MUMBAI: With curtains set to come down on the season 6 of Bigg Boss, Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) Colors is replacing the big-ticket reality show with two new fiction shows. This includes introducing second season of a fiction, a first for the channel.

In order to bolster its prime-time line-up, Colors will air Sanskaar ? Dharohar Apnon Ki and season 2 of Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuch Kaha from 14 January.

Sanskaar, which highlights keeping family first, will air from Monday to Friday at 9 pm while Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuch Kaha will be televised at 9.30 pm.

Colors Weekday Programming Head Prashant Bhatt said this is the first time the season?s format is being introduced and if successful the channel might try hands with other properties.

?For the first time in a week, we have extended our prime-time viewing from five days a week to six days a week. So this is the first new thing that we have done in 2013 and the second new thing we are doing is format,? says Bhatt.

The broadcaster had recently extended its prime-time programming to six days a week by extending its top-rated shows like Sasural Simar Ka, Balika Vadhu and Madhubala to Saturday.

?If people have loved the show from Monday to Friday, the idea is to extend the entertainment by one more day. Then at least they know what to do on a Saturday evening also,? he asserts.

According to Bhatt, Indian soaps have the key ingredients for a successful season?s format as there is loyalty for characters and stickiness. ?So we felt ?why not do seasons here since we have both the things,? he avers.

And the key to building stickiness is to take up story ideas based on real life experiences. ?It basically is to observe things around you, people around you and situations around you and then you put them in your shows because that makes your shows more relatable. The connectivity increases day by day, so that?s how we maintain stickiness,? he explains.

These are baby steps for the four year old channel, admits Bhatt. ?From programming point of view, we are taking baby steps as far as making changes is concerned.?

MUMBAI: Colors is all set to telecast the 19th annual Colors Screen Awards on 19 January at 8 pm.

The channel has roped in Micromax as the presenting sponsor while Western Union has come on board as the powered by sponsor of the event.

This is the second edition of Colors Screen Awards. Prior to this, Screen Awards used to air on Star Plus. This year Colors Screen Awards will welcome the next 100 years of Indian cinema.

Representing the new generation will be Ranbir Kapoor who will be showcasing a tribute to Bollywood along with his mother and actor Neetu Singh.

The awards, hosted by the indomitable Shah Rukh Khan, will have performances by new Student of the Year actors Siddharth Malhotra, Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhat, Sonakshi Sinha, Ranveer Singh and Priyanka Chopra.

Colors CEO Raj Nayak said, "If last year was about celebrating 100 years of Indian Cinema, 2013 is the beginning of the next 100 years. I am delighted to present Colors Screen Awards - 2013, the first Awards in the country in the New Year. The Colors Screen Awards is a celebration of Indian Cinema when the entire film fraternity comes together as one happy family to celebrate and partake in each other?s success. I am positive audiences will enjoy the show this year as we capture the best of Bollywood talent and complement with entertaining performances."

Screen editor Priyanka Sinha Jha said, "Over the years the Screen Awards have recognized excellence in Hindi and Marathi cinema in the fields of acting, direction, sound, choreography, music and scripting. This year will see the Awards embrace the new generation of talent in Bollywood encouraging a new wave of thinking that will have the potential to chart the story of next 100 years of Indian cinema".

The finalists for the 19th Annual Colors Screen Awards are chosen from a list of 119 movies by a jury comprising of people like Hema Malini, the jury chairperson along with Sadhana Nayar, Jehtu Mandal, Rajat Arora, Alka Yagnik, Nishikant Kamat, Rajukumar Gupta, Padmini Kolhapure, Nageesh Kuknoor, Vikramaditya Motwane and Santosh Sivan.

The on-ground event will be held in Mumbai on 12 January.

MUMBAI: A strong base in the digital markets of Mumbai and Delhi has helped Viacom18?s general entertainment channel (GEC) Colors rise to the number one position among Hindi GECs during three of the five weeks (C&S, HSM 4+ market) in November and December, according to Colors CEO Raj Nayak.

?Colors? content has historically resonated very strongly with viewers in Delhi and in Mumbai too viewers have shown a positive inclination towards our content. With thedigitisation completed in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata (to a lesser extent though), these three markets put together contribute to a large proportion of the digital universe weightage. Hence, a strong base in the markets of Mumbai and Delhi helps,? Nayak tells Indiantelevision.com.

In the weeks from 47 to 51 of 2012, Colors was the number one GEC in digital markets (HSM, Digital 4+), according to TAM Media Research data. TAM would be releasing data for week 52 on Thursday.

Helios Media CEO Divya Radhakrishnan said ratings for Colors peaked in certain weeks due to programming initiatives on its highest-rated shows -- Shiv Anandi wedding in Ballika Vadhu, change in story track of Madhubala. Also Colors was the only GEC running 3 reality shows simultaneously -Bigg Boss, Sur Kshetra and India?s got talent vis a vis only Sa Re Ga Ma on Zee TV and KBC on Sony Entertainment Television (Set).

Maxus managing partner Kartik Sharma noted, ?If we observe GEC1 trends, some of the channels have a higher skew towards digital homes. This trend was observed even before the full-fledged digitisation and the recent data only validates the same.?

Colors has made its way to the top through its content on weekdays as well as on weekends, backed by big-ticket spikes like premieres and events, according to Nayak.

?We at Colors continue to constantly innovate on content to keep up with audience acceptability, sense and sensibilities. We believe in providing world class quality entertainment, throughout the year 365 days, 24x7. In the process, with audience liking, it helps us in being able to constantly interact and touch our viewers everyday of their lives, thus resulting in viewership in tune with this viewer preference as well for our content,? says Nayak.

Asked if Colors had greater acceptability in digital homes, Nayak says, ?That?s not entirely correct. In other markets too, the channel resonates well with the audience, otherwise we wouldn?t have been a strong contender for the No. 1 slot based on just two markets. And the fact that we have been No 1 in the last 3 out of 5 weeks in overall ratings speaks for itself.?

MUMBAI: Colors is all set to replace its popular reality show Bigg Boss-6 with two fiction shows titled ?Sanskar- Dharohar Apnon Ki? and ?Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuch Kaha-2?.

The channel will air the finale of the Salman Khan-hosted show on 12 January while the two shows are launching on 14 January.

?Sanskar? and ?Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuch Kaha-2? will air Monday to Friday at 9 pm and 9.30 pm respectively.

Sanskar will take the viewers on a journey of ?des? India as well as ?pardes?, bringing alive the importance of family while living in a different country. The show will feature Jay Soni as the lead.

Meanwhile, introducing the second season to the unusual love story of Megha and Mohan, Na Bole Tum Na Meine Kuch Kaha - Season 2 will take the story forward albeit with a twist. Viewers will get to see their old characters building relationships with newer characters, while keeping the essence of the show alive, the channel said.

The channel is also launching a comedy reality show ?Nautanki?. However, the time slot for the show has not been finalised yet.

MUMBAI: Colors has extended the telecast of three of its fiction shows - Sasural Simar Ka, Balika Vadhu and Madhubala.

The weekly shows that used to air Monday to Friday at 7.30 pm, 8 pm and 8.30 pm respectively, will now air on Saturdays as well.

With this expansion, Colors beefs up its weekend programming band as the three shows are the most successful properties on Colors. As per the latest TAM ratings (week 51, HSM, C&S, 4+) Sasural Simar, Balika Vadhu and Madhubala notched 4.2 TVR, 4.8 TVR and 3.9 TVR, respectively.

According to the channel the change will complement the current line-up of weekend shows - Bigg Boss-6 and Shaitaan.

The shows will be replacing Sahara One?s singing reality show Sur-Kshetra that Colors used to simulcast from 7.30 pm- 9 pm on Saturday and Sunday. The show aired its finale on 29 December.

Colors weekday programming head Prashant Bhatt said, ??Our move to expand our 7.30-8.30 pm slot to weekends is a humble new year gift to our loyal viewers. We invest a lot of time in creating sticky concepts for our viewers and it?s heartening to see they?re loving it and wanting more. In the new year, you?ll see more drama, emotion and romance on Colors with more interesting twists and turns that will keep audiences glued to TV??.

MUMBAI: Colors is launching a new mythological show titled ?Jai Jag Janani Maa Durga? on 17 December.

The new show will be replacing its fiction property ?Kairi Rishta Khatta Meetha? which will go off air to open up the 7 pm slot.

?Jai Jag Janani Maa Durga? will showcase Durga?s different avatars in various stages of her life. It will compete with Star Plus? ?Saathiya Saath Nibhana? and Zee TV?s Afsar Bitiya.

The new offering from Colors? bouquet is being produced by Sagar Pictures, the makers of epic shows like Ramayan, Alif Laila and Shri Krishna.

For the record, Colors had earlier aired mythological show ?Jai Shri Krishna? in July 2008 which ran till September 2009.