Colors announces 'Khatron Ke Khiladi' with Arjun Kapoor as new host

Though the launch date for the show hasn't been revealed yet, Colors CEO Raj Nayak said that it would air in the prime time slot and have a fun element to it in the latest season

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Mumbai | October 30, 2015

Colors is gearing up for the seventh season of its adverure reality show 'Fear Factor - Khatron Ke Khiladi' and has roped in actor Arjun Kapoor as the new host. Kapoor replaces director Rohit Shetty, who had hosted the previous two seasons. The new season has a new theme – 'Kabhi Peeda, Kabhi Keeda'. Whilst the launch date for the show has been announced yet, the shooting will commence from November 2015. After shooting the last few seasons in Cape Town, South Africa, Colors will return to Buenos Aires, Argentina for the latest season. The channel has roped in Tata Motors as the presenting sponsor.

The 14 contestants who will challenge their fears are Tanisha Mukherji, Sidharth Shukla, Vivan Bhatena, Sana Saeed, real life couple Jay Bhanushali and Maahi Vij, Parvathy Omnakuttan, hockey player Yuvraj Walmiki, Aishwarya Sakhuja, Tina Dutta, Himanshoo Malhotra, Faisal Khan, Mukti Mohan and Raghav Juyal.

Commenting on the new host, Raj Nayak, CEO, Colors, said, “If TV is about mass appeal, then 'Khatron Ke Khiladi' is its ambassador as it brings together the perfect blend of fun, action, and entertainment delivered through eclectic, and often mind boggling combination of stunt and visuals. And the one actor who stands in absolute tandem with all these aspects is Arjun Kapoor. We welcome him into the Colors family and look forward to raising the levels of entertainment manifold. We would also like to welcome Tata Motors, who have extended their support to 'Khatron ke Khiladi - Kabhi Peeda, Kabhi Keeda' as the show's presenting sponsor.”

Commenting on the association, Delna Avari, Head - Marketing Communication & Service, Passenger Vehicles Business Unit,  Tata Motors, said, “We have embarked on a brand transformation journey and have associated with some exciting properties with Colors. We have now partnered with them for yet another youthful, high energy and an engaging property – 'Khatron Ke Khiladi' – as presenting sponsors to reach out to a different set of audience. The concept of the show is to push oneself to overcome new challenges, which resonates with our values as well. We have been producing and associating with very compelling campaigns which are simple yet powerful and will continue to do so.”

Arjun Kapoor, who makes his television debut, said, “I love action in all its forms. Be it daredevil stunts or intense action sequences in my films. The thrill and adrenalin rush which accompanies a well-planned stunt is an experience that cannot be put into words. With 'Khatron Ke Khiladi', I'm not only going to be performing stunts, but will also be involved in designing them and watching them come alive. And with the 'keeda' and 'peeda' concept, I'm definitely looking forward to having some mad fun with the contestants in Argentina.”

Speaking to select media, Nayak said that the channel had not decided on a launch date for the show yet, but added that it would aired during the prime time slot. In addition to the usual action, Nayak stated that the new season would also have fun element to it.

Post the integration of rural data into BARC ratings, free-to-air channels like Zee Anmol, DD National, and Star Utsav have seen a spike in their viewership. Colors' free-to-air channel Rishtey has been placed 10th in the last two weeks and has even beaten two premium Hindi GECs that were launched barely a year ago.

When queried as to what impact the rise in viewership of FTA channels would have on a premium channel like Colors, Nayak replied, “Once the rural data was integrated, the free-to-air channels were bound to grow. However, this will not impact our content strategy. I need to focus on what I am good at. I have to choose whether I want to make a 'Dil Chahta Hai', which is too niche, or whether I want to make a 'Dilwale Dulhaniya', which appeals to both. Or whether I should make 'Dabangg', which is extremely massy. I've realised that I don't want to be niche. So, I'm playing between 'Dilwale Dulhaniya...' and 'Dabangg'. I want to be mass, but I also want to be upmarket.”

Continuing further, Nayak said used an analogy to explain his thoughts, “Earlier, I used to sell sports. So, initially when we launched ESPN-Star Sports in this country, it was said that people only watch semi-finals and finals of tennis grand slam. When we started showing cricket, people used to only watch matches involving the India team. That's because Doordarshan only showed matches when India played. People never had a choice to watch. Now, gradually when you show them differentiated content, it will take time to percolate. Certain channels have a legacy, but now the competition is hot, I think it (viewership pattern) will change.”

When asked whether Colors would have any change in its pricing to reach out to the rural audience, Nayak replied, “We will recalibrate our pricing, but it will be on the higher side, and not lower. That is because we believe that we will be premium among many channels.”

Queried on the performance of 'Bigg Boss Nau' thus far, Nayak replied, “We are very happy with 'Bigg Boss Nau'. You will see some excitement as we go along. The contestants are settling down. As for the ratings, it's been the same as for the previous seasons. The new time slot hasn't impacted it.”

Info@BestMediaInfo.com

Info@BestMediaInfo.com