Mumbai: With few days left for the launch of its new show, ‘The Big Picture’, Colors TV is gearing up to cement its position as one of the most preferred weekend destination for TV viewers. The new launch builds on the success of its previous unscripted shows – ‘Khatron Ke Khiladi’, ‘Dance Deewane’ and ‘Bigg Boss’.
All set to launch this Saturday, 16 October, ‘The Big Picture’ will also mark the Television debut of Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh, who will host the quiz show based on general knowledge and visual memory. According to the channel, the new show will air between 8:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on weekends followed by ‘Bigg Boss 15’ hosted by Salman Khan. With these two big entertainers, the channel hopes to see record viewership on the weekends.
According to Viacom18 - head of Hindi and Kids TV network Nina Elavia Jaipuria, Colors TV currently occupies 24 per cent market share in terms of viewership on weekends. “The pandemic has led to a trend where families are coming together to watch on TV. So, we are doubling down on the weekends with two big properties,” said Jaipuria. “There was a clear white space that we wanted to address for our viewers. Audiences have missed theatres for 18 months, so we brought Ranveer Singh, one of the most versatile actors in Bollywood, to drawing rooms.”
The 26-episode show will air over 13 weeks and feature multiple contestants vying to win the grand prize of Rs five crore. The show format is owned by ITV Studios Global Entertainment B.V and is produced by Banijay Asia and SKTV. “Everybody has been bogged down by the pandemic. So, when there was a programming opportunity at Colors, we took the show to them because the format encouraged audiences to play along,” said Banijay Asia - founder and chief executive officer Deepak Dhar. “And, there was a tremendous response for the digital auditions of the show that began in July.”
Viacom18 believes in a TV+ strategy and ‘The Big Picture’ format definitely has an interactive element, where viewers can ‘Play Along’ via the OTT app Voot. Apart from fixed commercial time (FCT) inventory, the channel is keen to take away a bigger share of the advertising wallet as the festive season spends grow bigger.
“It’s a win for advertisers because they won’t just engage with the audience via regular inventory on the channel but have the opportunity to customise and communicate their brand messaging and reach their customers in a clutter-breaking manner,” said Jaipuria ahead of the show’s launch. The show’s sponsors include BYJU’S, Bikaji, LIC, and Haier refrigerator.
The channel has cleverly incentivised audiences to engage with the show by adding monetary rewards for viewers. For example, there is an element called ‘India wale lifeline’, where a contestant may choose to ask a friend for help with a question. The show has made it such that the person who helps with the correct answer will also share in the prize money. “If I win Rs 100 by getting the correct answer, the person who helped me will get Rs 25” explained Jaipuria.
The channel has gone live with a multi-media campaign on 8 October across TV, digital, print, and a high decibel OOH campaign covering billboards, bus shelters, auto-rickshaws, and kiosks across cities like Bombay and Delhi and states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat.
“We have the largest reach on TV with 121 viewers and a solid fanbase of 110 million on digital,” said Jaipuria. The show will be also promoted across Jio platforms which has a reach of 300 million. Viacom18 has also engaged with fans by sending them a personalised invitation from Ranveer Singh to catch the show premiere.
