MUMBAI: Competition gets stiffer as Sony's Indian Idol launches phase two. Starting this week (19 November), Indian Idol will air its 'result special' at 9:30 pm.

Ensuring it being fast paced, just after Indian Idol being aired on Thursday at 9:30 pm urging viewers to vote, Friday 9:30 - 10 pm will unveil the winners.

"The show is going to be gripping, interactive and almost edge of the seat," says Set India EVP Tarun Katial. The voting procedure for each contestant bearing a unique number is essentially through SMS (2525 number) and landline. The channel is looking at driving viewership for Friday through the Thurday show.

Idol's extensive promotion cannot but be given its due credit for the initial success of the show, although interestingly, the channel does not seem to have promoted its result-special.
When queried on the same, Katial points out that promotion will take place only for the show on Thursdays, and tune-in's on Fridays will be ensured by extensive promotions on Thursday.

Something the industry has also been pondering about is the inconsistency of Idol's timings. It has switched from 9:30 pm on the first day to 9 pm on the second and third, and then come back 9:30 pm on Fridays.

The channel also hopes that Idol on Friday will ensure a lot more sampling for its old faithful CID. The question that remains unanswered, however, is the slotting of the soon to launch CID Squad.