MUMBAI: Sab, the family entertainment channel, is launching the second seasons of two of its silent comedy shows on 15 December.

?Chintu Ban gaya Gentleman? and ?Gutur Gu Season 2? will air every Saturday and Sunday at 8 pm and 8.30 pm respectively.

According to the channel, the two shows are similar in approach as they both explore the genre of silent comedy but different in concept and story line.

Sab EVP and business head Anooj Kapoor said, "This is the second season of Gutur Gu and Chintu Bang aya Gentleman. Gutur Gu season 1 was listed in the Limca Book of records for being world?s longest running silent comedy. Sab was the first and only channel to successfully produce silent comedies in India. These shows, made like others on SAB, will attract family audience while offering, once again, a unique and clutter breaking product experience."

?Gutur Gu Season 2? continues to have Bhavna Balsavar in one of the pivotal roles. The story revolves around her family and their antics.

Meanwhile, ?Chintu Ban gaya Gentleman? goes international and is all about Chintu, the lead protagonist, travelling to various countries and winning the hearts of the people he encounters with his charm.

MUMBAI: Sab is launching a board game SABurbia.com. In order to engage its viewers, Sab already runs the game SABurbia.com on Facebook. This board game is an extension of that.

According to the channel, SABurbia.com is made with the belief that given the right flow, old-fashioned board games are still enjoyable and entertaining in the age of console and online gaming. This game is channel?s attempt to personalise fiction content and provide a chance to the fans to interact with their favourite characters in their characteristic styles.

The main objective was to create a game where the entire family comes together and plays, thus going with the brand belief "Asli Mazaa Sab Ke Saath Aata Hai!".

Sab business head Anooj Kapoor said, "Consumers now have come to a point where they expect that they will be exposed to various activities of television channels. With this SABburbia.com and its board game we are trying to create more touchpoints for the consumers. The idea is to give the consumer a brand experience in a way that he was not expecting."

Kapoor added that Sab will keep looking at fresh initiatives to engage with existing and prospect consumers. The channel has also planned apps of its various characters. They already have cartoon strips printed in newspaper. But there will be Sab shows? characters who will be talking in their way like popular Tom cat does. The apps will be available for androids and Smartphones.

SABurbia.com has its premise set in the city of SABurbia, which is inhabited by all the popular Sab characters like Jetha, Daya, Taarak Mehta, Gadha Prasad and Chandramukhi Chautala. The city is in search of a Mayor ? one who bonds well with all of them and gains their goodwill. In the game, the players compete to become the Mayor of SABurbia.

Another feature of the game is the introduction of mobile zones. These are "special" zones in the way that when a player lands on them, he has the option of SMSing saburbia to 52525. As a response, he may be rewarded, penalised or given a task. It is like a wheel of fortune with myriad options.

Sab has joined hands with Pegasus International (Indian toy and board game maker, operating with the brand name ?Toy Kraft?) for the manufacturing and distribution of the game.

The game will be available in 42 major cities in leading stores like Landmark, Crossword, Hamleys, Shoppers Stop, Planet M. The cities include key markets like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Gurgaon, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Bhopal, Indore, Baroda and Jaipur.

In its initial roll-out, a total of 2000 pieces will be available in stores.

The game will be promoted on television, print and outdoor digital media. Moreover, on-ground activations will also be carried out in malls to generate curiosity and buzz around the product.

NEW DELHI: Around five to six per cent of the budget for every show on Sab is put aside for advertising and marketing that series, said Sab EVP and business head Anooj Kapoor.

Claiming Sab was the only TV channel in the world solely dedicated to comic series and the only one to earn a 500 per cent profit in the last five to six years, Kapoor said the channel had removed only two or three shows in the past five years and the rest continued to have a long run.

Speaking on the sidelines of a press meet to announce its latest sitcom ?Jeannie Aur Juju? starring funster Ali Asghar and petite Giaa Manek, he said that the channel had found that its weakest slot was the 8 pm slot since the adults - particularly the males - began seeing their TV only after 8.30 pm. This was the reason for filling that slot with a series that would appeal to children, ?Baalveer?.

He said that the channel always commenced its series with allotment of 104 episodes, but then increased this if the series proved popular.

?Jeannie Aur Juju?, which will be telecast from 29 October on weekdays at 9.30 pm, is the first series on this channel to be based on a foreign series: the supremely popular American sitcom of the 80s with a fantasy premise called ?I dream of Jeannie?. The show used to be aired in India, in the 90s, after being dubbed in Hindi.

The basic story is that of a pilot who finds a bottle on an island where his plane has crashed. On opening this bottle, he releases a beautiful genie who has been imprisoned in that bottle for 2000 years. The pilot already has a fianc? who is daughter of his boss, but this genie falls in love with him even as she fulfills his wishes, leading to some hilarious situations.

Sticking mostly to the original content and story of the show originally created and produced by the legendary author Sidney Sheldon, the Indian adaptation on Sab will suitably Indianise the situations, Kapoor said. He added that unlike the American series which had a different situation in each episode, the Indian series had been adapted to suit the daily telecast format.

Addressing the press meet earlier, he said "It is a romantic comedy and is sure to win hearts instantly. The concept will appeal to all ages and it?s a complete family entertainer. The kids would love the magic and mischief while the adults can relish the emotional layers and the humour. And all this is further enhanced by special effects and entertaining visual gimmickry."

Asghar said that though he took part in several reality shows as a stand up comedian, he found acting in series more difficult since it had to be a running story.

Gia and Ali are supported by a host of acclaimed artists like Kurush Deboo, Shoma Anand,Jatin Mukhi etc who play pivitol roles in the show.

MUMBAI: Sab, the second Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) from Sony Entertainment Network, is launching a new show to target kids.

Titled ?Baal Veer?, the show will premiere on 8 October and will air Monday to Friday at 8 pm.

The channel had earlier launched properties like ?Ring Wrong Ring? and ?Gilli Gilli Gappa? to target kids.

?Baal Veer? is being produced by Optimystix.

Sab TV EVP and business head Anooj Kapoor said, "It?s a very large scale venture from our side which is a mythical fiction. We have upped the production value and quality and even the scale at which TV shows are made today. It?s a landmark show for Sab TV as its a totally new genre of magic and special effects. A family entertainer and a visual delight, all in one!"

It is a show about a child bestowed with godly powers, who shuttles between earth and fairyland. His sole motive is to save young kids like himself, from bullies and any injustice against them. In the course of his travel between the two realms is when he meets two earthlings, Manav and Meher, who eventually become his dear friends. Manav and Meher are often troubled by older kids and treated insensitively. Baal Veer comes to their rescue with the powers of his wand causing much comic mayhem in the process but as the proverb goes, all is well as it eventually ends well.

NEW DELHI: Sony Pictures has been permitted by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to buy out the Indian promoters in Multi Screen Media as it feels that the "proposed combination is not likely to have an appreciable adverse effect on competition in India".

The Commission gave its approval under Section 31 (1) of the Competition Act, noting that the approval is without prejudice to any other legal/statutory obligations and will stand revoked if the information provided by the parties is found to be incorrect.

The Commission said: "Upon consummation of the proposed combination, the shareholding of Sony In MSM will increase from 62 to 94.39 per cent and thereafter, the acquirers will make MSM India undertaken any action including those mentioned in the Shareholders Agreement for which currently the consent/approval of the sellers - Atlas Equifin and Grandway Global Holdings would be required."

Thus, the combination will result in transfer from joint to sole control for the purposes of the Combination Regulations.

Sony Pictures Television (SPT), a wholly owned subsidiary of the US-based Sony Pictures Entertainment, had in June inked a deal with these shareholders to acquire 32 per cent stake for $271 million.

The seven Indian promoters, including Singapore-based investment banker Rakesh Agarwal, Shemaroo Films managing director Raman Maroo, World Media Group‘s Sudesh Iyer, actor Jackie Shroff and businessman Sadanand Sule, together own 32 per cent in the broadcaster via their consortium company Atlas Equifin and Grandway Global Holdings.

After the acquisition, the remaining six per cent will be held by international fund Capital International Group.

The deal is subject to government approval and the transaction will be completed by the end of December.

According to MSM CEO Manjit Singh, acquisition of the shares will be made in stages, with $145 million (about Rs 8.09 billion) expected to be paid by SPT by the end of December. The remaining $126 million will be paid in three equal annual installments starting from the fiscal year ending March 2014.

MSM runs eight channels: Sony TV, Max, Sab, Sony Pix, AXN, Animax and the recently launched music channel Mix and sports channel Six.