Viacom 18, the 50:50 joint venture between Viacom and Network 18, entered into the entertainment map of India with the launch of its first Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC), Colors, in July this year. Colors is the 10 th Hindi GEC on Indian television.
The channel aired two shows during its launch, Fear Factor- Khatro Ke Khiladi, which was on Sony Entertainment Television in its first season, and an emotional historic drama, Mohe Rang De. The channel brought Akshay Kumar on the small screen for the first time, as a host on Fear Factor. Adding glamour to the show were the participants, 13 well known female actors and models. Produced by Endemol India, the show captured many eyeballs and built excitement among Indian viewers. Its other show, Mohe Rang De, produced by Deepti Bhatnagar Productions, is a love story set against the backdrop of Quit India Movement, around 1942.
Big Boss, the Indian version of ‘Big Brother', made news as it is for the first time in the history of Indian Television that a show like this was aired everyday. The show is a bit different from Seasons 1 as it includes everyone from politicians, stand up comedian to actors, models and item girls, who are also the newsmakers due to some good or bad news. The dramas like Balika Vadhu, Rahe Tera Aashirwad, Jai Shri Krishna and Jeevan Sati are also gaining popularity due to its diverse concept, unlike the monotonous saas bahu stuff. Actor Sajid Khan's first ever talk show on Colors brings together the most talked about celebrities to be at their candid best. Recently featured dance show Ek Khiladi Ek Hasina, made the cricketing heroes dance on the footsteps of the beautiful ladies from the tinsel town, and fight for their victory, on the dance floor and not the pitch.
Treating India and Bharat as two different entities, the channel has kept in mind the likes and dislikes of the smaller Indian towns as well. The programming of the channel is appropriate to today's growing audiences who have an entrenched thirst to escape to their fantasy world, while still remaining within the realm of reality.
Capturing wider and fragmented audiences was never an easy ride; with soaps and reality shows dominating the GEC channels, differentiation is tough. Colors seems to have cracked this and have their presence felt.
Due to its disruptive approach, the channel gained entry into our households in a very short span. While the channel has been running a series of highly publicized and expensive reality shows, viewership data shows that its soap operas have helped it gather eyeballs. Channel Share of Colors during prime time was 10.5 in the launch week. It has now grabbed the second position in the entertainment genre, with a channel share of 24.3
