MUMBAI: Singing talent show Indian Idol will for the first time embark on a search for new young voices as Sony launches Indian Idol Junior. The platform will open its doors to young singers between the ages of 5-15 as Indian Idol Junior starts its mission to showcase the best young singing talent in the country.

Sony has brought on board three members of the music industry - female playback singer and performer Shreya Ghoshal who was herself discovered in a talent hunt along with music director duo Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani.

Indian Idol Junior will be hosted by actor and anchor Mandira Bedi and television actor Karan Wahi.
Sony senior EVP and business head Sneha Rajani said, ?Indian Idol has been an exceptionally popular show and a hugely successful format for Sony. The idea was to give the show a fresh perspective as well as discovering newer talent horizons. Tomorrow?s singing superstars is what Indian Idol Junior will endeavour to showcase and we are delighted to have Vishal Dadlani, Shekhar Ravjiani along with Shreya Ghoshal as judges on the show.?

Indian Idol Junior is produced by the format owners Fremantle Media.

Mumbai: Sony Entertainment Television (Set) is launching a new show that aims to bring forth to its viewers the various facets of a progressive Indian woman.

Titled ?Chhanchhan?, the show will air every Monday to Thursday at 9 pm, starting 25 March.

Produced by Optimystix Entertainment, ?Chhanchhan? is replacing Shri Adhikari Brothers? Hongey Juda Na Hum which will go off-air after six months of airing.

?Chhanchhan? is the story of a girl named Chhanchhan (played by Sanaya Irani) who is by profession a dog trainer. She is an independent young woman, modern in her thought who stands up for what is right and raises her voice against all that is wrong.

Set in Ahmedabad, the show explores how the lead character Chhanchhan applies her intelligence, plays her cards well and sets a dysfunctional family that she marries into, back on track.

Set chief creative director Vivek Bahl said, "Chhanchhan is a powerful story of self-reliance, determination and family values told in a simplistic, real and light-hearted manner. The show captures every emotion of a young very fun loving who has been brought up with modern and ethnic values and she loves to practice them in her day to day life in her own way."

Talking about the performance of other shows on Set, Bahl said, "We have taken a curve with Anaamika. Amita Ka Amit didn?t start well but its picking up now and it?s too early to talk about Khoobsurat, which has just launched at 7.30 slot which is a very tough one. We are optimistic that the audience will accept Chhanchhan into their lives just the way they have embraced all the other Sony Entertainment Television characters before."

Optimystix producer Vipul Shah said, "We have had a long and fruitful relationship with Set, working on some landmark shows together. Chhanchhan is a young feisty woman of substance, who is modern in her outlook towards life yet deeply connected and rooted to her core values. She is very much the Indian woman of today and we hope that our viewers will love every bit of her character and welcome her into their homes."

The cast of the show includes Supriya Pathak, Sanaya Irani, Anang Desai, Arvind Vaidya, Shraman Jain and Arshima Thapar.

MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Television (SPT) will buy out private equity firm Capital International?s six per cent stake in Multi Screen Media (formerly known as Sony Entertainment Television India) to take full ownership of the Indian broadcasting company which is on a growth path.

Earlier, SPT had bought out 32 per cent stake of the Indian shareholders in Multi Screen Media (MSM) for $271 million, taking its shareholding to 94 per cent.

"We are going to buy out the six per cent stake of Capital International in MSM. We hope to do it by the end of this year," Sony Pictures Television president Worldwide Networks Andy Kaplan tells Indiantelevision.com.

Kaplan, however, ruled out a public listing of the company.

In 2000, Capital International had picked up eight per cent stake for $200 million.

Sony?s aggressive growth plans in India include the acquisition of regional broadcaster Maa Television Network. "We are working on it. It is a bit complicated. The acquisition will give us a foothold in the Telugu market," avers Kaplan.

In 2012, SPT entered into a strategic alliance with Hyderabad-based Maa Television Network to acquire a 30 per cent stake. Maa TV Network operates four Telugu-language channels.

Sony will also eye other regional acquisition opportunities in India. "We are looking at building on our own and acquiring companies. We are weighing both the options. We are looking at each region and trying to figure out what the best strategy is," Kaplan says.

In 2009, SPT acquired Bengali channel, Channel 8.

MSM?s other new growth pillar would be its sports broadcasting business. The company launched Six, a sports entertainment channel, last year. It has the Indian Premier League (IPL), cricket?s most lucrative property, as its driver content.

?We are also looking at other sports in which the audience interest will grow. We have the NBA rights and UFC, among others. We will be aggressive for the right property if we feel that it will be a good fit for our channel. But we will not overbid,? says Kaplan.

In terms of rights, he said that both cricket and movie acquisition costs from an industry perspective are on the higher side. ?We try to be aggressive but disciplined at the same time. India is the only market where we are in the sports genre. So it is unique for us in that sense."

Kaplan admits that India is a big international market for Sony. "As a TV market, India has been friendly towards outsiders," he says.