Mumbai: Popular reality show America?s Got Talent which airs on India?s No. 1 English Entertainment network, BIG CBS, has been rated as the No. 1 show amongst the top English General Entertainment Channels. The show which is simulcast on BIG CBS PRIME, LOVE and SPARK has become a top preference in English entertainment for viewers and has garnered a GRP of 3.14 among the Digital C&S SEC A Males 15+, 5 Metro audience, according to TAM ratings for Week 32.

Surpassing all leading shows on other English GECs to become the No.1 show, America?s Got Talent was leading with a GRP of 3.14. America?s Got Talent was followed by Excused which airs on BIG CBS LOVE, and ahead of Masterchef Australia, Two & A Half Men and The Simpsons (STAR World).

America?s Got Talent has also catapulted BIG-CBS Love to a leadership position above rivals STAR World and AXN in the weekly channel GRP race. Love garnered 5 GRPs in week 32, compared to 4.9 GRPs of AXN 4.1 GRPs of STAR World, 3.7 GRPs of BBC Entertainment and 3.6 GRPs of Comedy Central among Digital C&S SEC A Females 15+, 5 Metro audience

Talking about the same, Company Spokesperson said, ?We have seen a steady increase in the popularity of reality shows. Our offering of the latest-freshest-hottest with the most recent season of the international hit reality show America?s Got Talent has worked excellently with the upwardly mobile audiences seeking this content. Our decision to simulcast the show across the channels has paid off grabbing the necessary eyeballs and ensuring the show tops the charts! We will continue to offer our audiences a varied palette of the best international programs on our Channels.?

Currently, the talent based reality show is airing its sixth season in India. The show has a jury that comprises of famous personalities like Howie Mandel, Sharon Osbourne and Piers Morgan and airs every Monday to Thursday at 9pm.

The BIG-CBS Network plans to follow-up the success of America?s Got Talent with two of the biggest reality shows on global TV ? Latest Seasons of X-Factor USA and American Idol in the coming months.

Mumbai: DY Works, India?s oldest and largest brand strategy and brand design firm successfully collaborates with Film and Television Production company Sobo Films for the branding of their new show ? ?The Outsider?.

Sometime in early 2011, Sobo Films founders Vikas Gulati and Smruti Shinde met Tim Sebastian, one of television?s most awarded, revered and feared journalists who honed his craft with BBC?s Hard Talk and went on to create one of the most popular debate shows on TV, The Doha Debates. This meeting led to a realization that Indian television lacked any serious, unbiased, external viewpoint. The other opportunity that presented itself was the possibility of having India centric programming that would be relevant to a world audience.

Therefore the brief given to DY Works by Sobo Films was to craft an identity for the show that would use branding as a discipline of reaching out to viewers. The larger challenge was to create a brand that would not only cue the core content of the show for Indian viewers, but stand its ground while competing for a share of international viewership.

"DY Works has captured the real spirit of The Outsider - sharp, focussed and compelling. There?s a clarity and freshness about the interpretation that reflects perfectly the production values of the show," said Tim Sebastian, the host of the show.

As the project also evolved to include live voting by the studio audience (comprising of the Indian public, CEOs and graduates from premier institutes from all across the country), the footprint spread from Indian TV to global TV, the property also acquired a vibrant digital version (with online voting on the motion post the show). This wise audience base was also a layer that was added to the branding brief.

"Most indian news shows have been inward focussed. Most international media coverage about India is stereo-typed. Tim Sebastian?s "Outsider" presents, for the first time, a unique perspective into Indian minds and issues while making it relevant to both an Indian and an International audiences," said Alpana Parida, President, DY Works.

DY Works worked closely with the Sobo Films team and Tim Sebastian to capture the tone and attitude of the property, starting from a deep immersion which included hours of competition watching (both Indian and international), deconstructing the idea of format of the show i.e. a debate (from Plato to Chanakya to current college festivals), examining how Indians as a culture would take to the idea of a foreign journalist hosting an India centric news show and the subjects about India which were being shallow focused by media.

The name ?Outsider? came to be, from Tim?s unabashed personality and forth right questioning style and is designed to meet head on Tim?s external view of Indian affairs. The personality and tone of the brand is unbiased, non-judgmental and seeks to see the gut of the issues and ask razor sharp and incisive questions!

The DY Works design team went through several options before honing in to the eye with a glint design expression, set on a backdrop that is layered and dynamic. This visual language now drives the television set design and online engagement.

MUMBAI: Next week on ?Talk Asia?, Managing Director and CEO of ICICI Bank, Chanda Kochhar, talks to CNN?s Mallika Kapur about what it takes to become the first woman to manage India?s largest private bank. Recognized as one of the most powerful women in the world, the 50-year-old banker, wife and mother-of-two weighs in on whether women really can ?have it all? and explains why she leaves her womanhood at the office door. Kochhar also opens up about how she successfully steered ICICI through the financial crisis, why she?s confident ICICI will be counted among the world?s top twenty banks in the next decade, and her view on the Indian economy.

Airtimes: Indian Standard Time*
Friday, August 17 at 1500
Saturday, August 18 at 1730
Sunday, August 19 at 1100
Tuesday, August 21 at 1300
Thursday, August 23 at 1000

MUMBAI: MOVIES NOW, India?s No. 1 English Movie Channel, brings a revolutionary experience in High Definition with Avatar. Directed by James Cameron, Avatar has raised the bar of cinematic experience with its unique, charismatic and overwhelming characterization & path-breaking technology. Watch the Biggest Blockbuster ever made on August 15, 2012 at 12:00 noon and 9:00 pm only on MOVIES NOW.

Cameron took over a decade to make this epic masterpiece. The highest grosser ever, the movie has won over 70 awards in the year of release and been nominated for Nine Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director.

Capturing the imagination of the viewers like never before, Avatar explores the hidden secrets of the other world called Pandora. The man-made computer programme called Avatar, visits this exquisite land of mystery and adventure with their minds and transform into the most beautiful creatures called the Na?vis.

Known for its astute sense of marketing, MOVIES NOW has gone that extra mile to give its viewers a real experience of Avatar as the Na?vis take over. The channel is carrying out an extensive outdoor campaign across Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkatta, Bangalore and Chennai with impactful 3D illusion layout which provide an ecstatic life-like simulation and bring alive the experience of Avatar. The channel is also reaching out the youngsters across 50 Caf? Coffee Day outlets and 19 PVR Cinemas through innovative branding. Viewers can also catch a glimpse of the digital innovative campaign on www.facebook.com/moviesnow where Hollywood has turned into Na?vi Land!

Avatar is presented by Airtel, powered by Royale with Teflon in association with GE & New Ponds pure white & Kohler.

An absolute must watch this Independence Day at 12:00 noon and 9:00 pm only on MOVIES NOW

MUMBAI: 9X Media Group?s international music channel 9XO, will present a special segment called O Heart Madonna to celebrate the singer?s birthday on 16th August 2012. The ?O Heart Madonna? special programme will feature two of Madonna?s videos every hour, from her albums since the 1980?s right till her most current release ? ?Turn Up The Radio?.

Commenting on the initiative, Luke Kenny, Head of Programming 9XO said, ?A singer, song-writer, actor and an entertainer par excellence, Madonna is an influential figure in contemporary music and has composed some of the best international music. We at 9XO are celebrating Madonna?s birthday with the best sound tracks by the Diva of pop music. We have also created a video wall with her top selling album covers and a special packaging to commemorate Madonna?s birthday.?

9XO will also run an online contest on the Channel?s facebook page ? Facebook.com/9XO.in giving Madonna?s fans an opportunity to win her latest album titled ?MDNA?. 9XO viewers can also download Madonna?s full songs by typing ?MAD? from their mobile phones and sending the text message to ?56060?.

9XO ? I?m On!

Mumbai: Dr. B R Ambedkar was voted as the undisputed ?Greatest Indian? in the much anticipated quest spearheaded by HISTORY TV18 and CNN IBN. After weeks of fervent debate and speculation, the series culminated in a grand finale with eminent luminaries like Amitabh Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit-Nene, and IBN18 Editor in Chief Rajdeep Sardesai among others

The father of the constitution received an overwhelming majority of the nearly 2 crore votes cast since the launch of the initiative. He also garnered the second highest Jury votes in the 3 pronged process which gives equal weightage to the popular vote, a jury and an on-ground poll. Other ?Greats? in the Top 10 list included eminent Indians across its 65 years from Jawaharlal Nehru to Mother Teresa to Sachin Tendulkar. The voting created phenomenal buzz in popular social media networks ?which was used actively by various fan groups to drive voting, besides trending regularly on Twitter.

The grand finale, featuring some of the best known names, was replete with interesting anecdotes and incidents related to the ?Greats?. Besides discussion, it was also an occasion of celebration: The audience was mesmerized by the haunting voice of Kailash Kher singing his popular numbers like ?Teri Dewaani?, ?Yuhi Chala Chal Rahi? amongst others. Echoing the sentiment of all present, Amitabh Bachchan blogged about the event saying, ?Learning about these stalwarts in their fields, their contribution towards society and the country, the little and interesting anecdotes connected with them and what other greats thought of them. (All) in all a most substantial evening, one that is not encountered often.?

Commenting on initiative, Rajdeep Sardesai, Editor-in-Chief IBN18 Network said ?We?re overjoyed that this series has captured the nation?s imagination and are truly inspired by the levels of interest and debate generated. It?s great that figures from our past continue to inspire such a passionate response and we are happy to have played a small role in helping understand them better.?

Speaking on the occasion, Ajay Chacko, President, A+E Networks | TV18, stated, ?HISTORY TV18?s attempt has been to create interest across generations in the subject in an informal and entertaining way. This partnership with CNN IBN enables HISTORY TV18 to bring forth the inspiring figures over the years, who have had the maximum impact on the country?s present and future. India has always been identified as a cricket and Bollywood crazy nation, so it feels heartening to find nation builders and leaders topping the list, proving that the poll hit the right chord with people who?ve clearly realised its true purpose- to vote for iconic Great Indians who have impacted lives?

Myleeta Aga, General Manager & Creative Head of BBC Worldwide Productions India, said ?BBC Worldwide India is thrilled to have partnered with HISTORY TV18 and CNN IBN to bring the BBC format "The Greatest Indian" to the Indian audience. It has been a fantastic collaboration that culminated in a Grand Finale that we produced together and brought into focus inspiring Indians including Mother Teresa, Dr. Ambedkar and Jawaharlal Nehru. The series has broken records emulating the success of the series worldover.?

The entire process, one of the most thorough and meticulous in the industry, was audited by Grant Thornton. Along with the nationwide poll, equal weightage will be given to the jury?s selection as well as a separate market research poll conducted by The Nielsen Company.

The Grand Finale will be telecast at 14th Aug, 7PM and 15th Aug, 9PM on HISTORY TV18 and 14th Aug, 9PM and 15th Aug, 7PM on CNN IBN.