Television broadcaster Viacom18 said on Wednesday it will launch two English language general entertainment channels — Colors Infinity in standard definition and Colors Infinity in high definition.
Colors Infinity will now compete with the other premium English content channel Star network’s Star World Premiere which telecasts television shows, almost on a par with the US and other European markets.
Television advertising is estimated to be Rs 22,446 crore, as per GroupM’s This Year Next Year Report of 2015. English entertainment channels account for less than Rs 3,000 crore currently, but this is tipped to grow over 15-20% annually, media buyers say.
Like Star World Premiere, Colors Infinity is attempting to address Indian audiences that want to keep up with the seasons being watched on the US television.
According to Ferzad Palia, executive vice-president and head, English entertainment, Viacom18 television is at an inflection point and is fast overtaking the business of films in countries like the US. “We have never had as many television series produced in one go. “The number of US television shows has expanded 400% in the last five years.
From 70 shows, it has gone up to over 450 shows. Because of the level of monetisation of television shows overseas, the scale is immense. The kind of money spent by studios on pilots runs into millions of dollars.” Palia said. Their prospects look good in India as the English language is now becoming mainstream.
