ITV

Tag: take

  • ESS bids to take on WWE with TNA Wrestling

    MUMBAI: Looks like World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on Ten Sports is finally going to have some serious competition. ESPN Star Sports (ESS) has announced that it is expanding its relationship with TNA Wrestling.
     

    ESS today announced that it has entered into a three year deal with TNA (Total Nonstop Action) Entertainment to broadcast all TNA Wrestling programs on its channels in India and the rest of Asia. ESS will showcase the TNA shows – TNA Impact, TNA Xplosion and a special weekly programme from the archives of TNA Wrestling. In addition Star Sports will also feature a Monthly Special. This airs as a Pay Per View special in the US.

    Currently TNA Wrestling airs in a one hour slot on Star World on Saturday at 8 pm.

    This move should come as no surprise. Ratings data indicate that in the sports genre scripted wrestling is the most popular programme after India cricket. The TNA Monthly Specials kick off with Lockdown and will be followed with one special every month. Monthly Specials have innovative battle formats like a caged fight, an iron rod fight.

    Speaking on the development ESS India MD R C Venkateish said, “Viewer interest in professional wrestling has been on the rise in India. Some of the big names from the world of professional wrestling have ardent fan following in the country. Our understanding of the viewers in India has lead us to believe that the viewers have a hunger for more and more of professional wrestling.
     
     

    “TNA Wrestling is a leading wrestling property and is popular the world over. With big names and a very innovative format, it is bound to catch the viewers’ imagination. TNA will also be an attraction because it features an Indian wrestler too in Sonjay Dutt (not to be confused with Bollywood bad boy Sunjay Dutt). We plan to market and build the popularity of TNA wrestling across the country.

    “The action and wrestling genre is attracting viewer interest. Our acquisition on action properties will continue and we will not stop at TNA and will continue to consolidate this aspect of programming on our channels. We are looking at developing a comprehensive and entertaining professional wrestling package on our networks.”

    TNA Impact features the innovative six-sided ring, giving many more angles to the wrestler to catapult and attack his opponent. TNA Impact is fought for three titles: the NWA World Heavyweight Championship; the NWA World Tag Team Championship and the TNA X-Division Championship – a ‘high risk moves championship’ where mostly light weight wrestlers battle it out, though there is no upper weight limit on the X Division title.

    TNA Xplosion is TNA’s one-hour weekly show featuring exclusive matches, interviews, news and rumors from TNA. In addition to footage from Impact, Xplosion features exclusive interviews with TNA superstars. Xplosion is a complete guide to everything happening in and out of the six-sided ring (TNA Impact). It also gives all the up-to-date lineups on the upcoming TNA Monthly Specials.

    TNA wrestlers include the ‘King of The Mountain’ Jeff Jarrett, The ‘Fallen Angel’ Christopher Daniels – TNA X-Division Champion Titleholder since March, Jeff Hardy, Raven, Kevin Nash, Sean Waltman and DDP.

  • ‘Millie’ to take on Sony’s ‘Kkusum’; Star plans marketing blitz

    MUMBAI: After the big bang marketing blitz that one saw with Star Plus’ Kavyanjali, the leading Hindi general entertainment channel has decided, one month in advance, to activate a promotional onslaught for the launch of their next big property, which debuts on the tube next month in the critical 9 pm slot.

    Launching 4 April, Mondays to Thursdays, Millie is poised to replace the recently converted half-hour dailies – Des Mein Niklla Hoga Chand, Kehta Hai Dil, Saara Akaash and Sanjivani, all of which will be phased out by end of March.
     
     
     

    Apart from the regular activity that entails a campaign, Star plus has gone a step forward to ensure visibility and reach for the show. In terms of sheer decibel levels, Millie‘s promotion will be as loud as that of Kavyanjali’s, confirms Star India senior vice president marketing and communications Ajay Vidyasagar.

    For the next one month, promo’s of the show will air across the Star network which will comprise the introduction and the profiling of all the characters in the serial. “This has been done with a specific intention of familiarising the audience with the characters to induce interest and curiosity for the show before the launch and in turn ensure that the 9 pm slot becomes a staple diet for the viewers,” adds Vidyasagar. Millie, the central protaganist in the promo’s, will talk about the other characters and the others will talk about Millie creating a sort of interplay.

    A total of six promo’s are planned, the smiley being the symbolic logo of the serial depicting sunshine will be played as the icon of the campaign.
     
     
     

    The other innovative factor is the title track of Millie which the channel believes is a potential chart buster. Composed by Preetam of the Dhoom fame, a music album is slated to be released on the same. Also the music video will be airing on both Star Plus and Channel V. The video is a take-off on ‘How do you solve a problem like Maria’, the much loved song in the musical classic Sound of Music.

    Apart from that, the show will also be sufficiently supported by ground events, radio, outdoor and print media.

    Coming to the content of the show, it is essentially a family-centric show which revolves around an orphan who comes into a family that is always buried in sorrow. Millie comes into their lives as the sunshine and hence the symbolic smiley.
     
     
     

    Gone are the days of regular marketing. With television shows getting more and more cutting edge and competitive, innovation and alternative seems to be the name of the game.

    Mille is pitted against SET’s Kkusum. Is Sony getting into an aggresive mode as well to ensure stabilty for their 9 pm slot or is it going to surrender to the entertainement major?

    It’s a question of survival.