacom 18 regional channels (Colors Kannada, Colors Super and Colors Bangla) project head Ravish Kumar explained, “The biggest point is the kind of content we will be airing is different from the shows that there are in the market today. We have many ideas but we were not able to do execute them because of limited number of time slots and were not just able to do them. Hence we realized that there is a very strong demand from the viewers on the content. Therefore the logical step was to launch the new GEC.”

    With an eclectic mix of content, spanning mythology, fantasy and supernatural, romcoms, reality television and world satellite premieres of movies, Colors Super promises to induct a diverse mix of genres in the Kannada general entertainment market. Kannada heartthrob Yash, who started his career with Colors Kannada, will be leading the marketing campaign for Colors Super.

    In todays’ time, Hindi general entertainment channels are extending their prime time. Talking about the trend in the Kannada market, Kumar explained, “If you look at the Karnataka GEC market in the past people have experimented with the morning programming. Even in Colors Kannada we used to have the original slots in the morning, we used to have original programming in the morning and over a period of time we discovered that the original programming was not working for us. Later when we started the repeats of the original programming they started rating better than the original. So, the buzz for the prime time is from the 6 pm to 10.30 pm. 6pm time slot is still early but the core prime time is from 7pm to 10pm.”

    As mentioned above, Colors Kannada ruled the rating charts for 62 weeks – Kumar added on being a competitor of its own channel, he said, “We want to compete with ourselves because that brings out the best in us.”

    The new offering provides significant opportunity for content innovation and business growth and is set to emerge as a high decibel entertainment destination for the viewers.

  • Viacom completes process of 50% acquisition in ETV channels from Reliance

    Viacom completes process of 50% acquisition in ETV channels from Reliance

    MUMBAI: Viacom Inc, which received approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to acquire 50 per cent equity stake in Prism TV for Rs 9.4 billion (approximately $153 million) earlier this month, has completed the transaction.

     

    The transaction was completed today (31 July) between Nickelodeon Asia Holdings Pte Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Viacom Inc., and Shinano Retail Private Limited, a company effectively 100 per cent owned by Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited.

     

    Prism runs five regional language general entertainment channels namely ETV Marathi, ETV Gujarati, ETV Kannada, ETV Bangla and ETV Odia, all of which were recently rebranded under the Colors umbrella.

     

    With this acquisition, Viacom Inc. will hold 50 per cent of Prism TV and the remaining 50 per cent interest will continue to be owned by the Network18 Group, Viacom’s partner in the Viacom18 joint venture.

     

    Viacom18 operates 10 channels including MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and Colors.  The deal gives Viacom a significant presence in the fast growing regional TV sector in India, where almost 60 per cent of the population of more than 1.2 billion people speak regional dialects as their first language. Collectively, regional TV stations account for the second largest share of viewing in the Indian market, behind only Hindi general entertainment channels.

     

    Viacom president and CEO Philippe Dauman said, “We’re thrilled to be broadening our presence in one of the largest and fastest growing TV markets in the world, and deepening our already strong partnership with Network18.  This acquisition is an important step in building on our leadership position in India, a key market in Viacom’s international growth strategy.”

     

    Network18 CEO AP Parigi added, “This acquisition by Viacom International Media Networks further strengthens the partnership with Network18 both in terms of depth and breadth. I am confident India will emerge as a global entertainment powerhouse in the year ahead.”

     

    Viacom International Media Networks president and CEO Bob Bakish said, “Regional TV networks – and regional ad markets – are the next wave of growth in India. Having a strong national and broad regional presence gives us a powerful platform to launch additional brands, and introduce successful franchises and formats across India.”

     

    Viacom18 group CEO Sudhanshu Vats said, “This acquisition is a big milestone for Viacom & Network 18 and it showcases their combined conviction to build a powerful broadcast offering for the Indian market.  We are delighted by the transaction and the next growth phase for the companies.”

  • Viacom18 completes ETV Kannada re-branding under Colors umbrella

    Viacom18 completes ETV Kannada re-branding under Colors umbrella

    MUMBAI: The Colors family of channels is growing rapidly. After re-branding ETV Marathi, ETV Bangla, ETV Gujarati and ETV Odiya recently, Viacom 18 has now re-branded ETV Kannada as Colors Kannada. With this, Viacom 18 completes the re-branding of Prism TV’s five ETV regional general entertainmentchannels under the Colors brand name.

     

    The 14-year-old ETV Kannada will be re-branded as Colors Kannada on 26 April, 2015 and will reflect the distinctive culture and traditions of Karnataka through its differentiated content.

     

    The channel takes its legacy forward with the new brand philosophy – ‘OndeSambandha, Ade Anubandha.’ The channel is set to offer high octane entertainment through the week, which will culminate into a celebratory gala on 26 April marking the metamorphosis of this journey.

     

    Viacom18 EVP and project head – Colors Kannada, Colors Bangla and Colors Odiya Ravish Kumar said, “These are exciting times for Kannada television – as we enter this new phase of growth, consumer delight shall continue to be the key driver for Colors Kannada. We hope to up the ante and continue the surprise viewers in the future too.”

     

    Colors Kannada business head Parameshwar Gundkal added, “We have excelled in providing innovative and engaging content that has delighted viewers and set new standards for both the market and for us to surpass. We further hope to make Colors Kannada the one stop for Kannada entertainment.”

     

    As part of the pre-launch campaign, all the artists associated with the channel will come together to unveil the Colors Kannada logo. Mega episodes of the following shows will be aired through the week before launch day:

     

    22 April – Lakshmi Baramma, 7:30-8:30 pm 

    23 April – Agnisakshi, 8 – 9 pm

    24 April- Akka, 8:30-9:30 pm

    25 April- A special slot Dancing Talkies, Maja Talkies, 8 – 9 pm

    25 April- Dancing Star, 9-10:30 pm

    26 April- Ugramm– movie premiere, 2 pm

    26 April- rebranding event, 6 pm

     

  • Viacom18 rebrands ETV franchise to Colors

    Viacom18 rebrands ETV franchise to Colors

    MUMBAI: In a cutthroat competitive world of regional television viewing, what is essential for those in the business is to constantly keep rebranding in order to keep in touch with its existing viewers, while adding new ones. 

     

    In an attempt to do the same, Viacom18 has decided to licence its existing brand name Colors to Prism TV, which runs the five regional general entertainment channels namely: ETV Marathi, ETV Bangla, ETV Oriya, ETV Kannada and ETV Gujarati. As part of this, the channels will not only shed the ETV name, thus donning the Colors identity, but will also see induction of new programming. 

     

    The rebranding of the regional GECs will augment the Colors franchise while facilitating higher resonance for the regional channels vis-a-vis competition.
     

    “The strategic pillar of the success for the network has been sharper segmentation,” said Viacom18 Media group CEO Sudhanshu Vats.

     

    According to Vats, one of the logical pieces in segmentation is looking at geographical, regional and linguistic segmentation, which is what the network plans to do with the rebranding exercise.

     

    Putting forth some statistics, Vats said that 59 per cent of India speaks in regional language and 41 per cent speaks in Hindi. “It is important that we develop our footprints in the regional space as well. As we go forward, I feel that the viewership in regional will only grow upwards,” he said. 

     

    The Hindi entertainment viewership is currently at 44 per cent, comprising about 29 per cent of Hindi general entertainment and 14-15 per cent of Hindi movies, whereas the regional viewership is at about 30 per cent. The third is kids channels with 8-9 per cent. So between them, it constitutes about 85 per cent of viewership in India. “This underlines the importance of regional, which is also growing faster than any other segment,” he informed.  

     

    Vats also feels that as India develops, the pride in regional language will only get strengthened. “The viewership will grow, and when this grows, the ad dollars will follow,” he added.  

     

    Rebranding exercise

     

    The teaser for the rebranding was launched on 3 March. The network plans to undertake the transition of the ETV franchise to Colors in a phase-wise manner. The first to rebrand is ETV Marathi, which will turn to Colors Marathi on 22 March. For the same, the communication will begin from 6 March, after which for almost two weeks, viewers can see the flip happening from ETV to Colors Marathi and then, on 22 March, on the occasion of Gudi Padwa, the final logo of Colors Marathi will be launched.

     

    The transition for all the five ETV channels will take place over a period of two months. “We are staggering the transition across two months because we want to bring alive the new identity with the agrarian new year of each of the regions we are present in. All the channel logos will be unveiled in an unique way, keeping the culture of the region in mind and taking roots from the place they come from,” informed Vats. 

     

    Apart from the logo, a few channels have also undergone a change in its tagline. The new tagline for Colors Marathi is ‘Saaz Nava, Rang Nava.’ The new programmes launched on the channel include: Marathi International Cinema and Theatre Awards on 22 March, Majhiya Mahera on 23 March and Sakhi on 23 March.

     

    Colors Bangla, with its new tagline ‘Tomar Sapner Rong’ will launch on 12 April. The new show Great Music Gurukul will air on 13 April.  Colors Gujarati with its new tagline ‘Dil Thi Gujarati’ will launch between 13 – 18 April. As for the new programmes, the channel will air Kumkum na Pagla Padya and Preet, Piyu ane Pannaben. Colors Kannada will launch with two new shows on 26 April and Colors Oriya will rebrand on 14 April. 

     

    The logos have been created in-house by Prism TV, which currently runs the five regional channels. 

     

    Talking about the new shows, Vats said, “As this rebranding happens, we will look at a lot of synergies. This will include new shows, both fiction and non-fiction, events and combination of both. This is necessary for people to understand and recognise the journey we are undertaking.”

     

    The network has a big history. “Each of the channels run by Prism TV command a certain level of trust and loyalty from their viewers.  The rebranding exercise of Colors will bring  a new wave of freshness to the channel. In an ideal way, we want to have the best of both worlds: so while we continue to have the heritage, with rebranding and new shows, we look at injecting modernity to the channel,” opined Vats.  

     

    The network through the exercise is looking at getting in new viewers and retaining the old ones. “Rebranding will increase the viewership footprint of Colors, which is important, thus extending our brand in the regional space was the most logical way forward. Also from the viewer’s perspective, ETV has a heritage, loyalty and trust. However the channel started 15 years back and the viewers of ETV have aged with the channel. It is therefore important that we get a reappraisal of the channel and get the youngsters in,” said Vats.

     

    When queried on whether the rebranding of regional channels would see any change in the programming of Colors, Vats said, “With time, it would be a two way process. While we our flagship GEC could share best practices and insights with the regional counterparts, the regional brands will also help the brand experiment with new content ideas.”

     

    He further added, “Subject to regulatory approvals, the regional channels could become a part of Viacom18, and once that happens there could be certain experiments that go well in the regional space, which could be brought to Colors as well. Therefore there is scope for learning to both sides.”

     

    The network undertook two to three rounds of research over a period of six to nine months before finalizing the new logo. The research highlighted that:

     

    * Colors has a strong positive imagery around high production values, bold themes, innovative non-fiction and programming that drives change/social programming.

     

     * Colors is the only channel that has achieved superlative success and ratings across both fiction and non-fiction shows. It is regarded by viewers as an “all rounder” and an “activist”. In summary a rebel with a cause.

     

    * Colors does not shy away from taking risks and placing big bets e.g. 24   

     

    * Merging the strong legacy and rich cultural roots of ETV channels with the positive imagery and entrepreneurial DNA of Colors shall result in:

    – Potentially the best of both worlds. Continually delighting viewers and exceeding their expectations

    – A quantum leap for regional content which is contemporary and progressive yet rooted firmly in a bedrock of rich values and tradition

    – Development of the ecosystem spurring the creation of jobs and emergence of writers, producers, directors, actors etc

    – Cost effective and targeted solutions for advertisers 

     

    Revenue Jump 

     

    The purpose of rebranding to Colors, according to Vats, is for the Prism team to be able to exploit the opportunity in its entirety and that would mean increase in viewership and ad revenue. 

     

    “Viacom18 has been growing in strong double digits. We have been growing at about 17 odd per cent, so I will expect the regional space to grow faster than that,” he informed.  
              
     

    Marketing buzz
      

    The channel rebranding is scheduled to coincide with regional festivals that mark new beginnings. 360 degree marketing and communication campaigns encompassing TV, cinema, cable, on-ground, radio, outdoor as well as digital platforms, customised to individual regional markets, will amplify the change.

     

    “We will bring alive the rebranding of the regional general entertainment channel cluster through enhanced packaging and an integrated marketing approach,” informed Vats.

     

    Campaigns for each regional brand will leverage the distinct fervour of the corresponding state or region through region specific events and / or on-ground activations involving popular local influencers.
     

    Each campaign will run for approximately four-five weeks, beginning with Colors Marathi on 22 March 2015. Coinciding with the Maharashtrian New Year – Gudi Padva, a high decibel event will unveil the new face of Colors Marathi.

     
    Similar extravaganzas will also celebrate the unveiling of the new brand identities of Colors Oriya, Colors Bangla, Colors Gujarati and Colors Kannada.

  • ‘Dancing Star 2’: number one show in Karnataka

    ‘Dancing Star 2’: number one show in Karnataka

    MUMBAI: ETV Kannada is ruling the weekend primetime slots between 8 pm to 10.30 pm with the launch of its two new shows Majaa Talkies and Dancing Star 2.

     

     Following the success of Dancing Star in its first season, ETV Kannada introduced the second season of the reality show on popular demand. Opening with 1.1 million TVTs, the show emerged at the top in Karnataka. This is the first show in Kannada mass entertainment in 2015 that has garnered peak ratings in its very first week according to the channel.

     

    The show features 12 celebrity contestants in the battle for survival as the last couple on the dance floor. Judging the celebrity dance contest are Kanasugara Ravichandran, Priyamani, and choreographer MayuriUpadhyaya. Taking forward the legacy from season one, Akul Balaji hosts this edition of the show as well.

     

    Dancing Star 2 airs every Saturday and Sunday at 9 pm to 10.30pm on ETV Kannada.

     

    Majaa Talkies, headlined by veteran anchor and comedian Srujan Lokesh, emerged as the slot leader in the 8 pm to 9 pm slot with 0.8 million TVTs opening. The show is an adaptation of the popular Comedy Nights With Kapil, tailored to suit viewing preferences of the Kannadiga.

     

    Elaborating on the same Viacom18 EVP and project head regional channels ETV Kannada/ Bangla and Odiya Ravish Kumar said, “After the success of the first season of Dancing Star, we are overjoyed and humbled by the response that the show has received for its second edition. Majaa Talkies has performed superlatively as well and we hope to keep raising the bar of Kannada entertainment in the future.”

     

    ETV Kannada business head Parameshwar Gundkal added, “For the first time ever in this market, two high impact nonfiction properties have been launched in back to back time slots with the vision of creating high octane entertainment that will cater to people of varied viewing tastes. From the best talent on-board, to some of the best production houses for both seasons, we are glad that our efforts have yielded the appreciation showered upon us by the viewers.”

  • ETV Kannada hopes to repeat success story with ‘Gokuladalli Seete’

    ETV Kannada hopes to repeat success story with ‘Gokuladalli Seete’

    MUMBAI: Marriage, trials and tribulation is the topic of the new serial that has just begun airing on ETV Kannada, replacing the erstwhile Mahaparva.

     

    Directed by Ramesh Krishna and produced by his production house Vaishnavi Movie Makers, Gokuladalli Seete is about a humble and righteous girl Pavani who gets married to a young business tycoon Rahul. Rahul who is commitment phobic and a non-believer in the institution of marriage tells her to sign an agreement that will terminate their marriage in 11 months since he has only married on the wish of his mother.

     

    The show does not have any fixed number of episodes but will continue as long as viewers like it. The commissioned programme is being shot in HD quality with 15-20 episodes in the bank already. Airing from 24 November at 9:30 pm, Gukuladalli Seete has about 50 people in its production team from Bengaluru.

     

    The earlier show Mahaparva had reached a natural conclusion and a mutual decision was taken by the director Sitaram and the channel to end it. “Given our success with shows like Lakshmi Baramma, Agni Sakshi, Ashwini Nakshatra amongst others, we hope to repeat the same with Gokuladalli Seete as well,” says Viacom18 EVP and project head (ETV Kannada, Bangla and Odiya) Ravish Kumar.

     

    The channel has already embarked on a 360 degree marketing campaign. The launch day saw ads in papers Vijay Karnataka, Prajavani, Udayavani, Samyukta Karnataka and Vijayavani. 15 days prior to the launch, TV ads were run across channels with more than 200 spots. Key markets will witness more than 100 outdoor hoardings along with bus shelters, bus sides and intercity train branding.

     

    The digital traction is being roped in through contests, quizzes and interactive posts, updates on shows, character profiling, live chats, show reminders, stamp ads, FB link ads, display banners on social media including Facebook and Twitter.

     

    Sponsors are being approached for the show now. “In this particular market, the 9 to 10 pm slot is the core primetime slot that normally features content that is high on drama. This is a trend that has and is working historically in the business,” says Kumar.