MUMBAI: Over the years one way that AXN has managed to build up its brand equity has been by organising on ground events. It has done local versions of Who Dares Wins in 2002 and in 2003 as well as the XTreme India Versus Pakistan event last year.
Now the channel is planning to do an Indian version of Ultimate Guinness Records.
As a prelude to generate excitement about the show the channel will air the American version of Ultimate Guinness Records in July. As was the case with Guinness World Records: Primetime the new show will see people trying to create a new world record in a variety of categories.
Information with Indiantelevision.com indicates that the Indian version of the show will be a six-part series that will air sometime in December. Shooting for the show will take place in the final quarter of the year. The crew from the American edition will fly down here to make sure that the production standards are of the highest quality.
It may be recalled that AXN had done a Guinness World Record stunt in India three years ago with events like Maximum Pull Ups. This time however while the logistics are still being worked upon the stunts on display will be far more elaborate. The channel is looking to capitalise on the fact that the name Guinness ha a very strong brand equity in india.
AXN will not be pushing Ultimate Guinness Records as a reality show. It will be billed as an action show with plenty of human drama and suspense. That is because while shows like Extreme Dhamaka which had woven elements of Fear Factor and Who Dares Wins a couple of years ago invited entries from one and all, the upcoming Guinness show will be far more selective in choosing participants. Once the stunts are done it will then be up to the Guinness World Records Committee in America to ratify the records.
AXN continues to bank on CSI: On the programming front one of the main shows that AXN is counting on to bring in the ratings is Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) New York. This is a spinoff of the CSI show. For the uninitiated CSI sees forensic experts trying to solve crimes. The show will air every Wednesday at 10 pm from 15 June.
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) Networks Asia GM Ricky Ow said, True to our campaign tagline, Three cities, three CSI teams, one channel AXN: The Home of CSI, viewers can expect a big treat to catch the franchise twice a week on Wednesday and Thursday at 10 pm on AXN. The CSI franchise has a huge fan base of about 25 million viewers on AXN across Asia.
"Given that New York is a mega city with such rich potential for a good storyline, we expect CSI: NY to increase our fan base. The cinematic feel of CSI: NY makes the experience all the more engaging and thrilling, much like watching a movie.
CSI NY is said to be a lot more personal, with more insight into the characters and their personal lives. Oscar nominee Gary Sinise Forrest Gump plays Detective Mack 'Mac' Taylor, an ex-Marine who lost his wife in the 9/11 disaster.
Viewers can continue to expect high-tech computer sleuthing, microscoping close-ups of DNA strands and the human anatomy, and the use of advanced forensic techniques in the show such are the distinct features that have set CSI apart from the other crime shows.
