MUMBAI: Colors is gearing up to launch the third season of its talent hunt reality show, India‘s Got Talent.

The show will be launched on 29 July and occupy the Friday-Saturday 9 pm slot, replacing Khataron ke Khiladi - Torchaar.

For the IGT - 3, Sonali Bendre and Kirron Kher are returning as judges, while the third judge on the panel will be Bollywood‘s evergreen superstar Dharmendra. 

This season will see artists and performers spanning a spectrum of talents.

Colors programming head Ashvini Yardi said, "India‘s Got Talent has a legacy of finding individuals and groups with unique and enchanting talents. In the past, the show has given India two gems in the form of The Prince Group in the first season which has since then gone on to make our nation proud on many international level events. The second gem was The Shillong Chamber Choir which charmed its way into peoples‘ hearts with their soulful musical stylings. This year, the search is on yet again to find a talent that surpasses both these groups. And to help us in our endeavor, we have none other than the very talented, evergreen actor with Greek God looks and a heart of gold, Dharmendra joining our other jury members gorgeous Sonali and graceful Kirron Kher."

The sow will be hosted by model-actor Gautam Rode and actor-singer-dancer Meiyang Chang.

Freemantlemedia head of content Anupama Mondloi said, "India‘s Got Talent Season 3 has traveled to over 25 cities this season in search of a wide variety of talent. It promises to be a true representation of modern as well as traditional India with a vast array of talent that spans all age groups. The panel of judges including Dharamji, who is new this season, brings their unique brand of charisma to the show. We have two new hosts, as well, this season who will take the viewers on a crazy, fun ride. Fremantlemedia is proud to reveal all the fresh facets of this show that will come together to create magic on Colors."
 

MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) has posted a first-quarter performance that smells of a slowdown in advertising revenues for the media sector as one of India‘s largest television broadcasting companies has guided to a below double-digit growth this fiscal.

Zeel has disappointed market estimates as it reported a 13.3 per cent slide in consolidated net profit, impacted by a slowing ad revenue growth while expenses jumped with the company anticipating buoyancy in the economy.

Advertising revenue for the three-month period ended June 2011 grew just 0.5 per cent to Rs 3.79 billion. The flagship Hindi general entertainment channel, Zee TV, came under pressure even as it held on to its third position way behind rivals Star Plus and Colors.

Zeel MD and CEO Punit Goenka feels there is a softening in the advertising economy. "While our business fundamentals remain strong, the environment for ad spends has been weak, in our view, and to an extent the change of pace was quite fast. We are hopeful that with the onset of festive season, we should see some normalcy in advertising spends," he said. 

Subscription revenue stayed strong but the 16.7 per cent growth couldn‘t quite make up the growth pace that Zeel was anticipating. Operating revenue rose 3.1 per cent to Rs 6.98 billion from Rs 6.77 billion a year ago.

Net profit fell to Rs 1.30 billion (from Rs 1.50 billion) while expenses grew by 10.7 per cent.

Meanwhile, the consolidated operating profit (Ebitda) for the quarter skid 16.6 per cent to Rs 1.56 billion, from Rs 1.87 billion in the year-ago period. 

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Subscription revenue managed a strong double-digit growth. Domestic subscription revenue stood at Rs 2.07 billion, while international subscription revenue stayed at Rs 976 million.

Revenue from domestic DTH operators, part of domestic subscription revenue, was at Rs 1.11 billion, up 55.9 per cent. Subscription revenue from international operations dropped 3.5 per cent, while subscription revenue from domestic cable increased by 8.4 per cent.

Zeel chairman Subhash Chandra said, "The widespread adoption of satellite based television services via DTH is proving to be a big game changer for television business in India and creating a more sustainable business model for the industry. We expect some consolidation to take place in the television media space. Creation of MediaPro Enterprise is one step in that direction, which will help develop the pay revenue stream for the industry. New content formats, like HD and 3D, are being experimented with and will likely open up new revenue streams for the broadcasters."
 

Programming and operating cost for the quarter saw a 27.5 per cent rise to Rs 3.05 billion, from Rs 2.39 billion a year ago. Employee cost rose 53.2 per cent over the earlier year. Selling & other expenses for the quarter stood at Rs 1.25 billion, increasing by 55.1 per cent over the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. Total costs incurred by the company rose 36.5 per cent to Rs 4.90 billion.

Overall, programming and operating cost in the quarter rose 12.2 per cent to Rs 3.42 billion compared to Rs 3.05 billion a year ago. Employee cost increased by 25.1 per cent over the year-ago period. Selling & other expenses in the quarter were flat at Rs 1.25 billion, as compared to the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. 

This includes additional one-time expense on marketing and rebranding exercise undertaken during this quarter. Total costs incurred by the company in this quarter stood at Rs 5.42 billion, showing an increase of 10.7 per cent over the corresponding period last fiscal.