Tag: Nach Baliye

  • Star Plus enhances fiction programming; goes seven days

    Star Plus enhances fiction programming; goes seven days

    MUMBAI: Star India’s Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) Star Plus is all set to redefine its fiction programming.

     

    The channel will run its primetime shows all seven days from Monday to Sunday.

     

    All the shows between 8.00 PM to 10.30 PM slot will be aired on Saturdays and Sundays as well.

     

    A source close to the development informed Indiantelevision.com, “The step is taken to give fiction more importance. The channel is going to aggressively promote and back its fiction programming. This is why the reality show Nach Baliye’s season 8 has been kept on hold for atleast two months.”

     

    The channel had already extended its early primetime slot by stretching all the shows slotted between 5 pm to 7.30 pm to all seven days. Mohi – Ek Khawab Ke Khilne Ki KahaniMere Agne MeinSuhani Si Ek Ladki, Saath Nibhana Saathithya  and Yeh Hai Mohabbatein.

     

    On the other hand shows like Siya Ke Ram at 8 pm, Silsila Pyar Ka at 8:30 pm , Diya Aur Baati Hum at 9pm, Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata  Hai at 9:30 pm, Tamanna  at 10 pm and channels upcoming show Dehleez at 10 :30 pm was slated on weekdays only. But now after Star’s decision to extend the weekday programming the shows will run all seven days.

  • Balaji Telefilms eyes regional expansion; seeks local partners

    Balaji Telefilms eyes regional expansion; seeks local partners

    MUMBAI: Even as the promoters have upped their stake in the company in the light of Star selling its 26 per cent stake, Balaji Telefilms Limited (BTL) has set sight on the regional television programming space for expansion.

     

    The production house, which recently wrapped up the seventh season of Nach Baliye on Star Plus, plans to launch as many as 10 shows in Bengali and southern languages. Moreover, in order to break into the regional space, BTL is also eying tie-ups with local partners.

     

    “Our plan is to have three – five shows each in Bengali and Southern languages by the end of FY2016,” the company said in its annual report.

     

    This apart, BTL is also mulling launching a few of its Hindi shows in regional languages. The first of these would be the telecast of the Zee TV show Kumkum Bhagya, on Zee Bangla. At the same time, the production powerhouse is also eyeing tie-ups in the south, which will yield three to four shows.

     

    It may be recalled that in December 2014, BTL had entered into an alliance with the Kolkata-based Chhayabani to form Chhayabani Balaji Entertainment and create distinctive, contemporary and clutter breaking television content for Zee Bangla.

     

    Also under consideration is the plan to launch its celebrity sports reality show Box Cricket League in the regional space. At the same time, BTL has set a target to launch six new shows in the Hindi general entertainment channels (GEC) space this fiscal. While plans are underway to launch a comedy show on the lines of the Great Indian Laughter Challenge, BTL is also readying a high concept fiction show for Star Plus.

     

    With audiences patronizing the Balaji brand, the company’s key focus is to improve its bottom line during FY2016.

     

    “We aim to be more process-driven, rather than personality-driven. With changing dynamics of the industry, we are aiming to capitalise our capabilities in making high-concept fiction and non-fiction shows. To begin with, we are coming up with a high concept, high fiction show for Star TV. We are confident of the ratings of our new shows, especially reality based shows,” the company said.

     

    On the movies front, BTL has a strong pipeline of movies lined up for FY16 and FY17.  With aspirations to become the number two entertainment studio going forward, the production house has in its kitty 8 – 10 films like Azhar, A Flying Jatt, Suspect X, Naatak, and Bhool Se Naam Na Lo Pyaar Ka, among others.

     

    Not ignoring the fast-developing digital space, BTL is also in the process of creating its own IP and genuine B2C content to tap the burgeoning platform.

     

    That said, BTL seems poised to spread its wings and fly even more so now with BTL group CEO Sameer Nair, armed with his business acumen, adding extra stars to the creative prowess of Ekta Kapoor.

  • Hindware adopts unique strategy to launch TVC with Shah Rukh Khan

    Hindware adopts unique strategy to launch TVC with Shah Rukh Khan

    NEW DELHI: Bathroom products brand hindware has launched a new TV commercial starring brand ambassador Shah Rukh Khan for its premium collection hindware Italian Collection in an innovative fashion.

     

    Bringing in Bollywood flavour, hindware launched a teaser campaign starring Khan two days prior to the final airing of the TVC that ran across a range of television channels without revealing the product range. This generated excitement for viewers to watch the movie that premiered on Star Plus on 7 June.

     

    The final TVC was unveiled by Nach Baliye’s anchor on Star Plus during the airing of the dance reality show. Before taking the commercial break, the host ran the teaser, discussed SRK’s new obsession and asked the viewers to stay-on to find out the whole story. Then the full 75 seconds long TVC was played out. The host continued discussing with the judges about bathroom inspirations and said in conclusion, “Not only SRK, but the whole country could keep admiring bathrooms so stylish.”

     

    Hindware’s shift from product centric focus to becoming a complete bathroom solution provider brand is captured in this new TVC, which highlights the brand’s vision and approach of revolutionising the bathroom space.

     

    HSIL Ltd vice president marketing V Krishnamurthy said, “This was our first campaign after signing on SRK and we wanted to ensure the launch of the TVC is conceptualized differently. Working closely with our media agency, Vizeum, we managed to pull off something very different. In this interesting TVC, we have aimed to reinforce the message how hindware Italian Collection leaves even superstar Shah Rukh Khan awestruck. The bathroom in itself becomes the centre of attraction, mesmerizing SRK to find new ways to revel in its beauty and beautiful products.”

     

    Vizeum managing director – Indian Subcontinent S Yesudas added, “It took a lot of coordination and efforts to pull this through. Without an ever-supportive client this would not have been possible. I’m also thankful to the Star TV management for making this happen. Congratulations to the entire Vizeum Team for making this project a reality.” 

  • GSEAMS aspires to be one-stop-shop for Marathi film industry

    GSEAMS aspires to be one-stop-shop for Marathi film industry

    MUMBAI: Besides quality content, cinema needs a substantial marketing plan to drive the audience to theatres and count crores at the box office. Though there are dime a dozen players in Bollywood who specialise in marketing and strategising for a movie, the Marathi movie industry faces the crisis every now and then. With an aim to provide it with better marketing solutions, Arjun Singgh Baran and Kartik Nishandar launched Global Sports Entertainment And Media Solutions (GSEAMS) in 2013.

     

    “The Marathi film industry is showing a holistic growth and has the potential to grow further if strategised well. Essel is the only company, which endeavours in movie promotion and strategising and thanks to them the industry is growing. Inspired by Essel’s pioneering work, we at GSEAMS are committed to becoming a one stop destination for film makers as well as investors,” Nishandar tells Indiantelevision.com in an exclusive chat.

     

    GSEAMS has three wings namely movie marketing, talent management and production (film and television).

     

    “The talent management venture of ours reached new heights when we signed a long term deal with Marathi cinema sensation Swapnil Joshi. All his dates are sealed for the next two years and that’s a huge success for us. Moreover, we also signed a deal with Olympian Sangram Singh, got him into Nach Baliye and Yuva. In the near future we are going to get 10 to 12 more stars on board,” informs Baran.

     

    The Marathi movie industry, in recent times, has seen some growth with Lai Bhaari garnering more than Rs 40 crore at the box office. Moreover, the GSEAMS promoted Mitwa and Pyar Vali Love Story also did well as they generated revenues of Rs 13.5 crore and Rs 11.5 crore respectively. Terming the revenue generated as success, Nishandar adds, “We have promoted around 15 movies so far and all of them did well in theaters. Mitwa and Pyar Vali Love Story are the significant ones because of the numbers they got. We also signed a long term deal with Swapnil following our good work on those movies.”

     

    The FICCI Frame report signifies that footfalls in theatres are taking a dip and a significant number of theaters are pulling down curtains in Maharashtra as well as across India. When asked if GSEAMS was concerned about the statistics, Nishandar says, “The main reason behind footfalls going down is improper planning and strategising and GSEAMS is there to address these issues. Timepass opened in 500 screens and belies the perception that the Marathi movie industry is going down. Also the government’s decision to premiere Marathi movies in prime time is a blessing for the industry so I see a lot of potential if things are planned and strategised properly.”

     

    Additionally, GSEAMS is also enhancing its production capabilities and plans to produce both movies and television shows in the near future. Out of the three areas that GSEAMS is operating in, movie marketing is the most lucrative, bringing in a major chunk of revenue. “Production companies give high value to marketing and strategising and we sign deal at premium rates. We don’t only market the movie but also help in monetisation and distribution. We have association with Inder Raj Kapoor led STV, which enhances our distribution avenues and enables us to offer our client a global reach,” informs Baran.

     

    Live events is also a territory where GSEAMS is trying to make a mark. The group organises the IMA Music Awards in association with Pandit Jasraj. What’s more the company is also looking to tie up with a leading newspaper to organize an entertainment award. “We are looking at live events very seriously and will organise many in the near future. Our strategy with live events is clear, we will only venture into those whose IP is exclusively with us,” says Nishandar.

     

    “Going forward, we aspire to be the one stop destination for film producers, actors and investors who are looking to explore the industry. We want to be a studio, which has the capacity to take care of each and every sector. We are focusing more and more in the Marathi film industry and at this stage not looking for any further expansion,” concludes Nishandar.

  • 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.

  • Star Plus believes digital is the way forward

    Star Plus believes digital is the way forward

    (Hindi GEC Star Plus features in this the second of our series on what TV channels are doing in the digital and social media space)

    It’s the leader in the Hindi general entertainment space in India and has been so for the most part of the previous decade, and even this one. The Star India network, has been gung-ho on the online space, ever since one can remember like its owner Rupert Murdoch, who has had a fascination for it but confesses he does not know how to deal with it.

    Star India took a big punt when it acquired the much-touted indya.com way back in 2001, coughing up a hefty $50 million in buying it. It has since not known what to do with it. Just like Murdoch failed to fathom what the group could do with myspace.com, finally selling it out cheap.

    Star India‘s Indya.com fiasco looks unlikely to be repeated today. CEO Uday Shankar is quite clear on that and a crack team at the media giant has been working overtime to engage with its viewers.

    “We have leveraged the platform of digital, our various digital assets and the power of broadcast integration to drive deeper multi-screen engagement and conversations,” says Star India marketing & communications executive vice president Gayatri Yadav.

    “Having an engaged audience that can interact with the brand is a very meaningful goal. This helps us build loyalty for the characters and the brand, develop interest in new launches and of course acts as a great influencer for new audiences to sample the on air content. The engaged audience base also acts as a great feedback mechanism for our content.”

    Star India marketing & communications executive vice president Gayatri Yadav

    Star has been innovative in actively energising, featuring and interacting with audiences with powerful integration of online with on-screen content. All the key show launches and events now have at least one element of live engagement with the viewers. Auditions, which were earlier only limited to on-ground activities, have further been extended to the digital platform, reveals Yadav.

    In terms of video content that it uploads, Star Plus broadly classifies it into long form and short form, catch-up content, web exclusives, promos and legacy. For platforms like YouTube the channel‘s approach has been to upload short form catch-up content, which it says has been very well received. Its own video platforms have long form catch up content, along with some marquee legacy shows.

    Starplus.in and Star Player (www.startv.in) are among the two-owned platforms that it uses to encourage users to engage with the channel and download content. Data on how many downloads the Star Player app has achieved was not available at the time of writing but its Facebook page had received 93,000 likes or so.

    Star Plus constantly keeps on updating pictures and videos of its shows on their website

    Star Plus constantly keeps on updating pictures and videos of its shows on these websites. Star, however, does not upload an episode within a couple of hours of its telecast. Besides, it uses textual and image content like daily recaps, show highlights, trivia and polls to interact with and engage the visitor.

    Apart from internet based platforms, Star Plus also leverages the reach of the voice platform through SPOM (Star Plus on Mobile – 5057827). Through its voice portal Star Plus on Mobile, the channel runs audio recaps of the daily shows, daily diaries, and voice blogs of popular characters and also title tracks of the shows.

    Star Plus uses the mobile platform to leverage it‘s content

    With live engagement being one of the significant elements, Star has Plus has created applications for Apple, Blackberry, Android and Nokia through which people could interact, chat with the judges and read blogs while watching shows such as ‘MasterChef India‘.

    For some of its marquee shows like ‘Nach Baliye‘ and ‘MasterChef India‘, Star Plus has leveraged the transmedia storytelling route – where the main show has a strong storytelling leg running exclusively on digital platforms which link back meaningfully to the main show.

    Apart from this, the channel has showcased its content on the digital platform through initiatives like the web premiere of ‘Saraswatichandra‘ exclusively for digital audiences.

    Star Plus has an official Facebook page with around 2.80 million likes and hundreds of thousands of visitors talking about the channel and its programmes at any point in time. On Twitter, another vital ingredient of the social media mix, the channel has around 88,250 active followers. @StarPlus is buzzing with tweets and re-tweets every couple of hours. The numerous fan-driven handles of their popular shows are busy re-tweeting and sharing every Star update, making for a huge cacophony of views across the digital world.

    YouTube also plays an integral part in Star’s digital strategy with close to 2.50 million subscribers

    YouTube also plays an integral part in Star’s digital strategy with close to 2.50 million subscribers. Drama series and reality shows are attracting a good number of page views, say channel executives. Star uploads day-to-day activities, episodes that viewers may missed, comparatively, among on-air shows, fiction has an upper-hand over non -fiction shows.

    The channel’s official Facebook pages for some of its TV shows have received commendable responses from nitizens/viewers. The Facebook page of its leading fiction series ‘Diya Aur Baati Hum’ has 2.34 million likes with 2,485 active followers on Twitter. ‘Diya Aur Baati Hum’ also leads the drama genre with more than 32,304 video views on YouTube in just two days. Another fiction show ‘Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai’ bagged 20,529 video views for one of its episodes. Reality shows such as ‘India’s Dancing SuperStar’ lead with 1,18,222 video views.

    Star Plus marketing vice-president Nikhil Madhok

    Star Plus marketing vice-president Nikhil Madhok states, “We are producing a lot of content exclusively for our digital assets, be it in the form of behind-the-scenes clips, rehearsal footage, bloopers, interviews and much more. We have even made special edits of the episode acts just for digital. For example, Chaavat Boys, which is a group of engineering students from a Mumbai college, have already become a rage online, and all their dance acts have gone viral. In fact, people have been uploading videos of their own version of Chaavatgiri.”

    Star Plus claims that ‘Nach Baliye’ generated one billion impressions online during the course of its telecast. Of these, a 100 million happened on the final episode itself, which not only trended at no 1 in India but also worldwide, it says.

    ‘Satyamev Jayate’, (SMJ) the first talk show produced by Aamir Khan Productions created a lot of buzz on social media platforms. It became the most searched query on Google immediately after its first episode. SMJ has 93,929 followers on Twitter and its official Facebook page has 1.69 million likes.

    SMJ has 93,929 followers on Twitter and its official Facebook page has 1.69 million likes

    Official pages of SMJ were launched on the big three of social media – Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, to provide a platform for fans to share their views and interact. Updates were posted at regular intervals. Video snippets and full episodes were uploaded on YouTube for fans to watch the show or a favourite segment at their convenience.

    Reports suggest that though initial conversations around SMJ were triggered by Aamir Khan’s popularity, conversations around the causes he espoused on the show took centre stage later. The reason for this trend can be assumed to be the content fed into social media platforms. The fever of the show became strong on digital as the show only aired once in a week for 1 hour on Sunday. For the rest days, they storm the viewers by different social messages by constantly updating videos and statuses and also by tweeting.

    “We at Star deeply cherish our relationship with consumers. Giving consumers a chance to engage and interact deeply with our brands and characters is no longer an option, but a necessity. It is something we value deeply and have set up a team, infrastructure and partners to enable us to interact meaningfully with consumers across the network,” concludes Yadav.

  • Nach Baliye grand finale scores 4.1 TVR, Star Plus stays at top

    MUMBAI: Star Plus retained its position as the top Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) in a week that saw the grand finale episode of its dancing reality show Nach Baliye delivering strong performance.

    The channel gained 18 GRPs to end Week 12 of 2013 at 291 GRPs, according to TAM data provided by a Hindi GEC.

    Star Plus aired the grand finale of Nach Baliye on 23 March from 8 pm to 11.30 pmwhich got 4.1 TVR. The show averaged 3.5 TVR.

    Zee TV stood second in the pecking order with 207 GRPs (last week 202) while Colors took the third spot with 192 GRPS (187). Sony Entertainment Television followed with 155 GRPS (163). Comedy channel Sab gained seven rating points to collect 142 GRPs for the week ended 23 March. Life OK lost seven GRPs and finished the 12th week at 128 GRPs.

    Star Plus‘ daily soap Diya Aur Bati Hum was the top rated show on TV with average TVR of 5.2 (5.3). Pyar ka Dard was the second highest rated show with average TVR of 3.7 (3.6) followed by Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai at 3.6 TVR (3.7).

    Qubool Hai continued to be Zee‘s top rated fiction show at 3.1 TVR (3.0) while Balika Vadhu scored the highest for Colors with 3.5 TVR (3.6). CID was Sony‘s top rated show with 2.4 TVR (2.5) followed by Crime Patrol at 2.3 TVR (2.5).

    The week saw the launch of two new shows on Hindi GECs – Badalte Rishton Ki Dastan on Zee (which replaced Mrs. Kaushik ki Panch Bahuen) and Bani-Ishq Da Kalma on Colors (which replaced Parvarish). Both the shows raked in average ratings of 1.6 TVR.

  • Eight sponsors on board for Star’s Nach Baliye

    MUMBAI: Star Plus has roped in eight sponsors for its celebrity dance reality show ‘Nach Baliye‘ which is all set to launch on 29 December at 9 pm.

    The fifth season of the show will be presented by Vaseline while the powered by sponsor on board is LR Active Oil.

    The channel has signed six associate sponsors so far which are – Nivea, Vasan Eyecare, Flying Machine, Bingo, Ferrero and Fair & Lovely for Men.

    Star India president ad sales Kevin Vaz told Indiantelevision.com that the channel will sign on a total of nine associate sponsors for

    the show.

    “20-30 per cent of our inventories will be consumed by spot buys while all other will be utilised by the sponsors,” Vaz added.

    Star Plus has launched a nationwide campaign to promote the show which is returning after three years. However, Delhi, UP, Gujarat and Maharashtra (including Mumbai) will get special focus in marketing activities. There will be disruptions across all mediums including radio, outdoor, TV and digital, claims Star Plus VP marketing Nikhil Madhok.

    The channel is promoting the show aggressively across the Star Network and about 25 other channels outside its network. It is going gung-ho on the digital medium to promote Nach Baliye-5.

    According to Star Plus VP marketing Nikhil Madhok, this time one lucky couple will get a chance to actually participate on the show and compete with the celebrity ‘jodis‘. The only way to participate is digitally – to upload a short dancing clip of the couple onto Star Plus‘ site. “We will then invite our fans to vote for their favorite Jodi by ‘liking‘ their clip. Based on a combination of likes received and points awarded by our judges, one lucky couple will get to participate in Nach Baliye. It‘s a great way of driving viewer engagement with the show using digital,” Madhok explained.

    It will also launch a ‘Nach Baliye‘ mobile game through which people can chose their favorite jodis and earn points basis how the jodis perform on the show. People who accumulate the maximum points through the series will be given prizes. “We also have a really fun facebook app where you can get a friend of yours to dance with a Baliye of choice,” Madhok said.

    Meanwhile, all the jodis and judges of Nach Baliye will be present constantly on twitter and Facebook interacting with their fans, besides chatting live frequently.

    As a part of below-the-line activities, there will be mini Nach Baliye events on the ground, where people can participate and the channel will shoot their videos and upload them onto its site for a chance to participate on the show. “The idea is to not only engage with the audience but also facilitate their chance to participate on the show. This activity will happen across 10 cities in the country,” Madhok added.

    Also Read:

    Star Plus readies return of Nach Baliye after 3 years

  • Star Plus readies return of Nach Baliye after 3 years

    MUMBAI: Star Plus is bringing back one of its most popular shows, Nach Baliye, after a gap of three years.

    Star has roped in Vaseline as the presenting sponsor for the fifth season of the big-ticket reality hunt property.

    Nach Baliye will have 11 real-life television celebrity couples fighting it out in the dance floor to win the favour of the audiences as well as judges.

    Starting 29 December, the show will air every Saturday and Sunday at 9 pm. At present, the channel airs two of its fiction shows in this time zone.

    The show will compete against Zee TV’s Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, Colors’ Bigg Boss 6 and Sony Entertainment Television’s Kaun Banega Crorepati-6.

    Mindshare principal partner- client leadership Anita Kotwani feels there might be a fragmentation of audiences, but Nach Baliye has an opportunity to do well as it has no direct competition . “The show has a legacy in its favour and the format is unique as it is all about the chemistry between real life couples. Also, there are currently no other dance shows on air. So it does not face any direct competition with the other reality content in that sense. However, the other reality show formats are established properties and have their share of fan following. So it will be interesting to see how it goes, ” she says.

    ZenithOptimedia SVP Navin Khemka also expects Nach Baliye to deliver. “Star Plus is coming up with a reality show after a long time. Since Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa did decently well, we are expecting Nach Baliye to work well too. And though it will compete with Bigg Boss and KBC initially, both of them will go off-air. So the slot has good prospects,” he says.

    Nach Baliye will end just before Indian Premier League starts. “So it’s a good option for brands and we are looking at investing in the property,” avers Khemka.

    The show will be produced by Frames Production Company and hosted by Karan Wahi and Gautam Rode. It will be judged by Shilpa Shetty Kundra, Sajid Khan and Terrence Lewis.

    The essence of the show is that when a husband and wife join hands to forge a partnership of equals, the power of the duo becomes unbeatable.

    Comments Star Plus general manager Nachiket Pantvaidya, “Star Plus has been a pioneer in introducing innovative non-fiction formats on Indian Television. Nach Baliye, as a property, has always been very popular with the viewers and we are confident that its return on a exciting and bigger scale will be something they will really enjoy. Weekends are all set to get more entertaining with the return of Nach Baliye.”

    The contestants of Nach Baliye 5 include Rahul and Dimpy; Jay and Mahhi; Kushal and Elena; Deepshikha and Kaishav; Ravi and Sargun; Suhasi and Jaisheel; Amar and Charlie; Shefali and Parag; Smita and Ankush; Karan and Nisha; and Arvind and Neelu.