GECs

New Year bash on TV

Published

20 years ago

December 30, 2005

This is one of such rare occasions when all players in the entertainment industry vie for the maximum eyeballs.Speaking about television‘s programming strategy for the New Year‘s eve, the formula includes back-to-back specials, extra celebrity dose, movies and lots of humour. Here, taking a look at what is in store for the viewers as 2005 bids adieu.

Star India

Star Plus has already kicked off its activities from 29 December. The pick of the lot, obviously, is going to be the KBC2 special. On 31 December from 9 pm, Big B will share glorious moments of celebrity special episodes of the year with the viewers. The festivities would then be carried forward on the channel from 10 pm to 11 pm, in an hour‘s special on Baa Bahu and Baby (BBB), where the Thakkar family will swirl on the theme – Nach Baliye, and battle it out in the in-family dance competition.

Star One has lined up a special re-telecast of Nach Baliye Mega Finals to spice up the occasion. On 31 December, Star Movies will telecast the Robomania finale movie I, Robot, starring Will Smith. In this run towards the new year, Star New will bring the show Zero No 1 at 10.30 pm. Star‘s Hindi movie channel Star Gold will telecast the blockbuster film Kya Kool Hain Hum at 10 pm.

Star India‘s Tamil general entertainment channel Vijay TV will telecast Sigaram Thotta Manithargal 2005, a show honouring the great achievers who have reached a pinnacle in the year 2005 at 10 pm. For the New Year‘s day, the channel has lined up a non-stop comedy show Kalakkiathu Yaar at 11 am.

ZEE Telefilms

Zee TV is celebrating the New Year‘s Eve with a mega bash titled Let‘s Rock. The show will run non-stop for four hours starting 8:30 pm. Compered by Malika Arora, Let‘s Rock boasts of performances some of the top Bollywood stars including Priyanka Chopra, Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar, Shilpa Shetty and Zayed Khan.

The channel will kick off the celebration with a two-hour show Temptation 2005 at 4:30 pm. It will lead the way to Zee TV Masti Mix 2005 where Nikhil Arya and Sangita Ghosh will entice the audience with performances by television stars such as Narayani Shashtri, Richa Sharma, Karishma Tanna, Rajshri Thakur, Rakesh Bapat, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa finalists and many more. Then, the comic relief will be provided by sitcom Hum Paanch at 8.00 pm.

Zee Cinema will join the celebrations with the telecast of the brand new Amitabh starrer Dil Jo Bhi Kahey at 8 pm on 31 December. Zee Studio will telecast Bad Company at 9 pm followed by Cruel Intentions at 11 pm on New Year‘s eve.

Zee News will welcome 2006 with a show hosted by well-known humorist Raju Srivastava. The show Zara Hat Ke Zara Bach Ke will air on Zee News all day long on 31 December. Srivastava would anchor segments within bulletins giving his take on events and people who made News in 2005.

Sony Entertainment Television (SET)

Sony promises loads of fun, laughter, excitement, music, masti & moolah on its New Year Special Programme Jashn 2005which includes Jashn Hansne Hasaane Ka & Jashn Karodon Ka.
At 8 pm, the Kudkudiya family special Jashn Hansne Hasaane Ka will set the pace for the Sony celebrations. Following this at 9 pm, is Jashn Karodon Ka, a three-hour New Year Eve‘s special programme that will have Indian Idol -Abhijeet Sawant along with Fame Gurukul‘s Rex together with Host, R Madhavan playing to win Rs. 10 million. Post the contest, Abhijeet Sawant, Amit Sana, Rahul Vaidya, Prajakta Shukre, Qazi and Rex will perform on the channel.
Closer to the midnight, Sony will telecast a one and half hour special where the viewers get to watch their favourite stars play the exciting game to win the prize money, Rs. 10 million. This ‘Celebrity Special‘ will offer deals to Amit Sarin & Tasneem Sheikh as their fellow co-stars participate with them and play along. The viewers will get to watch performances by Amit Sarin, Tasneem Sheikh, Amit Jain, Pooja Ghai & Vikram Acharya.

Sahara One Television

Sahara will kick off the proceedings with superstar Big B‘s recital of some of his late father Harivansh Rai Bachchan‘s poetry on Saturday 31 December 2005 at 10.30 am. At 8:30 pm, the crowning of Indian Diva will be unleashed. India‘s first Diva Zeenat Aman crowns the three beauties Kareena Kapoor, Koena Mitra and Udita Goswami on the occasion.

The show includes performances by Bipasha Basu, Katrina Kaif, Shamita Shetty, Rimi Sen and Parmita Kakkar who were vying for the Indian Diva 2005 title.

MTV & Vh1

MTV celebrations will revolve around the show Top 100 Tunes of the Year that will run from 7 pm to 12 pm. The show updates the viewers about the top 100 videos of the year 2005. Each one-hour show showcases themes such as the Top Bollywood scandals, Top MMS scandals, Top marriages and Top Break ups. Ten hot music videos of the year are featured in every episode, and the show will be anchored by VJs Cyrus Broacha, Cyrus Sahukar, Sophie, Ramona, Anusha and Rannvijay.

Starting from 4 pm on 31 December, Vh1 will telecast 10 countdowns back to back. Following this, the channel will air the premiere of Vh1 Big in 05 at 10pm. On the New Year Day, VH1 will telecast Fabulous 40 for 2006 at 10 pm.

ETC Music

The channel is wrapping up the year 2005 with a one hour long New Year Special show TOP 25 from 8.30 pm. The songs are selected on the basis of requests received for the two SMS based shows throughout 2005.

Asianet

The Malayalam general entertainment channel is banking on music and movie specials to celebrate the New Year‘s eve. One of the highlights of the channel‘s 31 December line up is a 15-minute skit participated by top Malluwood stars including Dileep and Kalabhavan Mani.

The channel has scheduled its special event The Dance Party from 11:05 pm onwards. The show will feature popular singers Anuradha Sreeram, Vijay Yesudas and Jassi Gift. For1 January, the channel has lined up the television premiere of the 2004 blockbuster film For the People at 3:30 pm.

Hungama TV

Hungama TV‘s popular anchors-Sid & Karishma will go live on Radio City 91 FM at 10 am, promising to pep the first day of the New Year 2006. To complete the New Year celebration Hungama TV will showcase an adventurous trilogy of the Spy Kids movies on 1 January 2006, 7 pm onwards.

Related Topics:BBB Big B KBC2 Nach Baliye SET Star India Star Movies Star One Star Plus Vijay TV

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GECs

Sun TV posts steady revenue, profit dips amid rising costs

Published

4 weeks ago

February 7, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

CHENNAI: It appears there is still plenty of Sun to go around in the Indian broadcasting landscape, even if a few clouds have drifted across the financial horizon. Sun TV Network Limited, the Chennai-based behemoth that dominates airwaves across seven languages, has tuned into a steady frequency for the quarter ending 31 December 2025. While the numbers show a resilient revenue stream, the company’s latest broadcast reveals a few static-filled spots in its profit margins.

For the quarter in question, Sun TV’s total income climbed by approximately 3.31 per cent, reaching Rs 958.39 crores compared to Rs 927.66 crores in the same period last year. Revenue from operations also saw a healthy bump, rising 4.32 per cent to Rs 827.87 crores.

The real star of the show, however, was domestic subscription revenue, which surged by 8.86 per cent to Rs 472.99 crores. This growth highlights the enduring appetite for Sun’s diverse content, which spans everything from daily soaps in Tamil and Telugu to its burgeoning OTT platform, Sun NXT.

Despite the revenue growth, the picture quality of the profits was slightly blurred by rising costs. Eitda for the quarter stood at Rs 409.79 crores, a dip from the Rs 432.14 crores recorded in the corresponding 2024 quarter.

The profit after tax followed a similar downward trend, settling at Rs 316.44 crores against the previous year’s Rs 347.17 crores. Advertisers also seemed to have switched channels slightly, with advertisement revenues sliding to Rs 291.94 crores from Rs 332.17 crores.

Sun TV isn’t just playing on home turf; its sporting ambitions are becoming increasingly global. The network now owns three major cricket franchises: SunRisers Hyderabad in the IPL, SunRisers Eastern Cape in SA20, and SunRisers Leeds Limited in The Hundred (UK).

The foray into British cricket saw the company acquire a 100 per cent stake in Northern Superchargers Limited (now SunRisers Leeds) for approximately £100 million. While these franchises brought in Rs 14.61 crores this quarter, they also incurred corresponding costs of Rs 19.89 crores. Over the nine-month period, however, the cricket business is a major player, contributing Rs 487.64 crores in income.

The company’s bottom line took a minor hit from exceptional items, including a Rs 4.23 crore charge related to India’s new Labour Codes, which consolidated 29 existing labour laws. Additionally, the consolidated results reflect the amalgamation of Kal Radio Limited with Udaya FM, a move that became effective in May 2025 and required a restatement of previous figures.

To keep investors from reaching for the remote, the Board has declared an interim dividend of 50 per cent, that’s Rs 2.50 per equity share. This comes on top of earlier dividends of 100 per cent (Rs 5.00) and 75 per cent (Rs 3.75) declared in August and November 2025, respectively.

With a massive cash reserve and a dominant position in the South Indian market, Sun TV continues to shine, even if the current quarter required a bit of fine-tuning. For now, shareholders can sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.

GECs

SPNI hires Pradeep M with responsibility for standards and practices in the south

Published

1 month ago

February 3, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Networks India has hired Pradeep M to handle standards and practices for its southern market, bolstering its compliance bench as content rules tighten across platforms.

Pradeep, who has nearly 13 years in the entertainment media industry, takes on responsibility for content standards in a region that is both linguistically diverse and regulatorily sensitive. His brief spans television, OTT, sports and digital platforms.

He specialises in content review and compliance across shows, commercials, on-air promotions and international feeds, ensuring alignment with broadcast, OTT and advertising codes. He has also handled brand approvals and sponsorship integrations for heavily regulated categories—including online gaming, cryptocurrency, NFTs and lottery brands—offering guidance shaped by fast-evolving rules.

Before Sony, Pradeep worked at Jiostar as assistant manager for content regulation from November 2024 to January 2026. Earlier, he spent nearly seven years at Viacom18 Media, rising from senior executive to assistant manager in content regulation between 2018 and 2024. There he served as a key compliance touchpoint for the network.

His career began on the creative side. Between 2013 and 2018, he worked as executive producer on feature films and television shows, gaining hands-on exposure to production. He also had a stint as a non-fiction show director at Star TV Network in 2017. That mix of creative and regulatory experience gives him a dual lens—how content is made and how it must be managed.

As regulators, platforms and advertisers all tighten the screws, broadcasters are investing more in gatekeepers who can keep creativity within the lines. Sony’s latest hire shows where the industry is heading: in the streaming age, compliance is content’s quiet co-star.

GECs

Colors Gujarati rolls out two new shows from 2nd February

Published

1 month ago

February 2, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Colors Gujarati has unveiled two new prime-time shows as part of its push to strengthen culturally rooted storytelling for regional audiences. The channel will premiere the devotional saga Gangasati–Paanbai at 7.30 pm, followed by the romantic family drama Manmelo at 9.30 pm from February 2.

Inspired by Gujarat’s spiritual and literary heritage, Gangasati–Paanbai: Shyam Dhun No Navo Adhyay draws from the timeless bhajans and poetry of saint-poetesses Gangasati and Paanbai, weaving devotion and human values into a contemporary narrative aimed at younger viewers.

In contrast, Manmelo explores love and responsibility across social divides, tracing the lives of three middle-class sisters whose relationships with three affluent brothers reshape their futures. The show delves into ambition, emotional conflict and the realities of married life, offering a layered family drama.

A Colors Gujarati spokesperson said the new launches reflect the channel’s commitment to authentic Gujarati entertainment that blends cultural values with modern storytelling.