Colors

World Screen Weekly, August 21, 2008

COUNTRY: India

LAUNCH DATE: July 21, 2008

OWNERSHIP: Viacom18 Media, a 50-50 joint venture of New York-based Viacom and Mumbai-headquartered Network18.

DISTRIBUTION: The channel is available to some 17 million to 18 million TAM-measured homes across India.

DESCRIPTION: This new Hindi-language general-entertainment channel features a mix of movies, drama serials and reality shows, targeting a core demographic of 15- to 34-year-olds.

SENIOR MANAGEMENT:

CEO, Colors: Rajesh Kamat

Head, Programming: Ashwini Yardi

PROGRAMMING STRATEGY: In a Hindi-language entertainment market dominated by STAR Plus and Zee TV, a wealth of players, including Sony Entertainment Television, NDTV Imagine and 9X, have been jostling for the third-place spot. Launched last month, Colors is the latest entrant into that competitive mix, and it is looking to tap into the resources of its parent companies as it works its way to the top of the ratings pile.

Within the Viacom18 joint venture, Colors sits alongside the Viacom assets MTV, Nickelodeon and VH1 and the Network18 brand Studio18, which produces, distributes and acquires Indian films. For Rajesh Kamat, the CEO of Colors, the channel benefits from Viacom’s expertise in building global brands, and Network18’s extensive experience in the Indian market. Network18 already has strong ties with local MSOs through CNBC18 and several news networks, and operates across print and online assets.

When devising the plan for the new channel, Kamat explains that much thought went into selecting a name that would reflect the mission of the service. “It had to be relevant to all and have a lot of positive associations,” Kamat says. The tagline of Jasbaat Ke Rang, he adds, reflects the range of emotions presented through the channel’s slate.

At the heart of the programming strategy, Kamat says, are two pillars: “Differentiation and disruption. This is a cluttered market. The good news is that people have started moving from what used to be channel loyalty to program loyalty.”

In order to lure new audiences, Kamat says it was crucial for Colors to kick off with some high-profile programming, and it did so with a local version of Endemol’s Fear Factor, named Khatron Ke Khiladi, with Bollywood star Akshay Kumar as host. “He’s Bollywood’s biggest action hero. He fits the show profile, he has universal appeal, particularly to the 15-to-24 girls, which is a significant chunk of viewers, and then there are 13 starlets who perform the stunts.”

In addition to appealing to both men and women, the series, Kamat explains, also targets audiences across India’s cities and smaller towns, segments of the population that often have very different viewing habits. “The viewership pattern from 7 o’clock to 9 o’clock is predominantly smaller towns, and 9 to 10 is an overlap with smaller towns and the metros and 10 o’clock onwards the metros start dominating. Our scheduling pattern keeps this mind.”

Beyond reality fare, drama is also a key component on the schedule, and Kamat cites Mohe Rang De, which is set in 1942 against the backdrop of the Indian independence movement, and Balika Vadhu, which takes on the issue of childhood marriage. Recognizing the local market’s penchant for religious themed fare, Colors recently launched Jai Shri Krishna, telling the tales of the childhood of the Hindu God Krishna.

WHAT’S NEW: On August 17, Colors launches Bigg Boss, the second season of the local version of Endemol’s hit format Big Brother, hosted by a veteran of the U.K. version, Bollywood starlet Shilpa Shetty.

Kamat, who set up and ran Endemol India prior to joining Viacom18, is keen to acquire other international formats for Colors. “The art is to successfully localize the format. Indianizing it is critical for us.”

Given the significant populations of Indian descent in markets like the U.S., U.K. and the Middle East, international expansion for Colors is among Kamat’s long-term goals for the service. “The effort would be to get our beam across to as many markets as possible where the Asian Diaspora exists.”

WEBSITE: www.colorstv.in

—By Mansha Daswani