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Sony readies pitch for Dance Premier League
The dance-based reality show will be aired every Friday and Saturday at 8 pm
Sony will spruce up its weekend offering with a reality dance show, Dance Premier League, which is being touted as the dance variant of Indian Premier League. According to the format of the show, different zones and regions -- North, East, West, South, Central and NRIs -- will compete with each other. The show is scheduled for 8 pm, every Friday and Saturday.
Each of the teams will have a distinct logo, flag and jersey, much like in any sports tournament. The team names are -- Eastern Tigers, Uttar Ke Puttar, Southern Sizzlers, Central Surmas, Western Yodhas and Desi Pardesi.
The channel claims to have auditioned more than thousands of aspirants from 15 cities, to choose the final six teams.
In the episodes, each of the zones will play against another, just as in League matches, leading to a total of 15 matches. Each match will have three rounds -- solo, duo and group dance. There are also awards for man of the match, most stylish player, maximum 6's and maximum 4's, which will be given during the series.
The channel has roped in actor, Rani Mukerji as the judge, who has been given the title of 'Queen of DPL'.
"DPL will take reality dance shows to another level with its scale and format," says N P Singh, chief operating officer, Multi Screen Media.
Sony is heavily promoting the show, which will be launched today. Around 1,000 hoardings have been put up featuring the celebrity supporters, along with print ads with a zonal focus. "The idea is to build zonal teams and drive regional loyalty, as in sports tournaments like EPL and IPL," says Danish Khan, head, marketing, Sony.
The communication is focused on creating regional pride and portraying the show as a sports battlefield. Hence the tag line is, 'Izzat Ka Sawaal'.
In the past, Sony has experimented with dance reality shows such as Jhalak Dikhla Jaa and Boogie Woogie. Recently, the channel launched two new fiction shows -- Bayttaab Dil Kee Tamanna Hai and Pyaar Ka Bandhan in the weekday primetime slots. Besides, the channel has entered into an exclusive content deal with Yash Raj Films.