Colors to have 'Jai Shri Krishna' in armoury

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Colors, the upcoming Hindi general entertainment channel from Viacom 18 stable, has unveiled two new shows. The line-up includes mythological series Jai Shri Krishna and fiction-based show Balika Vadhu. Colors had earlier announced two programmes in its armoury list - the big ticket Akshay Kumar-hosted reality show Fear Factor and Mohe Rang De.
Colors, which will launch in the second half of July, will have to fight in a highly competitive turf.
\"With the two new additions, we have unveiled two and half hours of programming. In the coming weeks, we will reveal another line up of one and half hours of content. Our single biggest priority is to offer programming that will help break through the clutter. You will see us deliver a strong proposition of differentiation and distinctive content that will add character to the channel,\" Colors CEO Rajesh Kamat says.
Produced by Meenakshi Sagar Productions, Jai Shri Krishna is an epic tale which will portray the childhood life of Lord Krishna.
Colors SVP and head – creative and content Ashvini Yardi says, \"Jai Shri Krishna is the story of Krishna's childhood adventures. There is so many dimensions to Krishna's life that the story can go on for years. For now we are planning till Krishna's fight with Kans.\".
The other show, Balika Vadhu – Kacchi Umar ke Pakke Rishte, will focus on the evil of child marraige. It is produced by Sphere Origins.
Set in rural Rajasthan, Balika Vadhu is the story of an eight-year-old bride Anandi who has been married to 12-year-old Jagdish. Balika Vadhu is a sensitive show, with a social message that will portray the plight of children who are unwittingly forced into marriage, in the name of tradition, and have to bear the repercussions for the rest of their lives.
Without further divulging details of the programming line up, Kamat says, \"We will have a mix of movies and events along with fiction and non-fiction. By second half of July, our channel will be on air.\"
The channel will kick start its marketing campaign within two weeks. The channel will use the its existing group channels for marketing and promotions purpose.
Colors is in the process of signing up cable TV and DTH operators. \"Our distribution team is working on that front. We are in talks with DTH and multi-system operators. Placing the channel is very important, which we are looking forward to streamline. Our channel will be in encrypted mode with a free-to-air window,\" adds Kamat.


Indiantelevision.com > News Headlines > Colors to have 'Jai Shri Krishna' in armoury
 
Yes. You can keep on adding a thousand stories like they have been doing with Star Plus' Sai Baba. Its been nearly three years and the show never seems to end...
 
`Colors` across your screen soon
Viacom 18's latest channel banks on content 'differentiation' as its USP.

It will be the tenth entrant to the general entertainment space. After Peter Mukherji's INX and NDTV's Imagine, both of which were launched over the last year, comes Viacom 18's ‘Colors' to be broadcast in July. Colors is banking largely on the clout of the existing networks of its parents Network 18 and Viacom.

It is also resting its hopes on ‘differentiated and disruptive' content to fight it out in the keenly competitive entertainment genre. The channel claims it will take a break from ‘saas bahu' soaps and instead offer reality shows like Khatron ke Khilari (KKK)—a takeoff from The Fear Factor. Besides, it will also host period dramas.

Media buyers believe it could work. Says Prashant Kumar, managing partner, Group M, one of the biggest media buyers in India,\"Ratings for ‘saas-bahu' serials have come off. So if a channel offers some different formats and provides some relaxed viewing, audiences may be interested.' More important than the content though, points out Kumar, is the distribution. \"The channel needs to be seen in the initial months because that's crucial,\" he observes.

The management at Viacom 18 is aware how critical distribution is going to be and has budgeted for annual carriage fees of Rs 50 crore. It's hoping to leverage the existing relationships that its parents Network 18 and Viacom — which together broadcast nine channels across genres — have with cable and DTH operators.

That should make it easier for Colors to get itself a good deal with distributors and to make sure viewers get to watch the channel. Says Rajesh Kamat, CEO, Colors, \"The channel will be an encrypted pay channel with a free-to-air window for about three to six months, so it's crucial that viewers watch the programmes.\"

However, as far as advertisers go, Colors will be sold as a stand-alone channel. Kamat believes that bundling channels together could result in one of them suffering. Spots on the channel will be competitively priced, but Kamat feels that a show like KKK featuring film actor Akshay Kumar, should command a good rate.

Today, ten second spots, during prime time, range anywhere between Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 4 lakh on channels such as Star Plus and Zee. Colors hopes to funnel audiences through promotions on the bouquet of Network 18 and Viacom. Besides, the Bollywood connections of Studio 18, a company that produces and distributes Hindi films, will also be leveraged.

At an estimated operating cost of Rs 300 crore annually, running an entertainment channel, can be an expensive proposition. The genre may command around 34-35 per cent of audience share attracting around 1,000 gross rating points a week, but the space is crowded with incumbents like Star and Zee.

What's more, there's no formula for getting the content right; a recent reality show hosted by a leading Bollywood star on the number one channel, hasn't exactly mesmerised audiences. Kamat is probably right when he says it would be foolhardy to foray into the space as a stand-alone channel; this one's clearly a network play.

`Colors` across your screen soon
 

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