GECs
Zee TV’s India’s Best Dramebaaz bids adieu; Kapil Sharma hosts the grand finale
MUMBAI: Comedian Kapil Sharma brought to close season two of India’s Best Drameebaz (IBD) on Sunday, March 6 by hosting its grand finale. Produced by Frames Productions, season two completed its 26 episode journey. On 12 December 2015 Zee TV had once again brought back the second season of this home grown laughter dose which had children in the age group of 5 to13 years. .
Zee Enterprises Entertainment Ltd (ZEEL)’s flagship channel Zee TV has always provided platforms that have contributed talented performers to the entertainment industry. Being a pioneer in making its own home grown reality shows, Zee has always given some of the best entertaining reality shows. After producing a series of talent reality shows like Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, Dance India Dance, Dance India Dance Li’l champs, India’s Best Cinestar Ki Khoj, the channel had launched India’s Best Dramebaaz (IBD) in 2013.
Zee TV roped in a number of brands for the season 2 of IBD. These included Surf Excel as the title sponsor and Patanjali Atta Noodles as co-powered by sponsor. Besides, the channel also had other brands including Britannia Tiger Crunch, Yamaha Fascino, Epson, Vistaprint.in and Dabur Chawanprash as associate sponsors.
A source informed indiantelevision.com that the production cost for the show was Rs 70-80 lakh per episode, and the ad rate for a 10 second slot was Rs 1.5 lakh.
Zee marketed IDB season 2 aggressively. The campaign posed a distinctive challenge because it had kids at the forefront and hence would have been perceived as a kids show and would not appeal to the other audiences.
To specifically counter the unique challenge that IBD faced, a unique strategy was devised. All communication on IBD was contextual via customized communication for TGs and specific markets which was carried across all media vehicles including TV, radio and cinema.
Special promos resonating with various genres of TV audiences were created and run across different mediums including cinema, music, news and kids channels. Clutter-breaking and entertaining radio spots were specifically created for each market highlighting issues. A special print innovation was carried across key publications.
On the digital front, various innovations were a part of this campaign. Zee TV tied up with Facebook and conducted a Facebook bus activity wherein fun content was generated with the judges and participants and populated across social media.
As the show approached the finale week, Zee TV tied up with Twitter to provide a unique social media experience to its fans. The Twitter Challenger App was a unique initiative that brought forth the fun side of its participants through various challenges. The judges, anchors and the top 6 finalists created pictures and videos that were funny, topical and fresh. The same were populated across social media during the finale week.
The efforts put in by Zee TV to market the show seem to have paid off handsomely. In week 6 of Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), IBD emerged as the number one non-fiction show in Hindi GEC space with 8148 TVTs while in week 7 the show continued to be the number one non-fiction show with 7057 Impressions’ 000. In week 8 IBD remained at the top with an increase in viewership from 7057 to 7382 Impressions ‘000.
Frames Production’s Ranjit Thakur said, “India’s Best Dramebaaz has really won the heart of Indian audiences. The kids were fabulous and fantastic, also all the three judges Sonali Bendre, Vivek Oberoi and Sajid Khan, we all are like a big family now. Also working with Zee after a couple of years was amazing. I am happy that we have delivered this beautiful show.”
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.
