ZEE begins 2003 with a bang; launches mega contest among other initiatives

After a round of hectic partying at the turn of the New Year, it is back to business for channels in the C&S universe. And the first to usher in the New Year with the announcement of a mixed bag of programmes is general entertainment channel ZEE TV. The big idea for the erstwhile ruler of the Indian airwaves seems to be to counter the hoopla generated by myriad channels around the World Cup this year.

To begin with, the channel relaunched popular musical gameshow Antakshari on January 3 (8.00 pm) with a new title sponsor in Sansui. This programme, according to Apurva Purohit, president, ZEE TV is more contemporary with an emphasis on having fun. "At the same time, we haven't tinkered with the purity of the game," she adds.

The channel unveiled another movie time band titled Kambaqt Ishq during weekends. This initiative began on December 28 at 8.30 pm with the Tony and Deeya Singh-directed Chura Ke Dil Mera starring Divya Dutta and Ram Kapoor. What is interesting about this effort is that all movies telecast during this slot have been exclusively created for ZEE. "This is a slot for original movies, which will premiere on the last Saturday of every month," claims Purohit. The initial phase will feature "love thrillers" with plans to introduce movies from other genres at a later stage.

The third, and probably the most ambitious of the lot, is a mega contest that will see ZEE TV and E-Cool Gaming Solutions, a licensee for the Government of Maharashtra, join hands. Launched on January 5, this contest will entitle viewers to win up to Rs 121 crore in the first three months through Dekho Dhoom and ZEE TV Free Prize. In the words of Purohit, "Viewers get an opportunity to win prizes of Rs 1 crore everyday apart from Rs 4 crore on Sundays and an additional Rs 50 lakh of the Dekho Dhoom contest."

For Dekho Doom, viewers will need to watch ZEE TV between 8.00 pm and 11.00 pm every Sunday and answer six questions based on the programmes telecast during prime time. Each serial will have one question that will be televised at the beginning of the programme. To find the answer, participants need to watch the entire episode and rush their entries along with a photocopy of their Megawin Maha Lotto ticket, the latest online lottery launched on behalf of the Government of Maharashtra.

Free Prize, on the other hand, is a half-hour daily show telecast between 9.00 pm and 9.30 pm where viewers can participate using the same Megawin Maha Lotto ticket and avail of an amount of Rs 1 crore. Additionally, the channel will disburse four prizes of Rs 1 crore each on Sundays at 8.00 pm with each prize announced every half hour from starting time. "This is a win-win situation for both Playwin and us," says Purohit. First, the sale of tickets increases apart from inducing top of mind recall for the Megawin Maha Lotto. Second, there is greater stickiness with the channel on Sundays as well as weekdays," she adds. Interestingly, the channel has been appointed as the marketing partner of Playwin Infravest with 5 per cent of the ticket sales earmarked as revenue. This income will obviously be pumped into the mega contest," she states.

The channel is also gearing up for the launch of two daily soaps tilted Mulk and Meet. The former will be kick off at 10.30 pm on January 12 whereas the latter will replace Kohi Apna Sa at 9.30 pm from January 19. Mulk, according to Purohit, is a story of three friends belonging to different religions and their journey through life. "It encompasses 40 years after partition and boasts of outdoor locales as well as a look that depicts the change from pre-partition to modern India," she adds. Meet, in comparison, is a contemporary love story directed by Anuraag Basu who incidentally is also working on the Karisma Kapoor starrer for Sahara TV. "We are willing to listen and adapt to the changing needs of our viewers," claims Purohit. "We will not leave any stone unturned," she adds.

Meanwhile, the channel has rescheduled two of its current programmes, with stand-up comedy Archana Aha going off air effective January 12, and Simply Shekhar being rescheduled to 8.00 pm every Friday and Saturday from the current 10.30 pm every Tuesday and Wednesday. Besides, movie buffs can watch the premiere of Ram Gopal Varma film Road on January 16 at 8.00 pm. © 2003 agencyfaqs!