ITV

Tag: The Stage

  • Want Colors Infinity viewers to experience the brand: Viacom18’s D’Souza

    MUMBAI: Indian audiences are refining their taste for content, giving rise to several niche genres. The best way for a niche channel can make itself visible through the clutter is by creating an impactful brand image.

    Launched two years ago, Viacom18’s niche English entertainment channel, Colors Infinity, promised a range of exciting never-before-seen shows for die-hard Indian viewers of American and British TV series. Some of its best shows include Arrow, Orange is the New Black, iZombie, America’s Next Top Model, Humans and Fargo.

    In an exclusive interview with indiantelevision.com, Viacom18’s English entertainment marketing head Sabrina D’Souza shares insights on the challenges of marketing a niche channel to the country’s youth and how the channel stays at the top of its game.

    How have your marketing initiatives helped the channel so far?

    Through our campaigns and brand initiatives, we have always focused on building brands and not just TV channels. Colors Infinity has successfully carved a place for itself in the competitive English entertainment landscape, thanks to a groundbreaking launch campaign, innovative show campaigns and relevant initiatives consistently through the year. We are confident of maintaining our distinction with many more forward-thinking campaigns and initiatives.

    How has your messaging evolved since the launch in 2015?

    The launch campaign of Colors Infinity was focussed on driving awareness and creating a favourable position in the viewers’ mind. Over the last two years, Colors Infinity has proven its pedigree with class-leading international and original content. We are tapping into new markets and expanding our viewership base, as English entertainment becomes more widely accepted in India. Thus, we are evolving from driving awareness to enhancing engagement, to enable our consumers to experience our brand. Our increasing direct engagement makes shows more memorable in an otherwise cluttered environment.

    What are the key points to consider while forming marketing plans?

    The primary objective of our marketing plans is to expand the viewership and target group in our priority markets, guided by research. Beyond the basics, we innovate to build a favourable perception and positioning for the brand in our consumers’ mind.

    Whom does your initiative target – existing viewers or new ones? Who are the new audiences and how do you target them?

    Our initiatives are targeted at our existing viewers as well as potential viewers. Since the English language is increasingly becoming mainstream in India, we believe that there will be growing demand for English entertainment in the following years. We expect more youngsters to take to international shows going forward, due to their access to the internet and social media. Hence, we are actively exploring many youth connect initiatives to stay in sync with our consumers.

    Do marketing efforts on some shows add more value?

    While the campaign’s contribution to the overall brand image of the channel is a crucial factor, this also depends on our prevailing business priorities.

    What are the marketing campaigns undertaken to promote The Stage S3?

    With the launch campaign, we set with the challenging task of drawing new viewers and simultaneously excite the fans with this year’s talent repertoire. The marketing campaign has managed to successfully stimulate viewership by mounting a holistic multi-media campaign spanning over 20 cities, with a combination of above the line and below the line methods.

    Which medium works the best? Which location or demographic is your focus?

    Each media in our marketing mix serves a specific purpose. We do not evaluate media choices in isolation but assess the cumulative campaign effect. While we are constantly pushing our boundaries to include more viewers, currently the demographic focus is to consolidate our position in 15-40 age group of socioeconomic classes A and B in metros.

    Also Read:

    Colors Infinity introduces a special programming slot for non-fiction format ‘Eat at 8’

    Colors Infinity to premiere latest international shows within 24 hours of its international telecast

    Colors Infinity brings new seasons of ‘Fargo’ & ‘Better Call Saul’

     

  • Colors Infinity brings instant premieres

    Colors Infinity brings instant premieres

    MUMBAI: Colors Infinity is all set to ramp-up its programming with an explosive line-up of instant premieres. The channel will now bring a plethora of TV shows which will be aired within 12 hours of its US premiere.

    One of the most-awaited show The Flash is coming with its third season starring Tom Felton. The new line-up will ramp the existing roster further, which boasts of globally acclaimed shows like Grimm, Nashville, Blindspot, Notorious The Last Ship, Lucifer , The Stage, Vogue BFFs, etc.

    “This is a fast-moving era where access to everything is merely one click away. We have now grown our Instant Premiere line-up with newer, cutting-edge shows,” said Viacom18 English entertainment programming head Hashim D’Souza.

    In addition to these, the channel will also cater to a gamut of audience preferences of genres like action, thriller and sci-fi. Expanding the concept of Essential Viewing, the channel will bring back shows like Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow, Notorious, Pure Genius, Frequency, Timeless, etc.

    The channel will air Notorious which will give a provocative look at the unique, sexy, and dangerous interplay of criminal law and the media where a charismatic defense attorney and a powerhouse television producer work together to control the media following a high-profile incident. It will air every Friday at 8 pm.

    Set in London in a bleak and dystopian future, Timeless tells the story of Warren. He’s a hit-man who has been taken under the wing of the questionable business man, Sloane. Warren’s world changes forever one day when Sloane forced him to break one his rules which he always abides by. He then finds himself plunged into a world where all is not what it may seem. He suddenly has the power to travel back in time to wrong the rights of the past. But as events unfold, Warren must soon face a terrible conundrum. The show will broadcast every Tuesday at 8 pm.

    The Super hero Barry is back in action to save the world from Zoom.The Flash will make its way to the TV screens every Wednesday at 7 pm. The instant premiere of Arrow season 5 will air from 6 October at 7 pm.

    Legends of Tomorrow Season 2 will premiere on 14 October 7 pm onwards whereas Frequency, the thriller drama that envisages through time as Raimy creates ripples in the past, changing the present in unforeseen ways will air from 10 October 7 pm onwards. Pure Genius is set for a release on 31 October from 8 pm.

  • Colors Infinity brings instant premieres

    Colors Infinity brings instant premieres

    MUMBAI: Colors Infinity is all set to ramp-up its programming with an explosive line-up of instant premieres. The channel will now bring a plethora of TV shows which will be aired within 12 hours of its US premiere.

    One of the most-awaited show The Flash is coming with its third season starring Tom Felton. The new line-up will ramp the existing roster further, which boasts of globally acclaimed shows like Grimm, Nashville, Blindspot, Notorious The Last Ship, Lucifer , The Stage, Vogue BFFs, etc.

    “This is a fast-moving era where access to everything is merely one click away. We have now grown our Instant Premiere line-up with newer, cutting-edge shows,” said Viacom18 English entertainment programming head Hashim D’Souza.

    In addition to these, the channel will also cater to a gamut of audience preferences of genres like action, thriller and sci-fi. Expanding the concept of Essential Viewing, the channel will bring back shows like Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow, Notorious, Pure Genius, Frequency, Timeless, etc.

    The channel will air Notorious which will give a provocative look at the unique, sexy, and dangerous interplay of criminal law and the media where a charismatic defense attorney and a powerhouse television producer work together to control the media following a high-profile incident. It will air every Friday at 8 pm.

    Set in London in a bleak and dystopian future, Timeless tells the story of Warren. He’s a hit-man who has been taken under the wing of the questionable business man, Sloane. Warren’s world changes forever one day when Sloane forced him to break one his rules which he always abides by. He then finds himself plunged into a world where all is not what it may seem. He suddenly has the power to travel back in time to wrong the rights of the past. But as events unfold, Warren must soon face a terrible conundrum. The show will broadcast every Tuesday at 8 pm.

    The Super hero Barry is back in action to save the world from Zoom.The Flash will make its way to the TV screens every Wednesday at 7 pm. The instant premiere of Arrow season 5 will air from 6 October at 7 pm.

    Legends of Tomorrow Season 2 will premiere on 14 October 7 pm onwards whereas Frequency, the thriller drama that envisages through time as Raimy creates ripples in the past, changing the present in unforeseen ways will air from 10 October 7 pm onwards. Pure Genius is set for a release on 31 October from 8 pm.

  • Colors Infinity’s formula for success

    Colors Infinity’s formula for success

    MUMBAI: There’s infinite merriment at Viacom18 as executives at the network celebrate its English general entertainment channel Colors Infinity’s first birthday. And they have a century of reasons to rejoice: beginning with eight advertisers the channel today boasts 100-plus brands that are using it to connect with consumers through their TVCs. Its ad growth rate has been a scorching 30 per cent, and this has enabled it to improve the effective rate it offers to advertisers.

    Now the channel headed by Ferzad Palia is stepping into its second year with more might behind local productions with a determination to continue the good work and offer advertising partners even more co-branding opportunities.

    “Advertisers have been happy to pay us a premium. They don’t buy us on basis of the ratings but for various other reasons. They have realised it’s not only about viewership but also about the audiences in India. The core audiences’ consuming this do not want people meters in their homes. With 250 million people comfortable with the English language, the measurement remains as a challenge,” says Palia.

    This year, the team plans to increase its focus on local English content as well as bring in newer seasons of the channel’s popular shows. Amongst the properties that are going to continue to get a leg up include: Infinity-On-Demand and instant premieres. “Most people do about four to five instant premieres but we have done upward of 50 premieres,” says Palia.

    He adds: “Local production is our focus going ahead. It is not about number of hours of production. Currently we are cracking various concepts and will develop them well. Our show, The Stage is 25-30 hours of programming but it has a strong recall value. We are focusing not on quantity but quality. We came in quite late in the genre so disruption and differentiated content was the need of the hour. The brands can be integrated and incorporated heavily in local productions.”

    Reaching out to a 200 million audience, the channel has managed to capture 60 per cent viewership from the aspirational, neo-urban consumers in the country. On the whole its English channel cluster (VH1, Comedy Central and Colors Infinity) holds a rather dominating 53 per cent market share of its genre, claims the company. And it has tapped into even smaller towns and markets nationally.

    According to a recent report, Colors Infinity has a major stake in the Chennai region with 51 per cent reach whereas Star World’s figure is at 48 per cent. AXN, Comedy Central, Zee Café, FX have a reach of 36 per cent, 33 per cent, 29 and 19 per cent respectively. It also is in the top five channel list when it comes to metros like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata and non-metros. Clearly, the channel has been distributed well by its partner Indiacast.

    “We had insights that suggested the consumers wanted to watch content at their comfort level or else they illegally downloaded it. So we further leveraged binge watching on our channel by showcasing 3 back-to-back episodes of globally acclaimed shows such as Arrow, Fargo, The Big C, The Last Ship, Chasing Life,” explains Palia. The channel also initiated live binging of all-new seasons of Mad Dogs and Orange is The New Black, at the same time as its US telecast.

    “It was a victory for us,” he exclaims.

    It plans to further amplify the Colors Infinity’s international offering with launches of new shows such as Nashville, and Law and Order; as well as new seasons and instant premieres of Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow, The Flash, iZombie and Shades of Blue. The viewers’ favorite reality shows: So You Think You Can Dance and My Kitchen Rules are also slated to return with the latest season.

    So, how has the channel benefitted the network? Palia is of the opinion that “Our network has spread out well into the regional space and has expanded well in youth and kids. One of the areas where there was a need gap was the English entertainment space. We have seen tremendous expansion in this genre from the past three to four years. Now, we are in a position to derive 50 per cent share from our English cluster.”

    Palia points out with pride to the fact that in October 2015, the channel, under his leadership pioneered India’s first-ever home-grown English language music TV show – The Stage. Season 2 of The Stage will hit TV screens in September.

    Then it roped in Grey Goose to partner it for the show Born Stylish – a celeb chat show. It showcased Bollywood style icons such as Akshay Kumar, Sonakshi Sinha, and Anil Kapoor, as well as international fashion pioneers like Jean Paul Gaultier, Anna Zegna, Massimiliano Giornetti of Salvatore Ferragamo and many more, who interacted with host Pria Kataria Puri and spilled the beans on the evolution of their style quotient.

    A media planner points out that she would like to see Colors Infinity step up the game and introduce more daring and engaging domestically produced shows – which would appeal to English speaking audiences in the metros and second rung towns.

    “Doing one or two shows and shouting about making them work is laudable and appreciation worthy,” says she. “But Palia and team should realize they are operating in the English language which has myriad opportunities for anyone. Yes viewers are very demanding; they would like the same quality in the domestic series like they see in the international ones. And this is where the opportunities lie; experimentation with domestic scripted and unscripted formats in the English language. I’d like to see more full flowing action from the folks at Colors Infinity rather than these solitary strokes. I’d like the team to believe in the genre it says it leads.”

    Be that as it may, that advice can be kept aside for another day. Right now it’s time to bring out the bubbly for team Colors Infinity.

  • Colors Infinity’s formula for success

    Colors Infinity’s formula for success

    MUMBAI: There’s infinite merriment at Viacom18 as executives at the network celebrate its English general entertainment channel Colors Infinity’s first birthday. And they have a century of reasons to rejoice: beginning with eight advertisers the channel today boasts 100-plus brands that are using it to connect with consumers through their TVCs. Its ad growth rate has been a scorching 30 per cent, and this has enabled it to improve the effective rate it offers to advertisers.

    Now the channel headed by Ferzad Palia is stepping into its second year with more might behind local productions with a determination to continue the good work and offer advertising partners even more co-branding opportunities.

    “Advertisers have been happy to pay us a premium. They don’t buy us on basis of the ratings but for various other reasons. They have realised it’s not only about viewership but also about the audiences in India. The core audiences’ consuming this do not want people meters in their homes. With 250 million people comfortable with the English language, the measurement remains as a challenge,” says Palia.

    This year, the team plans to increase its focus on local English content as well as bring in newer seasons of the channel’s popular shows. Amongst the properties that are going to continue to get a leg up include: Infinity-On-Demand and instant premieres. “Most people do about four to five instant premieres but we have done upward of 50 premieres,” says Palia.

    He adds: “Local production is our focus going ahead. It is not about number of hours of production. Currently we are cracking various concepts and will develop them well. Our show, The Stage is 25-30 hours of programming but it has a strong recall value. We are focusing not on quantity but quality. We came in quite late in the genre so disruption and differentiated content was the need of the hour. The brands can be integrated and incorporated heavily in local productions.”

    Reaching out to a 200 million audience, the channel has managed to capture 60 per cent viewership from the aspirational, neo-urban consumers in the country. On the whole its English channel cluster (VH1, Comedy Central and Colors Infinity) holds a rather dominating 53 per cent market share of its genre, claims the company. And it has tapped into even smaller towns and markets nationally.

    According to a recent report, Colors Infinity has a major stake in the Chennai region with 51 per cent reach whereas Star World’s figure is at 48 per cent. AXN, Comedy Central, Zee Café, FX have a reach of 36 per cent, 33 per cent, 29 and 19 per cent respectively. It also is in the top five channel list when it comes to metros like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata and non-metros. Clearly, the channel has been distributed well by its partner Indiacast.

    “We had insights that suggested the consumers wanted to watch content at their comfort level or else they illegally downloaded it. So we further leveraged binge watching on our channel by showcasing 3 back-to-back episodes of globally acclaimed shows such as Arrow, Fargo, The Big C, The Last Ship, Chasing Life,” explains Palia. The channel also initiated live binging of all-new seasons of Mad Dogs and Orange is The New Black, at the same time as its US telecast.

    “It was a victory for us,” he exclaims.

    It plans to further amplify the Colors Infinity’s international offering with launches of new shows such as Nashville, and Law and Order; as well as new seasons and instant premieres of Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow, The Flash, iZombie and Shades of Blue. The viewers’ favorite reality shows: So You Think You Can Dance and My Kitchen Rules are also slated to return with the latest season.

    So, how has the channel benefitted the network? Palia is of the opinion that “Our network has spread out well into the regional space and has expanded well in youth and kids. One of the areas where there was a need gap was the English entertainment space. We have seen tremendous expansion in this genre from the past three to four years. Now, we are in a position to derive 50 per cent share from our English cluster.”

    Palia points out with pride to the fact that in October 2015, the channel, under his leadership pioneered India’s first-ever home-grown English language music TV show – The Stage. Season 2 of The Stage will hit TV screens in September.

    Then it roped in Grey Goose to partner it for the show Born Stylish – a celeb chat show. It showcased Bollywood style icons such as Akshay Kumar, Sonakshi Sinha, and Anil Kapoor, as well as international fashion pioneers like Jean Paul Gaultier, Anna Zegna, Massimiliano Giornetti of Salvatore Ferragamo and many more, who interacted with host Pria Kataria Puri and spilled the beans on the evolution of their style quotient.

    A media planner points out that she would like to see Colors Infinity step up the game and introduce more daring and engaging domestically produced shows – which would appeal to English speaking audiences in the metros and second rung towns.

    “Doing one or two shows and shouting about making them work is laudable and appreciation worthy,” says she. “But Palia and team should realize they are operating in the English language which has myriad opportunities for anyone. Yes viewers are very demanding; they would like the same quality in the domestic series like they see in the international ones. And this is where the opportunities lie; experimentation with domestic scripted and unscripted formats in the English language. I’d like to see more full flowing action from the folks at Colors Infinity rather than these solitary strokes. I’d like the team to believe in the genre it says it leads.”

    Be that as it may, that advice can be kept aside for another day. Right now it’s time to bring out the bubbly for team Colors Infinity.

  • Colors Infinity takes its home grown show ‘The Stage’ ‘Live’ across India

    Colors Infinity takes its home grown show ‘The Stage’ ‘Live’ across India

    MUMBAI: Viacom 18 has launched the first edition of its home grown singing reality show The Stage tour. Starting from Chennai on 6 April, concluding in Mumbai on 21 April, the tour will include the winner and top contestant from the first season performing live across cities including Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Gurgaon, Guwahati, Shillong and Pune.      

    The artists travelling in ‘The Stage Tour’ wagon include winner Yatharth Ratnum, along with popular Indie faces Soundarya Jayachandran, Kenishaa Francis, Anushka Shahane and Rupin Pahwa.

    Viacom18 youth and English entertainment head & EVP Ferzad Palia said,  “With The Stage we gave the English music talent of India a platform for the first time. Now we are taking the best of that talent across the country to 8 cities to perform live. They have wooed India with their musical prowess before, and I am certain that they will receive immense appreciation this time around as well. We are extremely excited about the tour and hope that our viewers will enjoy the experience.”

    Soundarya Jayachandran recorded a single called “I Don’t Need Nobody” in collaboration with Qyuki – an initiative by Shekhar Kapoor and A. R. Rahman that promotes artists, musicians, photography and more. A. R. Rahman himself later recommended and promoted the song on social media.

    The versatile artist Anushka Shahaney has signed a deal with EMI Music. The winner of the show, Yatharth Ratnum bagged the lead role in ‘Blue Mountains’, a film that also won the ‘Best Feature Film’ at the Asian Panorama International Film Festival. Yatharth has also lent his voice to four tracks in the film. This eclectic mix of young talent will be performing at various venues as part of the journey of The Stage Tour.

  • Colors Infinity takes its home grown show ‘The Stage’ ‘Live’ across India

    Colors Infinity takes its home grown show ‘The Stage’ ‘Live’ across India

    MUMBAI: Viacom 18 has launched the first edition of its home grown singing reality show The Stage tour. Starting from Chennai on 6 April, concluding in Mumbai on 21 April, the tour will include the winner and top contestant from the first season performing live across cities including Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Gurgaon, Guwahati, Shillong and Pune.      

    The artists travelling in ‘The Stage Tour’ wagon include winner Yatharth Ratnum, along with popular Indie faces Soundarya Jayachandran, Kenishaa Francis, Anushka Shahane and Rupin Pahwa.

    Viacom18 youth and English entertainment head & EVP Ferzad Palia said,  “With The Stage we gave the English music talent of India a platform for the first time. Now we are taking the best of that talent across the country to 8 cities to perform live. They have wooed India with their musical prowess before, and I am certain that they will receive immense appreciation this time around as well. We are extremely excited about the tour and hope that our viewers will enjoy the experience.”

    Soundarya Jayachandran recorded a single called “I Don’t Need Nobody” in collaboration with Qyuki – an initiative by Shekhar Kapoor and A. R. Rahman that promotes artists, musicians, photography and more. A. R. Rahman himself later recommended and promoted the song on social media.

    The versatile artist Anushka Shahaney has signed a deal with EMI Music. The winner of the show, Yatharth Ratnum bagged the lead role in ‘Blue Mountains’, a film that also won the ‘Best Feature Film’ at the Asian Panorama International Film Festival. Yatharth has also lent his voice to four tracks in the film. This eclectic mix of young talent will be performing at various venues as part of the journey of The Stage Tour.

  • Colors Infinity looks to push the envelope with ‘The Stage’

    Colors Infinity looks to push the envelope with ‘The Stage’

    MUMBAI: Viacom18’s English entertainment channel Colors Infinity is poised to take Indian content to newer heights with the launch of The Stage, which is the first ever home grown English language singing show.

     

    Slated to launch on 10 October, 2015, The Stage will be aired on weekends at 9 pm.

     

    Colors Infinity is looking to push the envelop with the launch of this show. What’s more the channel has put its marketing might in extensively promoting the show across digital and on-ground platforms. From broadcast to print, a buzz has been created about the new reality show in the country.

     

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Viacom18 EVP and head of English entertainment Ferzad Palia said, “We know there is a huge amount of talent in the English space across the country. This is just not a Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore show. We are pushing the envelope heavily by going into the reality space in the English entertainment genre, which has never been done before. The talent will be grown and taken forward.”

     

    When asked whether original English entertainment content like The Stage would work in India, a senior media planner opined, “Somebody had to push the envelope. I don’t see any reason why original English entertainment content should not work in India. It might not get success immediately, but eventually, in the long run, I see it tasting enormous success.” 

     

    With a jury comprising Vishal Dadlani, Monica Dogra, Ehsaan Noorani and Devraj Sanyal, The Stage will be hosted by Shibani Dandekar.

     

    The show will provide a platform to 20 raw talent from around the country in a quest to find India’s best English language singer. The winner of the title will bag a record deal with Universal Music, which would be released globally, a 10 city tour, a mentorship program and a Renault Duster. Viacom18’s marketing muscle will also be used to back the winner’s career across all platforms.

     

    The Stage is produced by SOL. Speaking about the show’s unique format, SOL producer Fazila Allana says, “The show clearly depicts how talented Indian artists are. We looked for some great singers who will bring something new for the people and whose voices will stand above the rest. The contestants have their own individuality.”

     

    “The Stage has given me a chance to reveal the hidden gems of our nation. It marks a landmark in the music and entertainment industry,” asserts Universal Music Group South Asia MD and CEO Devraj Sanyal.

     

    Throwing light on the expectation from the show, Palia says, “We are happy with the show getting a good response. Whenever someone pushes the envelope and does something different, you see the entire society talking about it and that was our objective. There is great talent sitting out there and they don’t have a platform to showcase it.”

     

    Not running after ratings, Palia says that the channel’s objective was to come up with something unique for the Indian audience. “We don’t sell according to the ratings and we didn’t think about the expenses while doing the show,” he informs.

  • Colors Infinity experiments with locally developed English reality show ‘The Stage’

    Colors Infinity experiments with locally developed English reality show ‘The Stage’

    MUMBAI: Ever since its launch a little more than a month back, Viacom 18’s new English Entertainment channel Colors Infinity has been invading untouched territories. Continuing to tread on the same path, the channel is now set to launch a locally curated English musical reality show called The Stage.

     

    The one of a kind reality show will premiere on 10 October and will be aired on weekends from 9 – 10 pm. The channel has roped in celebrated names from the music world like Vishal Dadlani, Monica Dogra, Ehsaan Noorani and Devraj Sanyal as judges. The show will be hosted by Shibani Dandekar.

     

    The Stage unlike other reality shows will not limit its exposure to the on-air episodes. “We will have on ground activities, live concerts, the winner will get a contract with Universal and a musical single will also be released. Hence its not just about 20 on-air episodes. We will go beyond and will leave no stones unturned,” said Viacom 18 EVP and head of English entertainment Ferzad Palia.

     

    The talent in the show will be nurtured by a group of experienced musicians. “We have contestants from across the country, and they are highly talented. The Stage will provide them with the platform to become popular and then nurture them to grow as professionals. The Stage will be a show where the winning contestant will be remembered for a long, long time. It is the most real reality show with very little edit,” Palia added.

     

    “It is not true that English content is consumed only by people in metros. Close to 62 – 65 per cent of English music viewership comes from non-metro areas. So English as a language is spreading across the country and that’s one of the primary reason why we decided to experiment with The Stage. We will target VH1’s audience with the show,” informs Palia.

     

    The Stage is presented by Renault and powered by the dating app Trulymadly. SOL is the production company on board.

     

    Renault India marketing head Virat Khullar said, “As a company, we at Renault stand for innovation and passion and The Stage is a fresh new concept in Indian television, which is bound to change the scope of entertainment in this country. This belief in the show is the foundation of our partnership with Colors Infinity. We are glad that we can be a part of this huge transformation of English entertainment in India.”

     

    Filmmaker and Colors Infinity co-curator Karan Johar said, “When I first heard about The Stage, I was amazed at the introduction of such a novel concept for Indian television. I can see a paradigm shift in the reality TV shows in India.”

     

    Actor and channel co-curator Alia Bhatt added, “English music is such an important part of our playlists but we don’t get to see it anywhere on our music platforms. So The Stage is an idea whose time has come.”

     

    Since the IP remains exclusively with Colors Infinity, it is highly possible that the channel will later syndicate the format to a different platform or other territories. “Syndication can be a possibility in the long run but at this stage our focus is to establish The Stage and innovate with other locally created English content,” summed up Palia.