iWorld
‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Li’l Champs’ on Zee TV via dittoTV
MUMBAI: Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, a singing talent hunt show, is back with a bang! Hugely popular over the last 22 years, the show is set to launch the sixth season of its sub series for kids on 25 February. Li’l Champ fans can watch the show live as it airs on their smartphones on Zee TV, available only on dittoTV.
The latest season will witness the comeback of the musical duo – music composer-actor, Himesh Reshammiya, and the voice behind the hit songs from Jodhaa Akbar and Ghajini, Javed Ali, in the panel of judges. Also making her debut on the judges panel will be popular Indian singer, Neha Kakkar.
Z5 India Business head of digital Archana Anand said, “Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Li’l Champs is one of India’s most awaited television shows, with a wide fan following. The show brings together the best untapped talent from across the country and gives them a platform to launch their careers as playback singers. We are excited to bring to our subscribers the 6th season of the kid’s reality show, where participants have been shortlisted from over 60,000 entries post a set of gruelling auditions. As it is a weekend show, many people may miss out on the live airing since they may be out or may not have easy access to a television set. dittoTV now makes it possible for them to conveniently watch Li’l Champs as it airs, anywhere on any internet-enabled device, and at an extremely affordable price point”
Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Li’l Champs season 6 will be aired every Saturday and Sunday, at 9 pm.
The dittoTV app is available on Android and iOS platforms, with a monthly subscription charge of INR 20.
iWorld
Talk to your telly: JioHotstar’s new AI voice feature reads your mood to suggest shows
The streaming giant ditches the scroll for a “conversational” AI that understands moods, cricket and Hinglish
MUMBAI: The era of the endless scroll may finally be over. JioHotstar has officially flicked the switch on its “Conversational Voice Discovery” (CVD) feature, a high-tech overhaul designed to turn the hunt for a Friday night film into a natural chat. Developed in a landmark partnership with OpenAI, the tool moves beyond clunky keyword searches, allowing users to find content by describing their mood, context or even the most bizarre viewing scenarios.
The feature is vision of Uday Shankar, vice chairman of JioStar, whose goal is to eliminate “content overload” by replacing the tedious, traditional scroll with natural dialogue. By leveraging ChatGPT’s ability to grasp context and cultural nuance, the new mobile interface allows users to bypass menus entirely, turning search into a seamless conversation.
The launch, which rolled out across India this month, sees a ChatGPT-powered interface integrated directly into the heart of the app. Instead of typing “action movie” into a sterile search bar, viewers can now speak to their devices as if they were asking a well-read friend for a tip. For now, the feature is exclusive to the mobile app, with a rollout for Connected TV (CTV) expected in later phases.
Beyond the keyword
The CVD feature is built on what JioStar calls “Multilingual Cognitive Search.” It is designed to interpret nuance rather than just matching text. If you tell the app, “I’ve had a long day, give me something mindless and funny,” it won’t just look for those words in a title; it will sift through 300,000 hours of library content to find a light-hearted sitcom or a stand-up special that fits the vibe.
The tech is natively multilingual, catering to India’s diverse linguistic landscape. Users can switch effortlessly between languages—asking for “Koi light-hearted comedy dikhao” (show me some light-hearted comedy) or requesting a “Thriller hai but zyada dark nahi chahiye” (a thriller that isn’t too dark).
Real-time curiosity and live sports
Perhaps the most ambitious aspect of the rollout is its integration with live sports. During a high-stakes cricket match, the AI acts as a digital companion. Fans can ask, “Who is the top scorer right now?” or “Show me that last wicket again,” and the system will pull the relevant data or clips instantly. It even attempts to explain the “why” behind the crowd’s energy, responding to prompts like, “Why is everyone reacting like that?” by contextualizing on-field events.
A shift in streaming strategy
The move is part of a broader reimagining of the entertainment experience following the massive merger between JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar. Uday Shankar noted that the goal is to make premium entertainment “truly accessible” by embedding AI at the core of the user journey. By anticipating culture and context, the platform hopes to kill off “decision fatigue.”
For OpenAI, the partnership represents a major play in the Indian market. Fidji Simo, the head of applications at OpenAI, said the goal was to turn a “one-way” passive consumption experience into a “deeply personal conversation.”
As the feature goes live for millions of subscribers, the message from Bombay House is clear: the remote control is becoming obsolete. Whether you’re looking for a show that “feels like a rainy Sunday afternoon” or a crime series with a “strong female lead but not too violent,” all you have to do is ask.
