After three editions of the hugely-successful Kaun Banega Crorepati, Sony TV has bought the rights for the show this year (earlier it was with Star Plus).
The channel aims for 100 per cent growth in its advertising revenue during the fourth season of KBC. Besides getting Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan (the host for seasons 1 and 2) back on the hot seat, the channel will tweak the format of the game-show a bit, while keeping the DNA of the show intact.
Sony Entertainment Television Vice-president (marketing) Danish Khan says: "KBC started a decade back. Now, India is faster than before. Thus, the current show demands innovation to get the viewers glued to it. While the basic format of the show will remain the same, there will be changes in the presentation of the show. And, unlike the earlier seasons, KBC-4 will continue for nine to 10 weeks."
Big Synergy, the production house, is currently assessing a fresh and reworked format to appeal to the audience and overcome viewer fatigue. Apart from reducing the number of questions from 15 to 12, Sony will also put a time limit for the contestants to answer the first few questions."
The Hindi general entertainment channel has already aired three phases of its campaign (Leo Burnett is the creative agency for the campaign) for KBC-4, while the fourth (last phase in the series) will go on air towards the end of this month announcing the date when KBC-4 will go on air. The first phase kick-started in July which revolved around the popular KBC tune with two promos.
More than 5 million contestants from across the country had registered to be a part of KBC-4 from which 1,233 registrations were shortlisted for the auditions that spanned across six cities.
The channel is eyeing a launch during Diwali. "We will start the show in between the last week of October or, the first week of November. This will be one of the big properties of the Dussehra and Diwali. While Cadburys is the presenting sponsor, KBC-4 will be powered by Idea; the associate sponsor is Tata Motors; the commercial division includes ACE, Axis bank, Videocon, Olive telecom and LG," adds Khan.
With a flurry of celebrity game shows on the small screen since KBC made its debut a decade ago, it remains to be seen if KBC-4 on Sony will create the same effect as it did for Star Plus. Also, Bigg Boss Season 4, according to reports, is slated to start during the same period on Colors.
