ITV

Tag: Sony Entertainment Television

  • Sony’s ‘Encounter’ with Manoj Bajpayee

    Sony’s ‘Encounter’ with Manoj Bajpayee

    MUMBAI: For Endemol India that has established itself as a leader in the reality TV space and has expanded into other strands of content, it has been a roller coaster ride.

    Although crime shows on TV are common with almost every channel, but the way Sony Entertainment Television (SET) has accepted this genre, nobody has, believe the experts of the industry.

    Crime always sells and it is this genre that has worked for the channel which is currently languishing among the bottom three GECs, according to the weekly TAM TV ratings.

    CID and Crime Patrol has been airing for years and it won’t be wrong to say that the shows belong to the crime space.  To get back its long lost position in the ratings chart, SET is set to launch Encounter on 11 April. Produced by Endemol India, the show will be hosted by Manoj Bajpayee.

    Encounter, as the name suggests, is an account of the dangerous encounters between cops and gangsters. It will bring alive the stories behind the famous encounters of the police and the underworld in India starting from the early nineties. Inspired by real-life incidents, the show aims at redefining the proverbial action series on television.

    The promos of the show that is to air 36 episodes have already hit the television screens and will be telecast every Friday to Sunday at 9 pm. It will replace the channel’s dance reality property Boogie Woogie that is shown on Saturday and Sunday while it will also take away a day’s telecast of Nandini (aired at 9 pm) and Jee Le Zara (aired at 9.30 pm) that airs on Fridays. Sources indicate that the latter will be shutting its shop very soon due to poor ratings.

    Gaurav Seth

    SET senior vice president, head-marketing Gaurav Seth believes that crime shows are the channel’s strength. “There are a lot of crime shows on television but we believe that such shows are our strength. People talk to us in big numbers, watch the crime genre and believe that we do it well. Whether its CID or Crime Patrol, these are the shows which have cult following over a period of time because people think that this is something Sony does best. We want to continue that trend.”

    Spelling out the reason of getting Bajpayee on board Seth avers, “He is going to play a very interesting role of narrating the stories from the inside. He has got most implacable credentials when it comes to this genre and has also played humorous characters that have actually stood out in Indian cinema.”

    SET has rolled out an aggressive marketing campaign for this show. There will be more than 20-25 channels telecasting the promos of Encounter. For the channel that has already bought 8,000 spots, television is going to play a lead medium for communication. The promotional TVC featuring Bajpayee will also be promoted on other mediums like radio, print, digital media, games and apps.

    Ajay Bhalwankar, who has recently joined SET as its chief creative director, believes that the show is going to be a blockbuster. He reveals: “It is going to be very different show and not on the lines of Crime Patrol as people are comparing it with. These are all different cop stories and are not wholly focused on the criminals. You will find a lot of difference from other crime properties which are airing on television today.”

    Ajay Bhalwankar

    A source closely connected with Endemol revealed that the planning for the show started three months ago. “When we started off, we wanted to do a real encounter series, real cases with real people. But it was just not possible. It also needed to have a fictional twist because getting the police on-board was a difficult task. So we decided to make it a fiction series because the channel believes in crime-related shows and that is its audience.”

    The same source further goes on to add: “We shot a small pilot with an actual encounter specialist A Khan and the channel liked the concept so much that they immediately picked it up. The pilot would be of one episode.”

    Moreover, compared to Sony’s other crime properties like CID and Crime Patrol, the production cost of Encounter is much higher per episode. As of now three episodes have been canned and are ready to go on-air.

    Media professionals feel that the channel should concentrate more on its line-up of fiction rather than giving viewers weekend dose of entertainment. “The show is going to compete with one of the best shows other channels have in that time slot. Since Sony already has strong crime properties that are doing well for them, there was no need to create another one. They should come up with innovative content for its daily soaps which are struggling to find its place in the ratings chart,” reasons a prominent media planner who did not wish to be named.

    Encounter is going to compete with Pavitra Rishta (Fri) and DID Lil Masters (Sat-Sun) on Zee TV, Beintehaa (Fri) and Khatron Ke Khiladi five (Sat-Sun) on Colors, Diya Aur Baati Hum on Star Plus (Fri-Sat) and Mad In India (Sun) and Chidiya Ghar on Sab.

    Seth is not worried about the competition. “We are extremely hyper and aggressive about everything that we are doing. Since it’s a very competitive slot, we have to believe in our content. And to ensure that people latch on to this content, we have a very interesting promotional campaign going on and we are very excited about it,” he signs off.

  • SET airing month-long Mumbai special on CID, Crime Patrol

    SET airing month-long Mumbai special on CID, Crime Patrol

    MUMBAI: As the undisputed leader in the crime genre, Sony Entertainment Television has kicked-off a one-month special titled Mission Mumbai dedicated to maximum city.

    The series started airing early March and will continue through the month, and sees two of Sony’s longest running crime shows – CID and Crime Patrol – showcasing actual crime in the city.

    Sony has come up with a comprehensive marketing strategy to promote its Mumbai special on CID and Crime Patrol.

    Speaking of CID, the channel has flagged-off a campaign where Mumbaikars can participate in a plethora of fun-filled activities across prominent areas of the city. Twenty-five to 30 localities are on the radar where functions are held every week to felicitate the winners of what Sony calls the ‘Heroes initiative’.

    Sony SVP head marketing Gaurav Seth says they wanted to re-energise Brand CID that has successfully completed 17 years and 1,000 episodes. “Plus, we’ve been noticing that Mumbai, which had become a key market for CID and Crime Patrol over the years, is responding in a lukewarm manner to CID over the past few months. We wanted to bring back the show to this market and make it alive for consumers here once again,” he adds.

    We wanted to re-energise Brand CID – Gaurav Seth

    Sony has ensured that the message of ‘Mission Mumbai’ goes out everywhere, with over 500 outdoor hoardings, bus shelter hoardings, bus panels, platform boards and inside train panels dedicated for the purpose.

    The channel has tied up with 10 to 15 McDonalds’ outlets where kids will participate in a contest by answering why they want to meet the CID protagonists. Writers of the best replies will get to interact with CID actors.

    Further, SET has tied up with Radio Mirchi where the listeners can nominate their near ones or themselves for the ‘Mumbai ke Heroes’ contest. One more initiative on the FM channel called Mumbai bana CID will have radio jockeys quiz Mumbaikars about their city. The one who gives the most correct answers will get to feature in one of the CID episodes.

    What’s more, the channel has collaborated with certain local cable operators to get TV audiences direct transmissions of these one-off events. It is also promoting the Mumbai special on regional news channels to target the local, Marathi-speaking junta with over 1,000 spots.

    Seth claims the response received in the very first week has been fantastic. “Over 2,500 people turned up for the event and over 1,000 people interacted and played games during the three-day pre-promotion phase. We reached over 1,000 households and invited them for the main event,” he says.

    “We are extremely happy, we have always been doing ground out-reach programmes in terms of how people react to our programmes. This gives us a good feeling that the brand is alive and people love the show and the characters and the channel.”

    Buzz is, SET plans on more specials like Mission Gujarat and Mission Delhi but is testing the waters with Mission Mumbai first.

  • The One Alliance threatens to switch off channels to Reliance BIG TV

    The One Alliance threatens to switch off channels to Reliance BIG TV

    MUMBAI: The subscribers of direct-to-home TV services provider Reliance Big TV may stop receiving 26 channels that form part of the The One Alliance bouquet about three weeks from now.

     

    The One Alliance through a public notice has informed subscribers of Reliange Big TV that the channels it aggregates can go off in the next three weeks, if the DTH player doesn’t clear outstanding dues.

     

    “We have issued a public notice as per the guidelines. The outstanding is huge and we are hoping that the matter is resolved soon,” says The One Alliance EVP sales and strategy Makarand Palekar.

     

    The channels that come in The One Alliance bouquet are: Sony Entertainment Television, MAX, MIX, SAB, PIX,SIX,Aath, Animal Planet, AXN, Animax, Discovery Channel, Discovery Channel Tamil, TLC, Discovery Science, Discovery Turbo, Aaj Tak, Headlines Today, Times Now, Tez, Discovery Kids, ET Now, Zoom, Movies Now, Discovery HD World, SIX HD and SET HD.

     

    “Talks are on with Reliance Big TV,” informs Palekar.

     

    The One Alliance is getting tough against all distribution platforms. The aggregator had switched off channels given to IndusInd Media and Communications (IMCL) on 5 March, after issuing a 21 day notice to the multi system operator (MSO) for non-payment of huge outstanding.

     

    “We met the officials from IMCL and resolved the matter on Friday, 7 March. The channels from the bouquet (to IMCL) have been restored,” says Palekar.

  • TV turning bold?

    TV turning bold?

    MUMBAI: Two years ago, the television premiere of Ekta Kapoor’s The Dirty Picture became a magnet for controversy, when at the nth hour the Information & Broadcasting Ministry banned Sony Entertainment Television from airing the film before 11pm, citing its adult content and sexual innuendo as reason.

    While the movie did eventually premiere on SET at 8pm, it was only after four months, and with as many as 56 cuts advised by the Censor Board for Film Certification (CBFC).

    In sharp contrast, the world television premiere of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela on the same channel in February was a bit of a pushover.

    No reservations were raised by the government and the movie was aired during primetime and without any cuts. What’s more, the film garnered 8,900 TVTs and helped SET make it to the top four channels after struggling at the bottom for 20 weeks.

    One can see a similar trend with some of the current TV shows. Remember Ekta Kapoor’s show Bade Achche Lagte Hain? An intimate scene between the serial’s lead actors Sakshi Tanwar and Ram Kapoor was aired.

    So, is Indian television becoming bold or has the audience come of age to accept more and more of such content. We spoke to a cross-section of industry to find out.

    “It is not really so much about TV getting bolder as much as acceptance for this kind of content. The audience is becoming a lot more mature to accept it. It is not something you can say is limited only to GECs; it is across the board. It is largely media-driven than anything else. The awareness has gone up and there is so much international content that we are consuming that it doesn’t seem so odd,” said Lodestar UM vice-president Deepak Netram.

    “We consume the same kind of content in so many different places that it is really not alarming. At the same time, there is some amount of dissonance in the conservative mindset, which has always been there. I don’t think there is a dramatic shift; it is something that has been happening gradually over a period of time.”

    Unlike Netram, Sony Max EVP and business head Neeraj Vyas said he wouldn’t have gone ahead and aired the whole movie without cuts the way SET did. “A Ram-Leela kind of movie cannot be watched when you are with your family. When it comes to Max, I will ensure that I cut at least 10 minutes of the movie,” he said.

    Star India’s attitude has been completely different to that of SET. An upcoming episode of the celebrity chat show Koffee with Karan featuring Freida Pinto and Nargis Fakhri turned out so steamy that Star World decided to serve the ‘adults only’ brew at11pm instead of the usual 9pm slot.

    “Staying within the IBF guidelines, we didn’t want to air the episode before 11 pm. The alternative would have been to edit out a lot of the conversation, which we chose not to do. The episode is worth staying up late for,” said Star India content head, English GECs Rasika Tyagi.

    At the same time, Star Plus, another channel within the Star Network, remains unapologetic about airing an adult-themed show Ishq Kills every Sunday at 10pm. Interestingly, the very same channel telecast adult-themed shows such as Maryada – Aakhir Kab Tak and Kaali – Ek Agnipariksha during late primetime back in 2010.

    Meanwhile, a channel like Channel V, a lot of whose content tends to be edgy, maintains a fairly high standard of self regulation of censorship.

    “A lot of the content that we do tends to be edgy. If you look at Heroes or Gumraah, they are fairly edgy subjects. But a lot depends on how you actually create them and also on how you plan and execute. While Heroes by the nature of the subject is quite edgy, we feel it is a topic which needs to be discussed and spoken about. And the way we treat it does not really sensationalize it and does not make it difficult to watch with the family. Therefore, that is really the yardstick that we apply. The topics and subjects might be edgy, but we definitely don’t want to make them sensational,” said Channel V (designation) Channel V general manager and EVP Prem Kamath.

    “Everyone runs their own code of self regulation mechanisms and it depends on what the internal mechanism is allowing them to do. There is an overall body – the BCCCI, which puts down guidelines. If you speak about Channel V or even the Star network channels, we hold a fairly high standard of self regulation of censorship.”

    According to Kamath, there is a strong social responsibility. “If it’s a family viewing channel, there is a certain kind of content you can put out during the regular hours, and if we feel any content is pushing the envelope of boldness and is not suitable for general viewing, we push it to a time slot which is probably late night. Or a lot of times, we don’t air it at all. So, I don’t think there is one brush that paints all the channels, it’s different for different channels,” he said.

  • MSM’s “new initiative”: A Hindi GEC?

    MSM’s “new initiative”: A Hindi GEC?

    MUMBAI: It was around 10 days ago that Multi Screen Media (MSM) announced the reshuffling and restructuring of its senior management. At that time the press release had said: “Anooj Kapoor will assume additional responsibilities as senior EVP and Business Head, SAB TV, and also a new initiative in the Hindi entertainment space.”

     

    When we contacted Kapoor, he was quite enigmatic when quizzed about the new initiative. Ditto with MSM president Rohit Gupta who confirmed that the Network is in the process of putting together “something new” but the details about it would be shared when the time comes.

     

    But we, at Indiantelevision.com, were not willing to be stonewalled and continued to dig around. So far what we have gathered is that the new Sony Entertainment Television offering will be another general entertainment channel – the third in the bouquet after SET and SAB. And it will have mainly fiction shows on its FPC. A senior media planner disclosed that he had been told by Sony executives that the launch is slated to take place within the next six weeks – that is before the financial year ends. 

     

    Sony Entertainment Television is likely to continue to air its existing successful shows such as C.I.D., Crime Patrol (in the crime/thriller genre), Boogie Woogie, Entertainment Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega (talent and reality show genre), Comedy Circus (comedy genre) and Kaun Banega Crorepati (quiz genre). SAB, which is among the more profitable services in the Sony Entertainment Television Network, will of course continue with its focus on lighter fare and comedies. 

     

    Industry sources reveal that an example of the type of programming the new channel will air are the shows it has signed on with Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachachan and their under-revival production house Saraswati Creations.

     

    Interestingly, headhunters are reportedly scouting for new hires to fill up the positions that are cropping up courtesy Sony’s new foray, and the mandate has been put out to strengthen the MSM communications team. 

     

    The Network has already got the required government licences for the upcoming channel, confirms a highly placed source, who goes on to say that the launch might be hurried if the TV ratings blackout becomes a reality by March when the High Court is supposed to announce its decision on TAM’s and Kantar’s future.

     

    Star India already has three Hindi GECs – Star Plus, Life Ok, Channel V – while a fourth, Star Utsav airs reruns from it old TV show catalogue. Zee Entertainment has the successful Zee TV and launched Zee Anmol last year, work on a third GEC is believed to be on currently. 

     

    Clearly, India’s TV networks believe in dishing out more to the country’s entertainment hungry TV viewers.

  • SAB TV adds another key ‘Free-to-Air’ market with San Francisco

    SAB TV adds another key ‘Free-to-Air’ market with San Francisco

    NEW YORK: Sony MSM Network is proud to announce the addition of San Francisco as the next key free-to-air territory for SAB TV through its tie-up with KFTL TV28. SAB TV will be available on Channel 28.10. 

     

    SAB TV a 24/7 South Asian television channel in the United States and India’s premier family comedy channel is already available on channel 23.4 in USA’s largest Designated Market Area (DMA) of the New York metro area and channel 44.4 in the fifth largest DMA of Dallas/Fortworth, TX, with a combined reach of over 10 million households.

     

    San Francisco, USA’s sixth largest DMA adds another 1.7 million households including key ethnic groups in the Bay Area. This new digital initiative makes SAB TV the first free-to-air South Asian channel with the largest reach in North America.

     

    Viewers can now enjoy SAB TV programs for free within the NYC, DFW and the Bay Area areas with no monthly subscription or fees. To access this free-to-air channel, viewers in the coverage area will need a low-cost UHF antenna hooked to their television sets that are DTV-capable. UHF antennae are available at most electronic retail stores.

     

    SAB TV reinforces its brand message ‘Asli Mazaa SAB ke Saath Hai’  with a current programming line-up that includes a host of popular shows such as ‘Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah’’, ‘Baal Veer’, ‘Chidiya Ghar’, ‘Jeannie Aur Juju’, ‘Lapataganj’, ‘FIR’, “Pritam Pyaare Aur Woh, and other popular comedy shows. This light-hearted fare makes for an enjoyable family-viewing experience.

     

    KFTL’s General Manager, Ian Milne commented, “SAB TV is a strong addition to KFTL’s high quality line-up of programming reflecting the cultural diversity of the San Francisco / Oakland / San Jose community that we are so proud to serve.”

     

    Jaideep Janakiram, SVP International Business-Head of North America, said, “With the success of SAB TV’s free-to-air model in New York and Dallas and in line with our strategy to be a forerunner in distributing our programming to the widest audience possible, it gives us great pleasure to bring the best in entertainment – SAB TV to the people of San Francisco who reside in the KFTL coverage area and to local advertisers who can now target the expanding South Asian audience in these markets”.

     

    About Sony Entertainment Television Asia:

     

    Since its launch on the Indian subcontinent in 1995, Sony Entertainment Television (SET) has enjoyed rapid success, leading to the establishment of European, North American and African feeds known as SET Asia. SET and SET Asia are now available in over 150 countries. The channels offer their viewers a distinctive blend of entertainment programs twenty four hours a day, including, soap operas, dramas, sitcoms, concerts, movies, and game shows.  Besides SET Asia, SEN also has four other leading channels, as part of its bouquet: MAX, India’s #1 premier movies and special events channel, SAB, the only dedicated comedy channel, MIX, the recently launched Hindi Film Music channel and Aath, the only dedicated Bengali Movie channel.

     

    About KFTL:

     

    KFTL offers companies, media professionals, programmers and entrepreneurs the opportunity to lease digital broadcast spectrum on free-to-air Channel 28 in the San Francisco Bay Area. Reaching over 5 million people and 1.7 million households, including key ethnic groups, KFTL leverages the power of free digital television to offer diverse programming to Bay Area viewers using nothing more than an inexpensive set-top antenna (such as “rabbit ears”), available online or at any electronics retailer.

  • Ajay Bhalwankar quits ZEEL as Content Head

    Ajay Bhalwankar quits ZEEL as Content Head

    MUMABI: Almost three years ago in June 2011, Zee Entertainment Enterprises had brought back one of its most cherished employees – Ajay Bhalwankar as the programming head after his short eight-month stint with Multi Screen Media. The news now is that Bhalwankar, who was working as ZEEL’s Content Head (Hindi GECs), has decided to explore opportunities outside the group on his own accord. 

     

    Namit Sharma will be coming on board to join the Zee TV programming function as Programming Head.

     

    In the official announcement made by the channel, it is mentioned that Bhalwankar was instrumental in creating path breaking content on Zee TV and also spearheaded the launch of new free-to-air (FTA) channel, Zee Anmol. He has been with the organisation since 1994. Barring a stint with Multi Screen Media, he has been at ZEEL for over 17 years. 

     

    “Ajay’s support for ideas, creativity and innovation has been the real strength of his time as content head of Zee TV,” said ZEEL Chief Creative and Content Officer Bharat Ranga. “He gave the team strong creative leadership with the freedom to experiment and he’ll be hard to replace. With regret, we accept his decision and thank Ajay for his valued contribution to the organization. During his stint with the group, Ajay has achieved various milestones and strengthened the position of channel and built a great and dedicated team for the channel. Given his credentials, we are also sure that he will continue to achieve his aspirations and further strengthen his credential in his domain.”

     

    Confirming the news, Bhalwankar said, “It’s been a memorable journey.  There is never a perfect time for this type of transition, but now is the right time. It’s a tough decision. The trust reposed in me by ZEEL MD & CEO, Punit Goenka will never be forgotten.  I leave ZEEL with renewed respect for television broadcasting and the talented producers of our programs, and with great pride to have worked with an exceptional team who will continue to see success.” 

     

    Bhalwankar will handhold Namit during the transition process – in settling down in the organisation and continue to take all programming related decisions as is currently being done. Sharma, with almost 15 years industry experience, was earlier with Wizcraft International as Business Head and Chief Creative Director – Wizcraft Television & Films. Prior to that he has worked as an executive producer with Yash Raj Films; as a creative director with Cinevistaas Ltd; and as a senior executive producer with Sony Entertainment Television.

  • MSM reshuffles senior management

    MSM reshuffles senior management

    MUMBAI: Multi-Screen Media(MSM) today announced that Sneha Rajani, will assume the position of deputy president and head, MSM Motion Pictures. Nachiket Pantvaidya, who has recently joined the network, takes over as senior executive vice president and business head, Sony Entertainment Television (SET). Anooj Kapoor, will assume additional responsibilities as senior executive vice president and business head, SAB, and also a new initiative in the Hindi entertainment space.

     

    Sneha who was formerly business head, Sony Entertainment Television will have end to end responsibility for MSM Motion Pictures and will chart the success and future of that business as a key force in movie production. In this role, Sneha will also continue to handle film acquisitions for the network. Sneha has been associated with MSM for over 15 years and has previously been business head, MAX, which she launched and led for 10 years, before assuming responsibility of the flagship GEC, SET. She has played a key role in MSM’s movie buying strategy and was also instrumental in leading its cricket properties, such as, the ICC World Cup and IPL.

     

    Nachiket, who was the business head of STAR Plus and also held several roles in the STAR TV network, including being the Head of STAR Pravah and MD of FOX Television Studios will now head SET. An IIM Ahmedabad alumnus, Nachiket has had stints with BBC and Disney in the past. He has also held several positions in MSM from 1996 to 2004.

     

     

    With the success of SAB, Anooj has demonstrated capability for building differentiated audiences for the network. Anooj has been with MSM since 2007. Prior to joining MSM, Anooj worked with Colgate Palmolive as product manager, Lowe Lintas as Creative Director and also ran his own production advertising company. He has a Masters in English Literature and a MBA from SP Jain Institute of Management Studies.

     

    Speaking on the occasion, MSM  CEO N. P. Singh said, “I am certain that Sneha, Nachiket and Anooj will revitalize and provide fresh perspective to their respective areas of responsibility. Each brings unique strengths to grow the business & we wish them the best in their new roles. I am confident that 2014 will be a year of innovation and growth for MSM.”

     

  • Sri Adhikari Brothers to raise Rs 100 crore

    Sri Adhikari Brothers to raise Rs 100 crore

    MUMBAI: It is one of the more successful Indian-origin companies in the media industry that delved into the comedy genre with SAB TV, which it sold to the Sony Entertainment Television in India. It followed that up with niche channel forays, the most recent of which is a Marathi comedy and music channel Maiboli. Now, Sri Adhikari Brothers Television Network Ltd (SABTNL), has once again drawn up ambitious expansion plans and has decided to raise funds of upto Rs 100 crore to bankroll them.

     

    In a disclosure to the Bombay Stock Exchange, SABTNL  says that it will be offering 100 lakh warrants with an option to subscribe for equivalent number of equity shares of Rs 10 each at a price that may be determined by SEBI regulations. The warrants are to be issued on a preferential basis to the persons in the promoter group and others.

     

    The purpose of the fund raising exercise, says SABTNL, is to meet general long term financial and working capital needs and also to expand its successfully growing broadcasting business. The plans are subject to shareholder approval  which it will be seeking through postal ballot.

  • Sony revives second non-fiction show ‘Entertainment Ke liye…’

    Sony revives second non-fiction show ‘Entertainment Ke liye…’

    MUMBAI: A few weeks back when Sony Entertainment Television NP Singh was elevated to the post of CEO from COO, he had promised that he will make some changes in the channel’s programming and work on bringing it back into fighting fit shape. Apparently, he appears to be acting on that promise in double quick time. 

     

    A statement from the channel says that its talent reality show Entertainment Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega is going to be back soon. “This is to inform you that SET’s show Entertainment Ke Liye Kuch bhi Karega is coming back. The auditions will start from 26 January,” it says.

     

    While the date has been announced, no other details are known. A source from the channel says that Anu Malik, who has been the judge on earlier editions, has a big chance to come back this time too. However, the second judge hasn’t been finalised yet. “It could be Farah Khan, or somebody else may come in as well,” says the source, admitting that the hosts may also change.

    Sony Entertainment is also looking at tweaking the format a bit to make it more appealing to audiences.

     

    When we contacted Wizcraft TV head Namit Sharma that has produced the earlier editions of the show, he said it’s too early to talk about the details as nothing has been finalised – as of yet. “But we are starting silent auditions from the end of the month and we will go across the country to find exceptional talent,” he adds.

     

    The talent show premiered on the channel in May 2009, just a month before India’s Got Talent kicked off on rival channel Colors. However, while IGT became one of the most talked about and popular properties of Colors, Entertainment… was given a quiet burial. However, the tongue-in-cheek and many times blunt comments of judges Anu Malik and Farah Khan caught the fancy of TV viewers. 

     

    The last season (season 4) was aired on the channel in 2011 and The Raibishi group from West Bengal was the winner. 

     

    NP – it appears – is relying on tried and tested non-fiction properties to buoy Sony Entertainment. Recently, he dragged out R&N Productions’ long-running Boogie Woggie from the back of the closet and relaunched it on the Hindi GEC. The trio of Ravi Behl, Naved and Jaavved Jafferi tweaked the format, added a lot more emotion and drama to the dance show, and since then it seems to have got its mojo back and appears to be doing very well for Sony.

     

    Will Entertainment Ke Liye… do similarly well?