ITV

Tag: Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa

  • BBC Worldwide production head Roshan Dutt resigns

    BBC Worldwide production head Roshan Dutt resigns

    MUMBAI: Everybody remembers the face on the screen, but how many ever notice the sweat and toil that goes behind the camera?

     

    With more than 15 years of expertise in the field of production, BBC Worldwide Productions head of production Roshan Dutt has resigned from his current position.

     

    Dutt confirmed the development to indiantelevision.com and said that he will be serving his notice period till 18 July. He had put down his papers on 18 June.

     

    Dutt wants to take a break before he moves on to his next assignment. “I haven’t fixed up on anything yet. I will probably work as a consultant for some time. I want to do interesting work and move beyond the regular things which I have been doing.” Movie production houses are on his mind.

     

    He has shows like Indian Idol and Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa and many more to his credit. “Today with so much dominance from broadcasters, producers don’t get too much creative freedom but just end up executing what is told to them,” he adds.

     

    Dutt started his career with Channel V in 1999 as a production head OAP. He worked in the position for more than two years, after which he was elevated to senior production manager shows. He continued in that capacity till 2004. Later, he worked as a unit production manager at Miditech to execute Indian Idol season one for eight months.

     

    In 2005, he was appointed as a head of production at FremantleMedia, where he worked for a year and then joined Dong Tay, VAC, Vietnam as executive producer for nine months.

     

    Being with BBC Worldwide Productions for seven years, he believed it was time to move on and take up something which gives him the creative freedom.

  • Nickelodeon integrates with Colors

    Nickelodeon integrates with Colors

    MUMBAI: Nickelodeon and COLORS, part of Viacom18 – India’s fastest growing media conglomerate, come together to create the first ever animated integration on television. Nickelodeon’s popular characters Motu Patlu will be seen shaking a leg on the sets of India’s biggest dance reality show ‘Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa’ on COLORS. Viewers can catch the awesome-twosome on the show on Sunday, July 6, 2014 at 9.00 pm, on COLORS.

     

    From comic books to a television show and made-for-TV movies; Nickelodeon has grown the Motu Patlu franchise by reaching out to kids and parents through innumerable touch points. Nickelodeon continues to extend the franchise further by uniquely engaging with kids yet again. Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa on COLORS is one of kids’ favourite shows on TV. Thus, Nickelodeon and COLORS have come together to create an innovation that is sure to entertain kids and family audiences. In a novel approach, the popular duo will come out of their home, Furfuri Nagar to partner with the youngest contestant Akshat Singh in an innovative dance act. The animated avatar, choreographed by Vivek Chachere, won hearts of the judges and celebrity contestants on the show.

     

    Nina Elavia Jaipuria, EVP & Business Head, Kids Cluster, Viacom 18 Media Pvt. Ltd. said “The power of One Viacom18 gives us enormous opportunities across screens and beyond within the network. Motu Patlu on COLORS’ Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa is one such path breaking and pioneering partnership where both the brands have come together to offer its audiences something that is unique and extremely entertaining at the same time.”

    Anu Sikka, SVP, Programming & Scheduling, Kids Cluster, Viacom 18 Media Pvt. Ltd. added, “I have always believed in the strength of our home-grown animated characters especially because of the amount of flexibility that it allows us. Motu Patlu on Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa is a perfect example of the magic that can be created through such integrations. I am sure that audiences will enjoy such creations which will encourage us to explore more such opportunities for our viewers and advertisers alike.”

     

    Happy about the integration Manisha Sharma, Weekend Programming Head, COLORS said, “In Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, we push the envelope in terms of showcasing innovative themes and challenging dance routines. What’s wonderful about the integration is that it amalgamates live action and animation beautifully. The creatively thought out fusion act that Akshat & Vaishnavi performed with Motu & Patlu was funny and amusing and will be adored by children and adults alike.”

    Join Motu and Patlu in a fun-filled dance act on the popular celebrity dance reality show ‘Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa’, on Sunday, July 6, 2014 at 9.00 pm only on COLORS!

  • Clash of the Titans

    Clash of the Titans

    what more?! DID Supermoms is going to have an impact on the digital space with a roadblock of two major portals in India – youtube.com and yahoo.com (YouTube mast head and Yahoo super take over). Its micro site has various engagement platforms for ‘netizens’ where all the super moms can upload their dancing video on the DID title track. A video wall with all these entries would be published during the sustenance of the show.

    Sony has had a successful integration with its network channel’s popular IPL show called Extraaa Innings T20 on Max. Besides, there is a countdown bug on the channel and a very high ratio of promo slots devoted to IIJ launch.

    The smartest move by Colors is that of the show’s Grand Premiere which is aimed at garnering maximum eye balls. The launch episode will be as big as the show itself.

    Kick starting the show will be dancing queen Madhuri who will team up with Ranbir for a stunning performance on their new item number- Ghaghra. Next to enthrall viewers will be an entertaining performance by Sushant Singh Rajput and actress Jacqueline Fernandez who will be introducing the 12 celebrity contestants.

    The launch episode week will also see the three Deols – Sunny, Bobby and Dharmendra shake a leg with the Jhalak contestants adding on to the commencement of the power packed journey of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa.

    To further heat up the competition, Star Plus is upping the ante on its dance reality show India’s Dancing Superstar (IDS) which has been on air since 27 April at 9.00 pm. It has planned a special maha episode. Explains Star India vice-president marketing Nikhil Madhok: “For 1 June, IDS will have a two and a half hour dance ka maha episode which will start at 8 pm. The episode has one of the legends of dance, Govinda, doing something he has never done before on Indian television. Viewers will see him play a double role in an extremely entertaining dance act. The episode will also see the beginning of the face-off round, which is a very unique concept for a dance show in India.”

    Star marketing head! Nikhil Madhok

    Sounds great, but what is the media view of all these intense content creation and marketing initiatives that the GECs have drawn up?

    Madison’s Banerjee proffers a perspective. Says he: “Such overcrowding of reality shows on weekends will lead to cannibalisation both in terms of viewership and also revenues. Channels need to understand that with such high investment they should look for a clean window or time-bands that assures them of the best return.”

    He further points outs: “These shows can coexist with smarter planning. Next season, even advertisers will get wary of investing if average ratings of these shows come down.”

    Now that’s a piece of advice, none of the GEC players should ignore!

  • Hindi GECs gain after losing for two weeks

    MUMBAI: The Hindi general entertainment channels (GECs) gained 23 GRPs last week after losing viewers to live T20 World Cup cricket matches in which India played in two previous weeks.

    The India vs Pakistan clash did attract a lot of viewership but its impact was not felt as it was on a Sunday, which resulted in viewers not normally watching television on the weekend being glued to TV sets, and GECs too had strong content in programmes like the finale of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa.

    As per TAM (HSM, 4+, C&S) data provided by GECs, the India vs Pakistan match fetched 6.4 TVRs in its first innings when India batted and 7.6 TVRs in its second innings during Pakistan‘s batting.

    The GECs had taken a hit in previous two weeks because of start of the T20 World Cup on 18 September (week 38 of TAM). The combined GRPs from Hindi GECs fell to 1271 from 1322 in week 38 as the T20 matches were telecast live during evening prime time. In week 39, when India played against Australia on 28 September (Friday), the genre further lost GRPs to register 1233 GRPs. However, GECs have seen an improvement in ratings in week 40 when the genre added 23 GRPs to clock 1256 GRPs.

    According to ZenithOptimedia managing partner Navin Khemka, The India vs Pakistan match was able to attract more viewers onto the television screen and people who wanted to watch GECs too saw their favourite programmes. “India vs Pakistan match was able to get light viewers onto the television screen on that day. It had driven up the overall viewership of that day, therefore people who wanted to watch GEC for a particular time period, be it because of the airing of Jhalak finale or Ishaqzaade, watched it.”

    “The impact of live cricket on GECs is more if the matches are played during weekdays. The India vs Pakistan match was played on the weekend against big properties like Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa that aired its final episode,” Khemka added.

    Weekly GEC update:

    Star Plus continues to lead the GEC genre with 274 GRPs, having added five gross rating points (GRPs) during week 40. The channel has crossed the 270 GRP-mark after a gap of seven weeks. In fact, this is the highest recorded rating of any channel in the genre in six weeks.

    Star Plus has extended the telecast of two of its weekday shows, ‘Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai‘ and ‘Diya Aur Baati Hum‘, which rated 4 TVR and 2.8 TVR respectively on Saturday (6 October). However, the average ratings of both the shows dropped; ‘Yeh Rishta…‘ rated 3 TVR (last week 3.4) while ‘Diya…‘ fetched 4.9 TVR (last week 6.7) in the week ended 6 October.

    Colors held on to its second position with its GRPs unchanged. The channel aired the finale of ‘Jhallak Dikhhla Jaa‘ which notched 3.5 TVR on 30 September. The finale episode helped the channel stabilise itself despite India and Pakistan playing against each other in the same time slot. However, the fiction shows of the channel have seen a drop in viewership. The channel ended the week with 233 GRPs.

    Zee TV closed the week with 231 GRPs (last week 217), just two GRPs away from Colors. The ratings of its singing reality show ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa‘ fell from 2.5 TVR to 1.9 TVR, though its fiction shows have seen a rise in eyeballs.

    Sony Entertainment Television (Set) added three GRPs to end the week with 205 GRPs. It had premiered ‘Ishaqzaade‘ on 30 September, which rated 1.9 TVR in its 12 noon airing and 1.4 TVR in the 8.30 pm telecast. Set did not air its ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati-6‘ episode at 8.30 pm on 30 September. Daily soaps of the channel lost numbers but its crime-based shows – CID (3 TVR) and Crime Patrol (2.7 TVR) and KBC (3.4 TVR) saw an increase in viewership.

    Meanwhile, Sab added six GRPs to end the week with 128 GRPs. Life OK with 121 GRPs (last week 124) follows. Sahara One with 33 GRPs (last week 34) remains at the bottom.

  • Fight surfaces for top position in Hindi GECs

    MUMBAI: A fight for the top spot in the Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) hierarchy is finally surfacing. The gap between the top two positions has come the closest this year with Colors just 12 GRPs (gross rating points) away from Star Plus.

    The last time the race got any closer was in the week ended 28 April when Sony Entertainment Television was 15 GRPs away.

    The threat, however, has been brief so far and Star Plus has surged ahead each time there is any kind of challenge. So it will be interesting to observe what happens next week.

    Colors‘ march in the week ended 23 June has come on the back of its celebrity dance reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa as it gained 24 GRPs compared to Star Plus‘ loss of 17 GRPs. The 9 pm weekend show, which runs for 90 minutes each episode, has 11 more weeks to help Colors reach the milestone.

    Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa is Colors‘ third top-rated show, behind Balika Vadhu (4.4 TVR) and Sasural Simar Ka (3.3 TVR). It, however, is pertinent to mention here that the debut rating on Saturday of Jhalak… was 3.1 (captured in week ended 16 June), marginally more than the Sunday TVR of 3 and Saturday (2nd week for the show) TVR of 2.6. Still, Colors posted 239 GRPs compared to Star Plus‘ 251, according to TAM data provided by GEC‘s.

    “We will have to see how much extra ratings Jhalak can bring. The early trend indicates that it would be around 3 TVR. So will that be enough to take Colors ahead of Star Plus? It is very difficult to predict but surely there is a note of caution for Star Plus,” says a media analyst.

    For the Viacom18 channel, it has been a long wait. The last time Colors was ahead of Star Plus in the ratings race was in the week ended 7 April of 2011 when it reached 300 GRPs while Star Plus had clocked 261 GRPs. However, it couldn’t sustain the momentum and fell to number two. Later, the closest difference between Colors and Star Plus was eight GRPs in the week ended 11 June 2011 when it pocketed 239 GRPs.

    Star Plus witnessed a drop in the ratings of its top-rated fiction shows like Saathiya Saath Nibhana, Iss Pyar ko Kya Nam Du, Ek Hazaro Me Meri Behna Hai, Diya Aur Bati Hum and Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai.

    Meanwhile, Zee TV is holding on to its No 3 position with the addition of two GRPs. It has ended the week with 214 GRPs and its home-grown dancing reality show DID Li’l Masters fetched ratings of 3.6 on 17 June and 4.4 TVR on 23 June, up from preceding week‘s 2.8 TVR, and higher than Jhalak‘s.

    Set, which had gone below 200-mark last week, added 13 GRPs to close the week with 201 GRPs.

    Sab continued to be fifth on the Hindi GEC ladder, though it lost seven GRPs to end the week with 109 GRPs. With the loss of 9 GRPs, Life OK closed the week with 97 GRPs.

    Sahara One maintained the status quo with 36 GRPs.

  • Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa lifts Colors to No. 2

    MUMBAI: Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, the celebrity dancing reality show, has lifted Colors to the No. 2 position as it opened with a TVR of 3.1.

    The two-and-a-half hour show, which debuted on 16 June at 9 pm, helped Colors add 15 GRPs and improve its preceding week‘s ranking of No. 4.

    Colors collected 215 GRPs (gross rating points) for the week ended 16 June, as per TAM data in HSM, C&S, 4+ (sourced from the Hindi GECs).

    Competing in the same genre, Zee TV‘s homegrown dancing property DID Li’l Masters dropped in ratings to clock 2.8 TVR on 16 June. This is the show‘s lowest ratings this season. Even the audition episodes of the show had rated very well (28 April debut had generated a 5.8 TVR).

    Both DID and Jhalak… were pitted against the television premiere of Hrithik Roshan- Sanjay Dutt starrer Agneepath that clocked 4.7 TVR on Zee Cinema.

    “The drop in ratings of DID Li’l Masters is more because of Agneepath premiere on Zee Cinema. Also when a star-studded new show launches, the audiences tend to get fragmented,” a senior programming executive of a rival channel said.

    However, Jhalak Dikhla Jaa’s performance on Colors has not matched its previous season’s debut on Sony Entertainment Television. Jhalak had opened with a 5.5 TVR in its fourth season, which was launched on weekday primetime slot.

    In the first, second and third seasons, the show, on weekend slot, had debuted at 2.86, 3.09 and 2.05 TVR respectively.

    Meanwhile, in the GEC ladder, Zee TV has slipped to No 3, though by just three points. Zee TV added 9 GRPs to its previous week’s count to end the week with 212 GRPs.

    Star Plus continues to lead the genre with 268 GRPs, a GRP less than last week’s ratings. Satyamev Jayate clocked 2.5 TVR in the episode where it discussed about infrastructural problems for differently-abled people. As per the data provided by the channel, the episode delivered a 4.1 TVR in HSM markets (All 4+, HSM) and a national TVR of 3.4 (All 4+, All India).

    Meanwhile, Set has lost 14 GRPs to end the week with 187 GRPs. Almost all the shows on the channel have seen a drop in ratings.

    Occupying the fifth spot is Sab, losing four GRPs to end the week with 116 GRPs. Life OK also lost 16 GRPs to register 106 GRPs.

    Sahara One with 36 GRPs (last week 31) is at the bottom of the ladder.

  • Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa on Colors may fetch ad rev of Rs 450 mn

    MUMBAI: Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, the celebrity dancing reality show, which will have its fifth season aired on Colors, is expected to earn ad revenues in the region of Rs 400-450 million.

    JDJ, which was a weekday property on Sony Entertainment Television (Set) last year, will be aired in the weekends on Colors.

    Starting 16 June, the Viacom18 channel will air the 27-episodic series every Saturday and Sunday at 9 pm. The show had opened with a 4.5 TVR last year on Set and had averaged around 3 TVR. As per industry sources, Set had made Rs 350 million from the show.

    Colors has roped in Cadbury Bournvita as the presenting sponsor while the show is powered by Streax Hair Colour. Colors is planning to lock in six associate sponsors out of which four are already on board and rest two are in the final stages of the deal. The associate sponsors already on board are- Tata Magic Iris, Samsung Mobile, Parryware, and Johnson & Johnson’s Clean & Clear.

    According to market estimates, the title sponsor has paid Rs 100-120 million, while powered by has shelled out Rs 60-70 million. The associate sponsors have invested around Rs 30-40 million in the show.

    “20-30 per cent of the ad inventory is left to be sold out,” revealed a source from the channel.

    When asked if the advertisers are pulling themselves back because of the slowdown, Colors CEO Raj Nayak said, “The inventory is going full; we aren’t seeing any effect of the slowdown. The show is getting tremendous response and hopefully we will get some more sponsors by the time we go on air.”

    OMD, the integrated communications agency, delivering media and marketing solutions, is handling associate sponsors Parryware and Johnson & Johnson’s Clean & Clear as clients.

    The channel is aggressively promoting the show on every possible platform. It is considering social media as a very important medium for engaging audiences and will be doing SMO (Search Media Optimisation) activities with Google and YouTube.

    The channel is spending around Rs 60-70 million on promoting the show. Apart from Viacom18’s own network, Colors has booked over 3000 TV spots across 30 television channels. It has also bought over 7000 radio spots on radio channels across the country to promote the show. There will be more than 100 print advertisements and over 500 OOH sites in more than 20 cities across India.

    Colors marketing head Rajesh Iyer said, “It’s an important show for us, so we are going all out to promote it. We are hopeful that the show will get a good opening.”

    The channel is doing malls activations in 10 cities and also promoting the show in the rural markets. It will create a roadblock on Radio Mirchi on the day of launch and air songs sung by the judges. Throughout the day there will be only dance numbers branded as “JDJ shut up and dance”. Over 100 dance numbers will be played during the course of the day. When the RJ is speaking one of the judges or contestants will interrupt and ask them to shut up and dance, the channel said.

    Colors is placing the show in the weekend slot because the channel thinks that it is already doing well in the weekday primetime bands and the dance reality show could strengthen its weekend programming.

    “We already have a strong weekday lineup which garners good numbers and now with Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, we are looking forward to further strengthen our position over the weekend,” Nayak said.

    The show will be competing with slot leader Zee TV’s DID Lil Masters and Star Plus’ Jo Jeeta Wohi Superstar on Saturday and Sunday. It will also compete will Sony’ Indian Idol on Saturday.

    “At any given point of time, irrespective of any slot, on any day we are competing with all the television players. For us this slot is no different than any other slot. We launch a programme because we believe in it and we have a conviction. I think this year we have managed to get the right mix of contestants and right profile of judges,” Nayak averred.

    Colors weekend programming head Manisha Sharma said, “This season of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, is all about ‘stepping out’ from the routine and nurturing the passion for dance. Some of the best feet have come walking into our show to connect with the audiences on a different level – introducing the person behind the real star. With the trinity of judges – Madhuri Dixit-Nene, Karan Johar, and Remo D’souza – on board to mentor and encourage the contestants, audiences will be able to catch their favourite celebrities shed their inhibitions and dance with their hearts to provide unlimited entertainment.”

    Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa is an Indian version of the international format ‘Dancing with the Stars‘. It was produced by BBC Worldwide Entertainment.

    Talking about the shift of the show from Sony to Colors, BBC Worldwide Productions India general manager and creative head Myleeta Aga said, “Sony was reworking on its non-fiction line up and we were keen to keep Jhalak on-air. Colors expressed great interest and commitment with the format. The channel has a network behind it; they believe in non-fiction, in this format and they have really brought in a certain level of celebrities to the cast which is something very critical for the show on air.”

    This season of Jhalak Dikhhla Ja will witness some ‘never-seen-before’ themes that will raise the entertainment quotient. With concepts like dancing to a live band, paying tribute to 100 years of Indian cinema, and getting paired up for performances with international ‘Dancing with the Stars’ winners, Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa is going all out with the theme ‘Step Out’ of the ordinary, the channel said.

    The special inclusion this season is ‘Madhuri Dixit’s Step of the Week’ where she will groove to international dance forms including cha-cha-cha, salsa, samba.

    “The new season of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa will be extensively remodelled from the international version to appeal to the country’s viewers. Not only will the dances be more exuberant than on its sister programmes around the world, but will also feature India’s cultural breadth and depth through different dance forms,” Aga added.

    The show will be hosted by Manish Paul and Ragini Khanna. The contestants are – Sanath Jayasuriya (with choreographer Suchitra), Darsheel Safari (with Avneet Kaur), Ravi Kishan (with Kunjan), Talat Aziz (with Ankita Maity), Pratyusha Banerjee (with Deepak), Giaa Manek (with Nishant Bhat), Gurmeet Choudhary (with Shampa Sonathalia), Bharti Singh (with Savio Barnes), Isha Sharvani (with Salman), Shibani Dandekar (with Punit), Archna Vijaya (with Sanam Johar) and Jayati Bhatia (with Diwakar).

    The 13th contestant will also enter the show on the launch day. Though the channel has not revealed the identity of the contestant, it said that it will be a known face.

  • GEC 2011 – Facts beyond Fiction-Ormax Media co-founder and CEO Shailesh Kapoor

    GEC 2011 – Facts beyond Fiction-Ormax Media co-founder and CEO Shailesh Kapoor

    Over the last two years, since the launch of Colors in 2008, we have come to expect a very dynamic and unpredictable Hindi GEC environment. The year 2010 was no different. Star Plus showed a resurgence in the first half of the year, backed by two successful new launches – Pratigya and Sasural Genda Phool. In the last quarter, Sony‘s rise to the no. 3 position was the big story. KBC, followed by Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, helped Sony inch ahead of Zee TV in what continues to be a see-saw battle. Also helping Sony‘s cause have been its new fiction properties – Saas Bina Sasural and Krishnaben Khakhrawala – and the fact that most of Zee TV‘s fiction launches in 2010 were non-starters, given the expectations set by the channel‘s strong pedigree in fiction content over the last few years.

    But for me, the big story of 2010 was the rise of non-fiction. Amidst scepticism, KBC returned on the small screen, with a revamped format, the original host, and a new channel. The program‘s consistent deliveries in a tough weekdays 9pm slot surprised many cynics who thought Sony was flogging a dead horse. Bigg Boss too reached its best-ever performance, across four seasons. But what caught most by surprise was the incredible opening ratings of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa on Sony. Truly, the fiction vs. non-fiction divide is not the way we have known it till 2009. It is far more balanced today. The table below illustrates this point using data from our product Characters India Loves (CIL). The percentage of respondents choosing non-fiction characters over fiction characters has improved consistently in the last year and a half.

    Month Fiction Share % Non-Fiction Share %
    Sep 2009
    80
    20
    Dec 2009
    74
    26
    March 2010
    75
    25
    June 2010
    64
    36
    Sep 2010
    64
    36
    Dec 2010
    62
    38
    Each CIL study covers 2400+ respondents across six cities in 15-44 yrs. SEC ABC (70% females, 30% males)

     

    In a highly cluttered environment characterized by ever-decreasing loyalty levels, the role of marketing became ever so important. If a new non-fiction show did not generate enough buzz when it launched, it stood very little chance of resurgence. However, for fiction, the resurgence could come over weeks, as content evolved. Many fiction shows opened to good numbers but struggled to hold on, while many others showed consistent growth on the back of powerful content.

    The table below lists the top 10 non-fiction and fiction launch marketing performances in 2010, as measured by Showbuzz, which tracks the UA (Unaided Awareness) and TA (Total Awareness) of new shows on television.

    Top 10 Non-fiction and Fiction Launches in 2010 (Showbuzz)
    Non-Fiction Fiction
    Show
    		 UA TA
    Show
    		 UA TA
    Bigg Boss 4
    		 63 96
    Gulaal
    		 38 76
    KBC
    		 50 98
    Tere Liye
    		 35 87
    Khatron Ke Khiladi 3
    		 42 98
    Ganga
    		 34 89
    DID Li‘l Masters
    		 33 90
    Kaali
    		 30 75
    Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa
    		 31 92
    Behenein
    		 27 92
    Indian Idol
    		 30 94
    Kaashi
    		 24 71
    Rahul Dulhania Le Jayega
    		 25 92
    Jamuniya
    		 24 61
    Masterchef India
    		 19 75
    Rishton Se Badi Pratha
    		 21 79
    National Bingo Night
    		 18 78
    Sasural Genda Phool
    		 21 74
    Zara Nachke Dikha
    		 17 78
    Chaand Chhupa Badal Mein
    		 21 73

    A lot rides on the first month and a half of 2011. Before the ICC World Cup and the IPL kicks in, Colors will look at making an impact within fiction in 9-10pm. If the channel has to give Star Plus a close fight for the top spot, Phulwa and Mukti Bandhan will have to necessarily deliver good numbers.

    Sony has managed a steadily growing year, especially in the last four months. The channel seems set to become a consistent no. 3 in 2011, if its fiction content continues to get stronger, like it has in recent times.

    But in all this, don‘t rule out the biggest story of 2010-11 – SAB TV. Breaking every notion of the GEC viewing, the family-inclusive de-stress channel has reached never-before numbers, within striking distance of Sony and Zee TV at times. The way the mood of the country is moving, it will be no surprise if SAB manages to grow further. Comedy, along with reality television, is where the next level of growth lies.

    (Shailesh Kapoor is the Co-founder and CEO of Ormax Media, a company specializing in consumer research in the media and entertainment industry.)

  • Ajay Jadeja, Sanjeev Kapoor to put on their dancing shoes on Sony

    Ajay Jadeja, Sanjeev Kapoor to put on their dancing shoes on Sony

    MUMBAI: Hindi general entertainment channel Sony has had success in the reality genre in the past with shows like Indian Idol. The channel is hoping to consolidate further with a new dance based reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa Dancing With The Stars.

    The show kicks off on 7 September and airs every Wednesday and Thursday at 10 pm.

    Actor Shilpa Shetty (one of the judges) along with the celebrity contestants Rati Agnihotri, Shweta Salve, Mona Singh and Mahesh Majrekar For the uninitiated, the show is based on the BBC format Strictly Come Dancing. It also achieved success in the US on ABC.

    There the show is called Dancing With The Stars. Basically well known personalities will show off their dancing skills. They will undergo two weeks of training with their partners who specialise in dancing.

    For Sony’s show, the celebrities chosen are former cricketer Ajay Jadeja, celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor, actress Rati Agnihotri, television anchor Pooja Bedi, TV actress Mona Singh, director Mahesh Manjrekar, TV star Shweta Salve and TV actor Akashdeep Sehgal.

    The show is being produced by Synergy and Theatre Red. Each episode will see one team eliminated. Viewers can vote through SMS. The judges are director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, choreographer Farah Khan and actress Shilpa Shetty. Equal weightage in terms of points will be given to both the judges and the SMS’ sent in by the viewers.

    Set India COO NP Singh with ace choreographer Sandip Soparkar and SET senior V-P and programming head Anupama Mandloi

    Speaking on the initiative, Sony COO N P Singh says, “The show is all about super achievers in their respective fields who are here yet again to excel in something new. The winner takes home Rs. 5 million. What is unique compared to other shows (read Star One’s Nach Baliye) is that the celebrities do not know how their ability to dance is or is not. Maybe they will discover that they possess a talent to dance. We drew out a list of possible participants. We then decided that these were the celebrities who would be the best fit.”

    BBC Worldwide director of emerging territories Monisha Shah says, “The show is as good as it gets. It has swept global audiences off their feet and has become a ratings blockbuster in every continent. With its wonderful combination of glamour, talent and passion we are especially excited that Sony has taken BBC Worldwide’s format and tailored it so well for the Indian audience. The judges, hosts, celebrities and their partners are all in place.”

    Synergy founder Siddharth Basu says,” Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa Dancing With The Stars is a grand and a glamorous show which is as much about live wire personalities and the fun of fusion dance as it is about the grit behind the glamour. It is not just about the usual suspects going through all too familiar routines but about the performance and pain of public figures who are not trained dancers and the fantastic journey they undertake to pit their best foot forward. That is what makes it the mother of all shows and that is what is making it work in countries around the world.”

    On the marketing front to push the show, Singh says that promo spots have been created. These are airing on the channel as well as in cinema halls. The channel is also taking out hoardings and is looking to have a presence in malls. There will also be print ads.