Mobile is the way for Reality on Indian Television
Prashant Singh
Your Mobile Phone may hold the key to stardom. It can pave the way for you to become an Indian Idol or a celebrity millionaire. Some of the big players in the Mobile Phone industry are tying up with television channels to offer interactive services to their customers.
Airtel, Hutch and Idea have already jumped onto the bandwagon to make their 'customers feel empowered' by giving them an opportunity to become rich and famous overnight. While Airtel, in addition to the Super Selector on ESPN, has launched an interactive voice recording system for telephonic auditions for Indian Idol 2 and the game show KBC 2, Hutch has collaborated with MTV, National Geographic Channel and Star One for a chat show, a reality-based travel series and The Great Indian Laughter Challenge respectively. Idea has also tied up with music-based reality show Fame Gurukul being aired on Sony TV.
Says an Idea Cellular official, "Interactive shows on television are excellent image drivers. They provide us with an opportunity to instantaneously create high visibility."
Vikram Raizada, Vice-president, marketing and digital, MTV India, believes that such shows serve as an important tool in building and strengthening relationships with viewers. "Such shows are highly watched. The catchword here is 'interaction'. We have been interactive right from the word go," he says.
Affirms Senjam Raj Sekhar, head, corporate communications, Bharti Televentures, "Our recent initiatives with mass-based programmes like KBC 2 and Indian Idol 2 reflect our desire to deliver opportunities to customers."
"This new strategy is also pushing revenues for cellular operators in a big way. If Idea receives an average of 10,000 calls a day for Fame Gurukul, Airtel has already recorded over a million minutes from aspirants wanting to be the next Indian Idol. Idea Cellular company confirms that its subscriber base has witnessed a 10 per cent rise since the show started," says an SET India executive.
Ajay Vidyasagar, Vice-president, content and communication, Star India could not be contacted at the time of filing this story.
Your Mobile Phone may hold the key to stardom. It can pave the way for you to become an Indian Idol or a celebrity millionaire. Some of the big players in the Mobile Phone industry are tying up with television channels to offer interactive services to their customers.
Airtel, Hutch and Idea have already jumped onto the bandwagon to make their 'customers feel empowered' by giving them an opportunity to become rich and famous overnight. While Airtel, in addition to the Super Selector on ESPN, has launched an interactive voice recording system for telephonic auditions for Indian Idol 2 and the game show KBC 2, Hutch has collaborated with MTV, National Geographic Channel and Star One for a chat show, a reality-based travel series and The Great Indian Laughter Challenge respectively. Idea has also tied up with music-based reality show Fame Gurukul being aired on Sony TV.
Says an Idea Cellular official, "Interactive shows on television are excellent image drivers. They provide us with an opportunity to instantaneously create high visibility."
Vikram Raizada, Vice-president, marketing and digital, MTV India, believes that such shows serve as an important tool in building and strengthening relationships with viewers. "Such shows are highly watched. The catchword here is 'interaction'. We have been interactive right from the word go," he says.
Affirms Senjam Raj Sekhar, head, corporate communications, Bharti Televentures, "Our recent initiatives with mass-based programmes like KBC 2 and Indian Idol 2 reflect our desire to deliver opportunities to customers."
"This new strategy is also pushing revenues for cellular operators in a big way. If Idea receives an average of 10,000 calls a day for Fame Gurukul, Airtel has already recorded over a million minutes from aspirants wanting to be the next Indian Idol. Idea Cellular company confirms that its subscriber base has witnessed a 10 per cent rise since the show started," says an SET India executive.
Ajay Vidyasagar, Vice-president, content and communication, Star India could not be contacted at the time of filing this story.
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