GECs
Smile TV’s Ronita Mitra joins UTV
MUMBAI: In its endeavour to tap creative talent exclusively for UTV, the production house is in the process of hiring creative minds. Building upon this, UTV has roped in Smile TV’s programming head Ronita Mitra who has been appointed as UTV’s creative director.
At the outset, Mitra will primarily be handling creative outputs for the production major’s kids’ programming for Hungama.
Commenting on the move, Mitra says, ” I am very interested in kids programming which is very different from the cliched soaps genre. This niche has a huge potential and I wanted to be hands on with the content being produced rather than be on the channel side.”
UTV COO Vikas Varma says, ” With UTV moving from seven and a half hours of programming to about 23 hours, the need of the hour was definitely to have people who could deal with the amount and kind of content to be generated. Also, Ronita was very comfortable with the kids genre. A lot of her is very child like in her attitude and therefore understands children’s psyche very well.”
Mitra, prior to Smile TV was with Bag Films.
Interestingly, the production house has also recruited Rajesh Beri, a well known script writer in the television fraternity who is known for Saajan Sajani on Zee, Cats on Sony, Kehta hain Dil on Star Plus
GECs
Samsung TV Plus launches Kings of Comedy channel
New free FAST channel brings iconic Hindi comedy shows to millions of Samsung Smart TV owners.
MUMBAI: Samsung TV Plus has just turned up the laughter volume and it’s completely free. The leading free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) service in India has launched Kings of Comedy, a premium comedy channel featuring some of the country’s most beloved primetime shows. Available exclusively on Samsung TV Plus, the channel delivers back-to-back hits including Comedy Nights with Kapil, Khatra Khatra Khatra, and Comedy Nights Bachao, with no login or subscription required.
The launch marks a milestone for free streaming in India, offering audiences a dedicated comedy destination directly from their Samsung TV home screen. It arrives as Samsung TV Plus India celebrates its 5th anniversary, during which the service has grown its monthly active users by 42 per cent and more than doubled its total viewing hours. The platform now offers over 180 free channels across 14 languages.
Samsung TV Plus India general manager and head of business development Kunal Mehta said, “Comedy is the heartbeat of Hindi entertainment, and Kings of Comedy brings together the shows Indians already love, completely free on their Samsung TV. Our focus remains the same take the content people know and make it effortless to access.”
Globally, Samsung TV Plus has surpassed 100 million monthly active users across more than 4,500 channels, solidifying its position as one of the world’s leading free streaming services.
Kings of Comedy is now available on all compatible Samsung Smart TVs. For viewers seeking non-stop laughter without any cost, this new channel delivers a royal treat proving that sometimes the best entertainment really does come with no strings (or subscriptions) attached.
