ITV

Tag: Zee TV

  • Zee TV VP marketing Azmat Jagmag quits

    Zee TV VP marketing Azmat Jagmag quits

    MUMBAI: Zee TV’s VP for marketing, Azmat Jagmag, who was responsible for brand building, team growth, sales strategy and revenue facilitation, has quit the organisation last month.

    Jagmag started her career as an account executive at Draft FCB Ulka in 2004 and was there for over a year. Her next move was Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd in 2005, where she joined the company as the marketing executive for Zee Cinema.

    She was then elevated as Zee TV AVP marketing position and launched brands that propelled Zee TV to a strong challenger brand. She then became the marketing head at Zee TV.

    Jagmag served the organisation for over a decade and before making a move, she was also held responsible to look after Zee Anmol as the brand marketing head. The channel ruled the roost in terms of reach within three months of launch. Also, the Facebook page showed the highest organic growth of 32 per cent across competition, whereas Twitter base grew by 370 per cent.  

  • Zee Anmol leads GEC urban in BARC week 48

    Zee Anmol leads GEC urban in BARC week 48

    MUMBAI: Zee TV climbed to the second position from fifth position as compared to the previous week in the Hindi (U+R) genre in Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) data for week 48 of 2018. Sony Pal and Star Utsav interchanged their second and third positions in the rural market. Star Plus and Zee TV retained its first and second positions in the urban market.

    Hindi GEC (U+R)

    Zee Anmol continued to be at the first position with 873218 impressions ‘000s. Zee TV climbed to the second position from fifth position as compared to the previous week with 761001 impressions ‘000s. Star Bharat, Star Plus, Sony Pal, Star Utsav, Sony Entertainment Television and Colors stood at third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth positions respectively with 734742 impressions ‘000s, 732873 impressions ‘000s, 621204 impressions ‘000s, 618101 impressions ‘000s, 578150 impressions ‘000s and 565229 impressions ‘000s.

    Dangal TV and Sony Sab retained their ninth and tenth positions with 455426 impressions ‘000s and 392154 impressions ‘000s respectively.

    Hindi Rural GEC

    Zee Anmol retained its first position with 708740 impressions ‘000s. Sony Pal and Star Utsav interchanged their second and third positions as compared to the previous week with 450141 impressions ‘000s and 423411 impressions ‘000s respectively.

    Star Bharat and Dangal TV continued to be on fourth and fifth positions respectively with 368578 impressions ‘000s and 356311 impressions ‘000s. Zee TV and Rishtey exchanged their sixth and seventh positions with 292582 impressions ‘000s and 270226 impressions ‘000s respectively. Big Magic, Star Plus and Colors continued to be on eighth, ninth and tenth positions respectively with 232905 impressions ‘000s, 225054 impressions ‘000s and 180834 impressions ‘000s.

    Hindi Urban GEC

    Star Plus and Zee TV retained its first and second positions respectively with 507819 impressions ‘000s and 468419 impressions ‘000s. Sony Entertainment Television stood at third position with 432072 impressions ‘000s. Colors, Star Bharat, Sony Sab, Star Utsav, Sony Pal, Zee Anmol and &TV retained their fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth positions respectively with 384395 impressions ‘000s, 366165 impressions ‘000s, 297281 impressions ‘000s, 194690 impressions ‘000s, 171063 impressions ‘000s, 164478 impressions ‘000s and 119320 impressions ‘000s.

  • Star Plus leads GEC urban in BARC week 47

    Star Plus leads GEC urban in BARC week 47

    MUMBAI: Star Plus climbed to the third position from sixth position as compared to the previous week in the Hindi (U+R) genre in Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) data for week 47 of 2018. Star Utsav and Sony Pal interchanged their second and third positions as compared to the previous week in the rural market. Star Plus emerged as the leader this week by pushing down Sony Entertainment Television to second position in the urban market.

    Hindi GEC (U+R)

    Zee Anmol and Star Bharat retained their first and second positions with 839585 impressions ‘000s and 759104 impressions ‘000s respectively. Star Plus climbed to the third position from sixth position as compared to the previous week with 707398 impressions ‘000s. Star Utsav jumped to fourth position from third position with 706312 impressions ‘000s. Zee TV retained its fifth position with 686850 impressions ‘000s.

    Sony Pal, Colors, Sony Entertainment Television, Dangal TV and Sony Sab stood at sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth positions respectively with 600897 impressions ‘000s, 600118 impressions ‘000s, 594133 impressions ‘000s, 445579 impressions ‘000s and 431762 impressions ‘000s respectively.  

    Hindi Rural GEC

    Zee Anmol retained its first position with 684717 impressions ‘000s. Star Utsav and Sony Pal interchanged their second and third positions as compared to the previous week with 491473 impressions ‘000s and 428004 impressions ‘000s respectively.

    Star Bharat, Dangal TV, Rishtey, Zee TV, Big Magic, Star Plus and Colors continued to be on fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth positions respectively with 386806 impressions ‘000s, 349965 impressions ‘000s, 274430 impressions ‘000s, 267118 impressions ‘000s, 246805 impressions ‘000s, 211446 impressions ‘000s and 188088 impressions ‘000s.

    Hindi Urban GEC

    Star Plus emerged as the leader this week by pushing down Sony Entertainment Television to second position with 495952 impressions ‘000s and 446561 impressions ‘000s respectively. Zee TV and Colors stood at third and fourth positions respectively with 419733 impressions ‘000s and 412030 impressions ‘000s.

    Star Bharat, Sony Sab, Star Utsav, Sony Pal, Zee Anmol and &TV retained their fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth positions respectively with 372298 impressions ‘000s, 315458 impressions ‘000s, 214839 impressions ‘000s, 172893 impressions ‘000s, 154868 impressions ‘000s and 114770 impressions ‘000s.

  • Zee collaborating with African countries to remake Indian content

    Zee collaborating with African countries to remake Indian content

    MUMBAI: Gone are the days when Indian producers were busy Indianising foreign content. Not that it’s not done still, but now made-in-India fare is being adapted into other languages in various countries. Zee, for example, is re-adapting popular Hindi soaps for other markets, especially the African ones.

    Zee TV’s flagship show, `Pavitra Rishta’, which worked well with Indian audiences, is now ready to fly in countries like Kenya, Nigeria and Senegal that have taken a fancy for Indian kitchen politics. Zee Telefilms has partnered with Multimedia Group (a broadcaster with two entertainment channels, Joy Prime and Adom TV) from Ghana and a Nigerian investor, MACE, to remake `Pavitra…’ as `Deceptive Measures’ with local actors.

    The filming is taking place across Kenya, Ghana and Nigeria and the first season will have 52 episodes of one-hour each. Popular actors from Kenya, Ghana and Nigeria, who will star in the series, include local stars like Michael Godson and Joy Jasmin Aygeman apart from actors from the three countries. The series will be directed by Nigerian film producer and director Uduak Obong.

    Zee Telefims Ltd regional head for Middle East, Africa, Turkey and Pakistan Nitin Michael told indiantelevision.com that over the past few years popularity of Indian content amongst African audiences has grown significantly.

    According to Michael, last year Zee produced `Khwaabon Ke Darmiyaan’, in collaboration with RTI from Ivory Coast, giving it a local flavour. The Indian drama series produced in the UAE had an African actor as part of the cast. A few of the scenes from the drama were also shot in Africa as well. “This series turned out to be a huge success and, hence, the next logical step was to explore a full local production,” Michael explained the reason for Zee venturing into remakes.

    However, getting into a full-fledged conversion of an Indian theme with foreign actors for specific markets was not just a thought out of the blue. The idea to get into local flavor came after lot of brain-storming and data analytics relating to popular soap operas that did well in Africa in the past.

    ‘Pavitra Rishta’, for example, was a story that had worked well both on Zee channels in Africa as also on other TV channels from countries like Kenya, Nigeria and Senegal when telecast in original Hindi and dubbed/sub-titled in English and French languages, Michael said.

    The partnership amongst African broadcasters, local investors and Zee is a unique initiative with the objective being collaboration with FTA broadcasters from across Africa and using local talent to create engaging content with production values that were better than what was already being done in the African entertainment industry. According to Michael, the price of creating such re-purposed content was similar to what was already being done.

    The project involving remaking Indian content for audiences across regions has “opened the eyes and minds” of broadcasters to create more such high-quality content, which could work well with the audiences there in Africa.

    Michael said following `Pavitra Rishta’ initiative, Zee is exploring the option with other broadcasters from across the region for remaking other successful Indian scripted and unscripted formats that could travel across Africa and could include the likes of ‘Dance India Dance’ and ‘Punar Vivah’. 

  • Sony Entertainment Television leads GEC urban in BARC week 46

    Sony Entertainment Television leads GEC urban in BARC week 46

    MUMBAI: Star Bharat and Star Utsav swapped their second and third positions in the Hindi (U+R) genre in Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) data for week 46 of 2018. Sony Pal and Star Utsav interchanged their second and third positions as compared to the previous week in the rural market.

    Sony Entertainment Television came third in the urban market.

    Hindi GEC (U+R)

    Zee Anmol retained its leadership position with 772355 impressions ‘000s. Star Bharat and Star Utsav swapped their second and third positions respectively with 714851 impressions ‘000s and 663803 impressions ‘000s.

    Sony Pal climbed to the fourth position from seventh as compared to the previous week with 659732 impressions ‘000s. Zee TV jumped to the fifth position from its fourth position with 656010 impressions ‘000s. Star Plus and Colors stood at sixth and seventh positions respectively with 655510 impressions ‘000s and 613069 impressions ‘000s respectively. Sony Entertainment Television, Sony Sab and Dangal TV continued to be on eighth, ninth and tenth positions respectively with 598255 impressions ‘000s, 469953 impressions ‘000s and 431286 impressions ‘000s.

    Hindi Rural GEC

    Zee Anmol retained its first position with 631735 impressions ‘000s. Sony Pal and Star Utsav interchanged their second and third positions as compared to the previous week with 479286 impressions ‘000s and 457753 impressions ‘000s respectively.

    Star Bharat, Dangal TV, Rishtey, Zee TV, Big Magic, Star Plus and Colors continued to be on fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth positions respectively with 368876 impressions ‘000s, 336778 impressions ‘000s, 292921 impressions ‘000s, 257556 impressions ‘000s, 223135 impressions ‘000s, 210023 impressions ‘000s and 192990 impressions ‘000s.

    Hindi Urban GEC

    Sony Entertainment Television bagged came third with 446019 impressions ‘000s. Star Plus jumped to the second position from first position as compared to the last week with 445487 impressions ‘000s. Colors, that was on second position last week, stood at third position now with 420079 impressions ‘000s.

    Zee TV, Star Bharat, Sony Sab, Star Utsav, Sony Pal, Zee Anmol and &TV retained their fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth positions respectively with 398454 impressions ‘000s, 345975 impressions ‘000s, 341477 impressions ‘000s, 206050 impressions ‘000s, 180446 impressions ‘000s, 140620 impressions ‘000s and 118864 impressions ‘000s.

  • Zee TV gets ratings boost from Zee Rishtey Awards

    Zee TV gets ratings boost from Zee Rishtey Awards

    MUMBAI: Zee TV's recently concluded annual awards property, Zee Rishtey Awards, clocked the highest viewership ratings across award shows that took place in the last two years. As per the recently released BARC HSM weekly data (Urban + Rural) for the week 44 '18, it secured a viewership of 5495 TVTs, which is the highest across awards shows in the category.

    The company attributeed the award show and its fiction shows for the increase in ratings. The Zee Rishtey award was presented by Dabur Almond Hair Oil, co-powered by Nerolac Paints, Brooke Bond Red Label and Himalaya Anti- Hairfall Shampoo; special partner Dixcy Scott, Jewellery partner Malabar Gold and Diamonds; partnered by Parle Milano.

    Zee TV business head Aparna Bhosle said, “The success of our prime-time fiction shows stands testimony to the strengthening of our relationship with our audiences. We are humbled with the response we have received for Zee Rishtey Awards that had a strong differentiator this year – not only was it the first time ever that a broadcaster got a real life couple who were ardent fans of our shows, married at an annual awards show but the  unique manner in which we could bring the entire Zee family of stars together as baraatis  for #ZeeTVKiBetiKiShaadi on such a grand scale had viewers hooked. It has been our constant endeavour to bring novel concepts that resonate with our audience and create memorable experiences. As always, we will continue to strive to deliver the highest standards of storytelling and content offering to our viewers. We look forward to all our partners’ continuous support to chart a stronger success story year on year.”

    Along with the success of Zee Rishtey Awards, three out of five weekday top fiction shows (Urban numbers) are from Zee TV – Kundali Bhagya with 7674 TVTs, Kumkum Bhagya with 6374 TVTs and Ishq Subhan Allah with 5700 TVTs. Zee TV has also been a consistent slot leader at 7 pm (Yeh Teri Galiyaan), 8 pm (Guddan… Tumse Na Ho Paega), 9:30 pm (Kundali Bhagya) and 10:30 pm (Aapke Aa Jaane Se) at HSM – (Urban + Rural) in the last four weeks- wk 41 to wk 44’18.

  • Amagi appoints Stephanie Lee to lead market expansion in APAC

    Amagi appoints Stephanie Lee to lead market expansion in APAC

    MUMBAI: Amagi, a cloud-based technology for TV and OTT broadcasters, has announced that it has appointed Stephanie Lee as head of sales – APAC, to expand its footprint in the region. The appointment follows the recent opening of Amagi’s subsidiary and regional sales office in Singapore.

    Lee will be based in Singapore and will report to global sales leader at Amagi Bangalore, Ritu Sharma. He has over 15 years of experience in managing regional sales functions for technology services companies in the digital content and media space. “Amagi is synonymous with broadcast innovation across the world. I am very excited at the opportunity to lead the company’s growth in APAC markets. Be it traditional TV or OTT platforms, Amagi is well-positioned to attain industry leadership with its cloud-driven business models for cost efficiency and revenue growth. I look forward to working with regional broadcasters, operators, and platforms in shaping their cloud transformation journeys,” added Lee.

    Changing broadcast content consumption patterns coupled with increasing multi-screen device adoption across the APAC region are driving TV networks, OTT platforms, and operators to embrace new-age technologies to stay relevant and be profitable. Amagi CEO Deepakjit Singh said, “Amagi’s innovative cloud technologies for managing entire broadcast operations, as well as monetising content for both traditional TV and OTT are becoming very attractive to industry players in the region. Stephanie is an accomplished sales professional with a clear understanding of the evolving industry needs. She will be a tremendous asset to Amagi in building sustainable, long-standing client relationships which are pivotal for furthering our growth trajectory in APAC.”

    In addition to managed broadcast services, Amagi offers cloud playout, live orchestration, geo-targeted advertising, OTT auto ad detection and personalisation solutions. Globally, Amagi manages over 150+ channels across 40+ countries for customers including Turner Broadcasting, Viceland, Discovery Communications’ DSPORT, Zee TV, Sony LIV, B4U Network, Viacom18, among others. The company has been consistently adding new customers in the APAC region – ACJ O Shopping, Flik TV, Lightning International, Dim Sum TV to name a few. Amagi is also helping many of its clients in the US to deliver channels in Singapore and other markets through its preferred operator networks.

  • Zee TV leads GEC urban in BARC week 44

    Zee TV leads GEC urban in BARC week 44

    MUMBAI: Zee TV that was on the fourth position in the previous week climbed to the second position in the Hindi (U+R) genre in Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) data for week 44 of 2018. Star Bharat and Sony Pal interchanged their third and fourth positions in the rural market. Zee TV emerged as the leader this week in the urban market.

    Hindi GEC (U+R)

    Zee Anmol retained its leadership position with 809834 impressions ‘000s. Zee TV that was on the fourth position in the previous week climbed to the second position with 790406 impressions ‘000s. Star Bharat, Star Utsav, Star Plus and Colors stood at third, fourth, fifth and sixth positions respectively with 758664 impressions ‘000s, 684362 impressions ‘000s, 658147 impressions ‘000s and 606875 impressions ‘000s.

    Sony Entertainment Television, Sony Pal, Dangal TV and Sony Sab stood at seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth positions with 557578 impressions ‘000s, 549560 impressions ‘000s, 438843 impressions ‘000s and 411613 impressions ‘000s respectively.

    Hindi Rural GEC

    Zee Anmol and Star Utsav continued to be on first and second positions with 656131 impressions ‘000s and 473748 impressions ‘000s respectively. Star Bharat and Sony Pal interchanged their third and fourth positions respectively with 393548 impressions ‘000s and 377569 impressions ‘000s. Dangal TV retained its fifth position with 339758 impressions ‘000s.

    Zee TV and Rishtey swapped their sixth and seventh positions respectively with 317478 impressions ‘000s and 278130 impressions ‘000s. Big Magic, Star Plus and Colors managed to retain their eighth, ninth and tenth positions with 210676 impressions ‘000s, 207285 impressions ‘000s and 190362 impressions ‘000s respectively.

    Hindi Urban GEC

    Zee TV emerged as the leader in the urban market with 472928 impressions ‘000s. Star Plus jumped to the second position with 450863 impressions ‘000s. Sony Entertainment Television stood at third position with 421046 impressions ‘000s.

    Colors, Star Bharat, Sony Sab, Star Utsav, Sony Pal, Zee Anmol and &TV retained their fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth positions respectively with 416513 impressions ‘000s, 365116 impressions ‘000s, 309010 impressions ‘000s, 210615 impressions ‘000s, 171991 impressions ‘000s, 153703 impressions ‘000s and 120928 impressions ‘000s.

  • Rural markets drive Hindi GEC FTA channels

    Rural markets drive Hindi GEC FTA channels

    BENGALURU: Hindi GECs or general entertainment channels draw some of the largest eyeballs across India. “My aim is to get that extra tear from the housewife’s eyes during primetime. I want to keep her riveted to my programmes, to my channel,” the head of a cluster of channels in South India once said.
     
    Hindi GECs are certainly the most important medium for any media planner. A 2017 Pitch Madison report estimated that Hindi GECs including FTA Hindi GEC channels had about 28 percent or Rs 5,500 to Rs 6,000 crore of the advertisers’ television ad expenses pie, which the report pegged at Rs 19,650 crore. Reports of various agencies spoke about the growth of FTA channels – be it the number of FTA channels, growth in viewership or growth in advertisements and revenues from FTA channels. FTA Hindi GEC channels contributions to ad revenue to grow from 20 percent in 2017 to 25 percent in 2018. Fears were voiced about FTA channels’ cannibalisation of subscription revenues.

    Explaining the growth of FTA, an Ernst & Young report in 2017 said that FTA growth was supported by the entire ecosystem. The greater visibility on rural viewership made the FTA option very attractive for Hindi news channels, almost all of which had turned FTA. The EY report said broadcasters opened up to the idea of providing many FTA options because the free TV market in India was poised to grow primarily due to the rise of DD Free Dish, which had become the largest DTH operator in the country and the availability of increased rural data from Broadcast Audience Research Council of India or BARC, which had provided greater visibility to broadcasters. This, in turn, opened up avenues to advertisers who could not earlier afford the higher ad rates of the mainstream GEC said the EY report.

    A September 2018 KPMG report on the status of the Media and Entertainment Industry (M&E) said that besides increased digital access resulting in increased consumption, growing demand from rural and regional markets was attracting the attention of both advertisersand content platforms. The KPMG report said that in the long term, these markets – digital and rural are expected to provide significant support for growth of the Indian M&E industry.

    So which were the most watched Hindi GECs until week 40 of 2018 (Saturday, 29 September 2018 to Friday, 5 October 2018). And how do FTA Hindi GECs’ stand in relation to their pay TV siblings?

    BARC data for 2018 seems to substantiate the conclusions by a number of reports. It is rural HSM that drives ratings up for FTAs and consequently in combined HSM (U+R). BARC publishes weekly data of the top 10 Hindi GEC channels in the combined urban and rural hindi speaking markets or HSM (U+R), and the HSM urban –HSM (U) and HSM rural – HSM (R). BARC defines HSM as all states in the country except for the four South Indian language markets. These languages are Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu. The latest data available at the time of writing this paper was for week 40 of 2018.

    According to BARC data for weeks 1 to 40 of 2018 (Saturday, 30 December 2017 to Friday,5 October 2018), four of the seven channels that appeared for each of the 40 weeks of 2018 in HSM (U+R) were Pay TV channels and three were free to air or FTA . In the case of HSM (U), of the nine channels that appeared in BARC’s lists of top 10 Hindi GEC urban weekly lists during each of the first 40 weeks or 2018, six were pay TV and three were FTA. In the case of rural HSM, five of the nine channels that have appeared in their respective BARC weekly lists, five were FTA and four were pay TV.

    The four major networks that cater to the HSM GEC market – Star India, Sony Pictures Network India (SPN), Viacom 18 and Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) each have at least one FTA Hindi GEC each.  

    It is Zeel’s FTA Hindi GEC that has been the most consistent in terms of presence in BARC’s weekly lists in the combined HSM urban and rural, as well as in HSM rural. Overall, it was the most watched Hindi GEC during the first 40 weeks of 2018. Next in terms of ranking is Star India’s pay TV Hindi GEC Star Bharat that has also dominated HSM (U+R). In individual HSM (U) and HSM (R) Star Bharat had the fifth and fourth most weekly impressions respectively during the first 40 weeks of 2018.

    Urban audiences seem to prefer Pay TV to FTA based on weekly data for first 40 weeks of 2018. Six of the nine top Hindi GECs were pay TV, followed by three FTA channels. Based on BARC data, Sony Pal was the most watched FTA channel among urban HSM.

    In the case of rural audiences, FTA channels ruled in terms of weekly impressions during the first 40 weeks of 2018. The first four ranked Hindi GECs during the first 40 weeks of 2018 were FTA. Zee Anmol’s dominance in HSM (U+R) in based on HSM (R).


     

  • The latest season celebrates music as the biggest propeller for mankind; One that discards discrimination and recognizes only talent

    The latest season celebrates music as the biggest propeller for mankind; One that discards discrimination and recognizes only talent

    MUMBAI: Some shows become popular, a few others attain cult status, but very rarely does a show become an institution in itself. Zee TV’s Sa Re Ga Ma Pa is one such prestigious platform that has pioneered and revolutionized the landscape of talent-based reality, as a genre, on Indian television. Having lived the channel’s philosophy Aaj Likhenge Kal even before it was articulated, the show has given generations after generations of aspiring singers a lifetime opportunity to showcase their golden voices and build extraordinary careers in the world of music. Be it Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal, Shekhar Ravjiani, Kunal Ganjawala, Sanjivani, Ranjeet Rajwada, Kamaal Khan or Amanat Ali, each of these music luminaries attribute their first break and their glorious success to this grand mecca of singing. Season after season, the show has not only reinvented music but brought the entire nation together to celebrate pure, unadulterated singing. After the raging success of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Li’l Champs last year, Zee TV is back with an exciting new season of its most iconic singing reality show. With the core thought of music for all – #MusicSeBaneHum, the new season will celebrate music as the one universal language that unites mankind and propels it towards growth. Sending out a strong message of all-inclusiveness and standing up against discrimination over caste, creed, colour, community, religion and sexuality, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa will focus its spotlight on talent alone. This philosophy of the show is brought alive through its catchy, clutter-breaking jingle ‘Harega Harega’ that declares discrimination to be the prerogative of losers and music as the only winning proposition that looks beyond these trappings and recognizes true talent.  Produced by Essel Vision, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa will premiere on 13th October and air every Saturday and Sunday at 9:00 PM only on Zee TV

    Zee TV Business Head Aparna Bhosle said, “With the end of our immensely popular children’s acting talent hunt- India’s Best Dramebaaz, we now present viewers with the latest season of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, a platform people look up to for setting the golden standards of excellence in singing. The show has earned its stature and credibility through consistency in providing the country a pool of only the most exceptional singers. In its newest season, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa focuses on rising above discrimination and uniting everyone with music as a universal language through its core proposition #MusicSeBaneHum. While letting go of discriminating barriers, we have let gone of the age criterion this season. The unanimous selection of gay icon Sushant Divgikar as one of the contestants by our judges, based purely on merit of his vocal abilities beautifully embodies the all-inclusive spirit of the season. We have a hard-hitting marketing campaign that goes one step further and announces the formation of the first-of-its-kind all-India parody political party called the ‘Rashtriya Sangeet Party’,  the manifesto of which is to discard labels that discriminate and bring people together to celebrate their talent and love for music.  The show’s judges have extended their support by flagging off the campaign, putting out powerful tweets representing the party’s core ethos.”

    Guiding and grooming the young talents in their journey to become India’s musical doyens will be three supremely talented mentors who have been instrumental in taking Bollywood music to unforeseen heights. The multi-talented singer Sona Mohapatra will be making her judging debut with this season alongside Sa Re Ga Ma Pa veterans – the widely popular singer-composer Wajid Khan and the charismatic singer-composer-actor Shekhar Ravjiani. Along with the mentors, an esteemed panel of 15 music connoisseurs- experts from the music fraternity, will play the role of jury and assess the aspiring singers right from the audition stage and help mentors in selecting only the best. Returning as the host for this season will be young and dynamic singing heart-throb Aditya Narayan who never fails to charm the audiences with his wit and easygoing camaraderie with the mentors.

    Mentor Sona Mohapatra said, “Sa Re Ga Ma Pa is special for me as I am making my foray into TV as a judge and extremely proud to be associated with the most prestigious and definitive singing platform on Indian television. What’s more, I’m proud to be the first woman to be a part of the panel of judges in all these years. And, I am even more happy to be part of a season that transcends cultural and social differences and presents music as a universal language that unites all. I am also joining hands with my fellow judges as a representative of ‘Rashtriya Sangeet Party’, a nationwide movement that demands acceptance of only music, setting aside any judgments or discriminations. The soul of the show will be bringing together people of different castes, creed, sexuality or gender and binding them with the power of music. On the judging panel, I will be looking for a combination of passion, authenticity and well-honed craft amongst the participants of the show.”

    Mentor Wajid Khan said, “I have been associated with Sa Re Ga Ma Pa for three seasons and I am looking forward to being of part of this season as well. The show has been instrumental in giving a platform to singers across the country to come forth and display their talents and I am excited to listen to the emerging voices of today’s generation. With music evolving year on year, the contestants must take an extra step in presenting themselves and sharpening their skills to the fullest. Moreover, this season of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa focuses on music’s ability to rise above discrimination and bring about universal harmony. With this season we tend to raise the bar a notch higher and I hope for another successful season of the show.”

    Mentor Shekhar Ravjiani said, “Sa Re Ga Ma Pa is very close to my heart and I have wonderful memories attached to the show. I look forward to creating new ones, listening to and mentoring the musical future of India.  Each one of the past seasons that I have judged has always been trailblazers, especially the 2007 season when the show went on to make history. I look forward to being part of this next chapter of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa as it continues to ignite a passion for music in India through another pathbreaking season in 2018 and bring forth talents as we have never seen before.” 

    With the auditions being conducted in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Guwahati, Ranchi, Itanagar,  Patna, Jaipur, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Bangalore, Indore, Ahmedabad, the show has left no stone unturned in scouting the best of singing talent. The shortlisted contestants will get the golden opportunity to perform in front of the mentor's panel and live out their passion for music in front of the entire nation.