Imagine sets aside non-fiction for weekends

Imagine's new non-fiction offering is a game show that quizzes people on television – about television. Big Money, scheduled to be launched on July 10, is a game show hosted by actor R Madhavan that will involve participation of the entire family.

Imagine hopes to strengthen its weekend slot with Big Money. The show is the Indian version of an international format called Family Links, which is a general knowledge based show. Imagine has changed the structure into a television based quiz show. It is being produced by Big Synergy.

The questions will be based on television soaps, advertisements, cartoons and cricket, and the show will have a family of four playing for the prize of Rs 1 crore. "The format is simple and involves every member of the family. There are no numbers or current affairs involved. Anybody who watches television can play it," says Nikhil Madhok, head, marketing and communication, Imagine.

A full-fledged campaign will be launched by the weekend across television, print, radio and outdoor. The campaign will focus on the kind of questions that will be asked on the show, familiarising the viewers about its concept. The channel will also implement quizzes on a smaller scale in malls and multiplexes in certain cities. The catch line across the campaign will be – 'TV ka gyaan, banayega dhanwaan'.

The channel believes that the simplicity of the format is the attraction of the show. Questions could range from taglines of brands to relationship of two characters in daily soaps (across GECs) or about cartoon characters. "The nature of the show is such that every member of the family will be able to contribute," Madhok adds.

The channel has slotted non-fiction for weekends and fiction for weekdays. "The idea is to give variety to viewers on weekends. Last year, we had slotted non-fiction on weekdays and that worked as we were able to launch a few fiction shows on the back of it," he states.

Desi Girl, the current non-fiction property on Imagine, is slated to end in a few days. Desi Girl garners an average TVR of 1.3, as per TAM Media Research (C&S, 4+, HSM). Big Money will replace Desi Girl. Subsequently, Imagine will launch the third season of its popular Swayamvar series.

The first season of the series, Rakhi Ka Swayamvar, garnered a TVR of 8.4 on the final day and the average TVR recorded by the show was 2.8. The second season, Rahul Dulhaniya Le Jayega, recorded an average TVR of 1.8. The channel is also looking at launching another big ticket international format show by the end of the year.