Colors going free to air in the UK

Come September, South Asians in the UK will have reason to cheer. The move will neutralise the undue distribution advantage that some of the other South Asian channels have enjoyed in the market

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | August 20, 2013

Colors, Viacom 18's flagship brand that is managed by IndiaCast (a TV18 & Viacom18 venture) in the overseas markets, will be available free in the UK from September 2, 2013, and will no longer be a pay service, giving audiences the chance to enjoy premium South Asian content at no cost. With this move, the channel will not be available as a part of the VIEWASIA bouquet, and will be available to all Sky Digital viewers as well as being available on Virgin Media's cable platform, growing the channel's reach exponentially.

Colors has perfected the formula of wholesome family viewing with content offerings ranging from hugely popular soaps like Balika Vadhu and Madhubala to reality programming and international formats such as Jhalak Dikhla Ja and Bigg Boss, and the latest Bollywood blockbusters. The success of the channel in India has been replicated globally with the channel being now available in close to 75 countries and its content being distributed in over 100 countries.

Raj Nayak, CEO, Colors, said, “UK has a captive fan base for Hindi general entertainment, and we are elated to offer two of our leading brands, Colors and Rishtey, to our viewers there. With this move, we will be reaching out to a much wider audience base giving them an enriching viewing experience of our top class fiction and non-fiction programming.”

Anuj Gandhi, Group CEO, IndiaCast, said, “At India Cast it is our constant endeavour to make our brands and content reach out to the South Asian diaspora around the world. UK continues to be one of our most important markets, where in the past we have challenged the status quo with the launch and success of Rishtey, and now, with Colors going free to air, we are making our next big move towards leadership.”

Gaurav Gandhi, Group COO, IndiaCast, said, “Our business in UK has grown tremendously and we have launched three brands – Rishtey, Colors and News18 India – in three years in the region. Over the last 12 months, we have had phenomenal success with Rishtey that has made us the strongest challenger in the market. With Colors going free to air, we will neutralise the undue distribution advantage that  some of the other South Asian channels have enjoyed in the market, making it a level playing field. We are confident of being the leading South Asian network in the UK in the near future.”

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