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Sahara One ties up with D’damas for ‘Kohinoor’ contest
MUMBAI: Sahara One Television has weaved an interactive contest around its new suspense thriller show Kohinoor. The contest, ‘Kohinoor Ki Diwali Heeron Wali,’ will be held from 17 – 31 October where viewers can win Rs 4.4 million worth of diamonds.
The channel has tied-up with Gitanjali Group’s D’damas diamond brand for the contest.
Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Sahara One Television COO Purnendu Bose says, “For the first eight days, we will be giving out 300 diamonds per episode worth Rs 1000 each. And on the last day of the contest, we will be giving out 2000 diamonds. That adds up to close to Rs 4.4 million worth of diamonds in the nine days of the contest.”
Kohinoor’s launch on 5 September was preceded by a huge marketing push but the show has not been throwing up substantial numbers on the rating charts. On Thursday last week, the show’s rating was 0.7.
Bose, who is dissatisfied with the ratings, said that Kohinoor was throwing about the same ratings as what one of their third time repeat show in the same time band was giving on the channel earlier.
When queried as to whether this contest was brought on to increase the ratings, Bose says, “We don’t expect this contest to translate into higher ratings for the show. Our aim is to get viewers associated with Kohinoor and get that connect from them.”
For participating, viewers have to watch Kohinoor and SMS a unique number that will be flashed on the screen everyday during the show to 9090.
Bose further adds, “This Diwali, we are extremely happy to offer our viewers an opportunity to celebrate this festival of lights with precious diamonds. ‘Kohinoor Ki Diwali Heeron Wali ‘ contest gives them an opportunity to be a part of this exciting contest and win diamonds everyday.”
Kohinoor airs from Monday to Thursday at 10 pm on Sahara One Television.
MAM
Sameer Nair shares heartfelt note as he exits Applause Entertainment
After nine years building the streamer’s content engine, one of India’s best-known TV men is moving on
MUMBAI: Sameer Nair is out. The chief executive of Applause Entertainment, the content studio backed by Kumar Mangalam Birla’s media empire, has announced his departure after nearly nine years at the helm, closing the chapter on one of Indian entertainment’s more quietly consequential careers.
Nair, who built Applause from the ground up in its current avatar, oversaw a slate that spanned Indian originals and international adaptations, threading together a hub-and-spoke business model that partnered with streaming platforms, broadcasters and production houses alike. The results were uneven, as they always are in content, but the ambition was not.
In a post on LinkedIn, Nair was generous to his outgoing patron. He thanked Birla for being an “inspirational boss and a great patron of the arts,” and signed off with a cheerful “Au Revoir” and a promise to remain Applause’s biggest cheerleader. Whether that sentiment survives the next chapter remains to be seen.
No successor has been named. Applause Entertainment did not immediately comment.
Nair built the machine. Now someone else has to run it — and in a streaming market that is simultaneously consolidating and convulsing, that is no small ask.
