Colors Rolls Out on Sky

MUMBAI/LONDON: Leading Hindi-language general-entertainment channel Colors is continuing its international expansion following its U.S. rollout last month, securing a slot on Sky in the U.K.

Operated by Viacom18 Media—a joint venture between Viacom and India’s Network 18 Group—Colors features comedy, reality and drama series, game shows and blockbuster Bollywood films, with highlights that include local versions of the Got Talent and Fear Factor formats. The 24-hour channel will be available free-to-air at launch and then subsequently will be added to the VIEW ASIA package. Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan will front the channel in the U.K. in his role as brand ambassador.

Bhavneet Singh, Viacom18 board director and managing director and executive VP of MTV Networks International’s Emerging Markets group, said: “Since its launch in 2008, Colors has changed the landscape of Indian entertainment and our continued investment and development of the Viacom18 portfolio really illustrates our long-term commitment to the Indian market. Our aim is to bring compelling and innovative programming to all Hindi audiences outside the Indian sub-continent, across all generations. There is a huge appetite for Hindi-language entertainment and we’re confident that Colors will quickly become the ultimate family entertainment destination for Asian communities across the U.K.”

Rajesh Kamat, Group COO of Viacom18 and the CEO of Colors, added “Our unique concepts and fresh approach to programming has made our shows and characters, household names in India. After having successfully consolidated our leadership position in India, I have no doubt that we will be able to replicate our success in key international markets like U.S. and U.K. as well. One of our key strategies for the U.K. is that there will be no lag in the telecast of episodes versus India thus ensuring that the viewers in this market are always up to speed with all of our key shows.”

Colors, which reaches 45 million homes in India, launched on DISH Network in the U.S. last month as Aapka Colors.