Hrithik Roshan’s television debut with Just Dance is expected to fetch Star India nearly Rs 100 crore , according to media buyers. The reality show will hit the tube on June 18 .
For the first time, a show will simulteneously aired on Star Plus, Star One, Star Pravah (with Marathi sub-titles) and have deferred telecast on Asianet and Star Vijay with the dubbed content.
“Dance has no language barriers. Hrithik has universal appeal of being a dance icon. So, he was perfect for being the mentor for the contestants. This show will enable advertisers to leverage the huge reach of Star network,” said Sanjay Gupta,COO, Star India.
According to industry sources Hrithik is paid around Rs 2.5 crore per episode. The show will have popular choreographers Farah Khan and Vaibhavi Merchant as the judges.
Star has already locked in Maruti Suzuki and Cadbury as title sponsors for around Rs 40-45 crore . The associate sponsors include Nokia, Parle Hide& Seek, Kinder Joy, GNIIT, Alite,Pigeon, India Gate Basmati rice, Adiction, Fair and Lovely. All these sponsors have been roped in Rs 3 - 5 crore each. Hindustan and Midday have been roped in as print partner, MTS as mobile and internet partner, Red 93.5 FM as radio partner and Fame as cinema partner.
Star India has left no stone untouched for creating a strong buzz around the show, which includes extensive print, television, radio, out-of home advetising. And also, below-the-line, activities such as augumented reality zones in Mumbai, Delhi and Lucknow where viewers get a chance to match their dance moves with Hrithik.
The show has had auditions around 11 cities across the globe including Banaglore Hyderabad, NewYork and Chester.
“Star has always tried some form of innovation in its format. The channel is putting all its efforts for the show,” said Punitha Arumugam, Group CEO, Madison Media.
The show will run for 15 weeks featuring 30 episodes. Each of the 30 episodes will have 960 seconds of commercial time, of which the sponsors could get around 600 seconds and the remaining will be sold to spot buyers. Executives in media buying agencies said the channel is quoting around Rs 2.5-3 lakh per ten seconds for spot buyers.
Media buyers feel that if the show clicks and garners television viewership ratings of around 4, Star India may consider selling ten-second ad spots for Rs 3.5 -4 lakh.
Post-Indian Premier League, Khatron Ke Khiladi - Torchaar (KKK4) emerged as the winner in a closely fought battle of reality shows that have flooded the Hindi general entertainment channels (GECs). According to TAM data for week ended June 4 , KKK4 hosted by Akshay Kumar garnered an average TVR of 2.64, Sony Entertainment Television’s X Factor at 2.13 TVR and Zee’s Little Champs averaged with 2.6 TVR. (Friday-Sunday 10 pm slot).
