The Star India team, along with Kaun Banega Crorepati anchor Amitabh Bachchan and producer Siddharth Basu, yesterday presented to the media Vijay Raul and wife Arundhati, the first Crorepatipatni winners of the jackpot prize Rs 10 million. Star broke the news while providing details of KBC Junior, which premiers on Sunday, 6 May at 10 am.

Coincidentally or otherwise, the episode featuring the two winners will be telecast the very next day, 7 May at 9 PM on Star Plus.

The first winners of the ‘Crorepatipatni‘ format of KBC where husband and wife contest as partners on the gameshow hail from Rourkela in the eastern state of Orissa. While Raul is a chief assistant engineer at GAIL in Rourkela, Arundhati is a homemaker.

"They were a most unassuming couple, and I least expected them to win," Bachchan said. "In fact I was under the impression that they probably wouldn‘t get past Rs 10,000. But they certainly took me by surprise once they were on the hotseat," he said.

KBC Junior is organised around young participants between the ages of 10 to 18. "My heart was palpitating, I am still weak-kneed after having shot two episodes continuously," said Bachchan in a light vein while expressing how he felt hours after the shoot of two episodes with a bunch of enthusiastic and precocious children.

To arrest the fall in KBC‘s popularity, Star, as part of a strategic move, shifted the Thursday show of KBC to Sunday placing it at an apt spot when other competing channels air mythological programmes. The programme has received a good response from the advertisers, said Sameer Nair, executive vice president programming Star Plus. While Compaq is giving away a personal computer to any child who makes it to the hotseat, irrespective of whether he is a winner or not, the channel has promised gifts to the 10 final participants. The channel is optimistic about getting a positive response for the programmes and are expecting a two digit TRP rating for the show, said Nair.

According to Basu KBC Junior has received an overwhelming response, with over 600,000 phone calls in the three days lines were open.

MTV, in its continuing efforts at targeting the youth in all possible ways, yesterday launched CO-branded credit cards in association with Citibank India and Mastercard in a typically MTV style fun-packed function in south Mumbai.

Alex Kuruvilla, MD, MTV India, while unveiling the card, said: "The launch of the credit card in association with Citibank is one step ahead in the ‘MTV 360 degree brand juggernaut‘ which we initiated this time last year when we were known only as music channel. After one year, I am happy to say that successful initiatives like the MTV Style clothes range, MTV Youth website as well our tie-up with Planet M have prompted us to take the next step."

When asked what the tie-up with Citibank for providing the credit card service involved, he said: "We will basically be providing all kinds of marketing expertise like making promos and all the creative work will be done by us. All our events will be used to promote the card. We will be using the channel to promote sales." About how MTV would add value to the card he said it would add tremendous value as "we will be bringing lots of relations like the cardholder will get special discounts on the MTV Style clothing range and special events organised by us like the MTV concerts. So apart from the general discounts and facilities provided he will be getting much more value addition."

About the expected response to the cards he said: "Our target customer is the youth and that is the single largest growing segment in the market. We have established ourselves strongly in this segments, so we will definitely help in promoting the new venture. MTV will not invest separate funds for the project. We will not add to our workforce or set up a new team but make use of the present set-up only."

Actual ground marketing and all other backend services like processing, service, billing etc will be done by Citibank. Talking on the new venture Atul Malik, director marketing (cards), Citibank India said: "We have looked at it as a product for the ‘Young at Heart.‘ Even the appearance of the card is very colourful and different from the regular cards. We have tied up with 100 outlets in Mumbai covering book stalls, pubs, gyms, etc. which are like regular hangout points for the youth where they will get discounts which is an added attraction for the customer."

Initially, the service will be started in Mumbai and then will be taken to Delhi, Bangalore and Pune in a phased manner. The yearly fees is Rs 750 and the features are the same as the Citibank Silver International card.

"We have set ourselves a target of selling 50,000 cards for the year," Malik said. MTV has plans to take it to other cities in future. Both parties were tightlipped about the revenue sharing arrangement between MTV and Citibank.

The first card was handed over to Bollywood actor Ajay Devgan by Nanoo Pamnani, CEO and global consumer bank head, Citibank India.

A point that was emphasised more than once at the recently concluded FICCI-Frames 2001 convention in Mumbai was that 80 per cent of programming on Indian television centred around the film industry.

Working on this as well as India‘s love with all things cricketing, Max, part of the Sony Entertainment Television bouquet, yesterday announced a new signature for the channel - "Where your Heroes Belong". Max will be where "the world of Hindi cinema and cricket share a common platform," Kacon Sethi, executive vice-president and general manager - Max, said.

Included in the package that make up the new-look channel are a host of new film-based shows, Sethi said, stressing that Sony saw Max as its channel driver and not as an appendage of SET. This could be seen from the kind of effort and investment that was being devoted to Max, Sethi said.

Max is looking at selling itself in a much more aggressive manner in the coming months, Sethi asserted. It is also planning at increasing its subscription rates by between 30 and 40 per cent before the year is out, according to her.

The channel hopes to hit the jackpot with the rights for recent Hindi blockbusters like Mohabbatein, Kaho Na Pyaar Hai, Mission Kashmir and Hera Pheri for which it has paid an undisclosed amount. Sony officials in private say a big blockbuster costs an average of Rs 50 million. Sony is reported to have paid Rs 150 million for the library of films made by top producer-director Yash Chopra.

On the cricket front, Sethi said Max had 33 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and 18 Tests lined up giving a total of 123 days of live action. Included in the roster is an upcoming three-ODI "masala" series Sony has organised in Mumbai which pits left-handed international cricketers against right-handed ones.

Other than that, cricket featuring India will be seen on Max only in August and September when Sri Lanka plays host to India for a three-Test series in August, to be followed by a ODI tri-series which includes New Zealand.

In terms of revenue this is significant. Sethi said if India had not pulled out of the recently held Sharjah tourney, Sony expected revenues in the region of Rs 300 million. A seven-match international ODI series without India could be expected to bring in anything between Rs 70 million to Rs 150 million, Sethi said. When asked how much the Sharjah series earned, she would only say the figure was in the mid-range.