ITV

Tag: SaharaOne

  • Kalyan Sundaram returns to Sahara One as programming head

    Kalyan Sundaram returns to Sahara One as programming head

    MUMBAI: SaharaOne has appointed Kalyan Sundaram to head programming for the channel.

    Sundaram was roped into the network in 2004 when the new team structure was being set in place as the non-fiction programming head.

    A year later Sundaram moved onto Zee Arabia, a division of Zee International as the creative head.

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Kalyan Sundaram said, “I was with channel for a year before I moved on to Zee Arabia Dubai. But I have always shared a special bond with Sahara and now I am back to head our programming plans for the channel.”

    With prior experience at MTV and B4U Music, Sundaram returns to SaharaOne as the network plans to spruce up its programming line up with six new shows, two being Solhar Singaarr and Kuch Apne Kuch Paraye. Two more additions being Zaara Pyaar Ki Saugat and Ghar Ek Sapna were officially announced today.

  • SaharaOne unveils two properties; plans big marketing push

    SaharaOne unveils two properties; plans big marketing push

    MUMBAI: As part of their aggressive plans to ramp the programming on the network, SaharaOne has unveiled two more properties in connection with their sixth property roll out. These include the weeklies Zaara Pyaar Ki Saugat, which is slated to kick off on 4 December at 8 pm and Ghar Ek Sapna, which is targeting an 18 December launch.

    Following the launch of the two shows Solhah Singaarr and Kuch Apne Kuch Paraye, the channel is looking to make a big noise around the launch of Zaara Pyaar Ki Saugat with live outdoor screenings of the first episode in certain pockets of Mumbai including Mahim Causeway, Mohammad Ali Road and Azad Maidan.

    Expectedly, the channel will roll out marketing initiatives via print, outdoor and radio. But in addition to this the channel is also looking to heavily utilize the internet with contests, games and blog sites like the hugely visited community website Orkut, says SaharaOne marketing head Rajeev Chakraborthy.

    The marketing plans for Ghar Ek Sapna are yet to be cemented, which Chakraborthy was apprehensive to disclose.

    Commenting on the relevance of the themes for both shows, SaharaOne programming head Kalyan Sundaram says that research from smaller towns and cities have shown that this ‘women dominated’ audience prefers to identify with the non-progressive home bound Indian female as opposed to women achievers such as journalists and lawyers. This explains the move back towards narrating the story of the traditional homemaker.

    The channel has recently been boasting of the two new shows generating good numbers and CEO Shantonu Aditya seems confident that the latest additions will garner the same. In line with their programming fight plan, two more non-fiction properties will be unveiled, following which two big properties will emerge in January and February next year. These will tread the reality path much like what competition is doing, only this will be in the form of a game show.

    In another attempt to up their ratings and beat Sony to the third spot in the general entertainment genre, Aditya added that the channel has also lined up a bank of movies from their own stable including Khosla Ka Ghosla and Dor.

    Aditya adds, “In keeping with our mission to continually provide quality entertainment to our viewers and fulfilling our promise of newer shows, we are pleased to present Zaara Pyaar Ki Saugat and Ghar… Ek Sapna. With the launch of these two shows we have not only revamped the primetime band but have also expanded viewing time. The channel has been at an upswing over the last few weeks and our numbers are only getting better. I am certain that the new shows that will be launched over the next couple of months will take us to greater heights.”

  • SaharaOne and Filmy accept CAS ceiling price of Rs 5

    SaharaOne and Filmy accept CAS ceiling price of Rs 5

    MUMBAI: Sahara One Media and Entertainment Ltd have let the 15 October deadline pass to inform sector regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) the channel price fixed for the notified areas under conditional access system (CAS).

    The company, which manages general entertainment channel SaharaOne and movie channel Filmy, has acknowledged the ceiling price of Rs 5. 

    The two channels switched to the pay mode in September. 

    The regulator had set a common price on all pay channels directing that under CAS regime they will cost a maximum Rs 5/- per channel per subscriber per month (excluding taxes).

    Ahead of the deadline, most pay broadcasters including Star India, Set Discovery, ESPN Software, Raj TV Network, Sun TV, Udaya TV, Gemini TV limited, Ushodaya Enterprises Limited, B4U Television Network, Sun TV, Udaya TV and Gemini TV, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and Zee Turner Ltd had agreed to the price and declared the charges of all the channels.

  • SaharaOne initiates prime time revamp; 8 shows on the anvil

    SaharaOne initiates prime time revamp; 8 shows on the anvil

    MUMBAI: SaharaOne Television is about to make a big splash in the Hindi General Entertainment Channel (GEC) space by introducing not less than eight new programmes. The channel, having set an ambitious 2006-end target of achieving the third position in the market, hopes a near complete revamp of the sensitive 8 pm to 11 pm prime time band would drive the turnaround.

    “By the end of 2006, we want to become the third most successful general entertainment channel in the Hindi space. We will be unleashing a series of programming activities in the coming weeks. Two new soaps Kuch Apne Kuch Paraye and Solhah Singaarr will start the proceedings and four more soaps will be launched in the prime time band. The picture will be complete with the introduction of two big ticket format shows,” Sahara One Media and Entertainment Limited CEO Shantonu Aditya tells indiantelevision.com.

    The channel’s most successful soap Woh Rehne Waali Mehlon Ki will however escape the revamp exercise. Another prime time soap Hare Kkaanch Ki Choodiyan is giving way for Solhah Singaarr. SaharaOne is yet to decide the slot for Kuch Apne Kuch Paraye, according to Aditya.

    Speaking on the reality shows in the pipeline, Aditya said the channel was yet to finalise certain details and would be sharing information on the initiatives at a later period. However he hinted that one of the reality shows planned would be celebrity-based.

    “We had been planning to launch a celeb-based reality dance show Superstars. But, looking at the way the existing celeb dance shows are faring in the rating charts, we have decided to take a re-look at Superstars,” Aditya says.

    When the sliding market share of SahraOne (based on July to September CS4+ HSM Tam ratings) is brought to his attention, Aditya counters by saying that the channel has already been showing signs of a good comeback.

    “Last week, we have improved our GRPs to 87 from 60 of the previous week. The reach has been improved to 51 per cent. Our belief is that the latest programming efforts, backed by the strong movie properties we have, will strengthen the channel’s position tremendously,” he says.

  • Eurasia Cup telecast to be split between SaharaOne, Filmy

    Eurasia Cup telecast to be split between SaharaOne, Filmy

    MUMBAI: Looks like Sahara is not about to let go the foothold it has got into the India cricket telecast game. After having aired the recently concluded series between India and England, SaharaOne has now acquired the rights for the next five years to a new offshore cricket event — the EurAsia Cricket series.

    The first edition of the event will be held in the Gulf Emirate of Abu Dhabi from 22 April to 5 May 2006 and is the result of an alliance between the Jawaharlal Nehru Sports Trust and the Abu Dhabi Cricket Council.

    SaharaOne CEO Shantonu Aditya says, “We are delighted to partner with Creative Eye (from whom Sahara got the rights) in promoting the EurAsia Cricket Series 2006.” Creative Eye had earlier acquired the rights for this VK Sports Management Group.

    BSNL is Sahara’s title sponsor for the event which will feature the A teams of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Making up the numbers for this six-nation event are cricket “minnows” Holland, Ireland and UAE. The teams are divided into two groups. Sahara will simulcast the 14 day-night ODIs on SaharaOne and and recently launched movie channel Filmy. SaharaOne though will take a break between 8:30-10:30 pm to protect its prime time shows while Filmy will air the matches uninterrupted.

    The big question of course is what benefits Sahara expects to get out of a series at a time of serious cricket overload what with the national team literally ending one series and getting into another with barely a break in between. More so since Aditya confirmed that Sahara had no plans to launch a sports channel in the near future.

    According to Sahara One Television COO Purnendu Bose, the Subrato Roy-promoted network sees three clear opportunities that it would be exploiting from this property, for which it holds the global satellite rights as well as in stadia rights.

    First of course is the composition of the Indian team, captained by Venugopala Rao, which includes the latest star in the making and opener Robin Uthappa, pacemen RP Singh and VRV Singh, leg-spinner Piyush Chawla, all-rounder Reetinder Singh Sodhi, and wicketkeeper batsman Dinesh Kaarthick, all of whom have played for India. Opener Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan and middle-order batsman S. Badrinath also find a place.

    The team composition allows for Sahara’s marketing pitch for this series, which is that the network will be showcasing “today’s heroes” or the “Young Tigers” who will have a significant role to play in the Indian cricket scheme of things with the mantra being so much on youth. According to Bose, this event going forward had the potential to become a major property in itself.

    Explaining the programming strategy, Bose states that the event will “get me additional ratings during my graveyard shift (2:30 pm to 7:30 pm)”. The telecast on SaharaOne, in much the same way as national broadcaster Doordarshan does with its main channel DD1 when it telecasts India cricket, will pull away from cricket at 7:30 pm and hook back in at 10:30 pm to get in the “final hour of action”.

    Thirdly, says Bose, “whatever additional sampling that happens because of the cricket is good for the channel.”

    One wonders though that with the Rahul Dravid and the gang playing so much cricket whether there will be any interest left in watching an India A team. No matter how good India A is, the coverage devoted to it in the press indicates that there is a huge question mark over just how much interest the average cricket watcher will have in it.

    Having said that, cricket that does not feature the main eleven has generally been given step motherly treatment in this country. So it is encouraging to see SaharaOne at least try and push the cause of the sport beyond just the main eleven.