MUMBAI: Viacom 18-owned general entertainment channel Colors has entered into a long-term broadcast agreement with Times Group for its coveted beauty pageant Femina Miss India.

Sony Entertainment Television, the GEC from the Multi Screen Media group, was the incumbent broadcast partner for the event, which completed its 50 years recently.

According to a Colors spokeswoman, Femina Miss India 2013 will be telecast live for the first time in the annual event?s history. The GEC broadcaster will also have the right to sell on-air sponsorship.

The title sponsor of the event has also changed hands with Pond?s jumping in as the title sponsor to replace Pantaloons that was the title sponsor for almost five years beginning 2007. Incidentally, Pond?s was the title sponsor of the beauty pageant for almost three years prior to Pantaloons.

Along with the broadcaster and title sponsor, the logo of the event has also undergone a change and will have a new sound track too. PC Jewellers, contemporary and traditional jewellery maker, has joined hands with Ponds Femina Miss India 2013 as the Crown & Jewellery Partner.

Commenting on the acquisition, Colors CEO Raj Nayak said, "We are excited to showcase Femina Miss India?s 50 year milestone journey on Colors as we see a perfect synergy between both brands and audiences. Colors? is synonymous with content that is different and inspiring and therefore, we are happy to welcome Femina Miss India in our bouquet of unique event offerings. As our core audience is the woman, we hope the progressive imagery resonates and inspires them."

Hindustan Unilever VP Skincare Arun Srinivas said, "Pond?s, an iconic beauty brand, has been offering every Indian woman a reason to look and feel beautiful for many decades now. Femina Miss India, the renowned beauty pageant platform, celebrates Indian beauty delivering recognition to beautiful women and helping many others live their dreams through these inspirational role models."

To ensure national representation at the pageant and to encourage participation of contestants from across India in its 50th year, auditions and selections will be initiated from all regions across India, with seven City Pageants being held in Pune, Goa, Indore, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chandigarh & Delhi which will ultimately culminate into the grand Finale in Mumbai.

The winner of the city pageants will get a lifetime opportunity to fast track to the finals at the grand finale of Pond?s Femina Miss India 2013.

Mumbai: Comedy Central has announced an array of programmers for its viewers.

A poll on Comedy Central‘s Facebook page decided the top shows as fans voted for the ones they wanted to watch once again and the two shows that emerged as winners were -‘Seinfeld‘ and ‘That 70‘S Show‘

Starting 17 September, the two shows will air 9 pm onwards.

The fans of Seinfeld also stand a chance to win merchandise that‘s signed by Seinfeld himself. The lucky winners will be picked through a Facebook contest.

Also, just introduced on the channel is a ‘Teen Block‘ with shows like ‘World Palooza‘ and ‘Pranked‘ and will soon also air ‘Jackass‘, catering "exclusively" to the teen audience.

Viacom 18 Media SVP and GM - English entertainment Ferzad Palia said, "We are bringing two of the most popular comedy shows back on Comedy Central. The shows have done well for us and we are sure our viewers would love to have them back. We‘re confident that the impressive programming line-up coming up will keep the laughter quotient high as always."

Apart from the return of the two popular shows, Comedy Central will also reload fresh seasons of ‘The Exes‘ and ‘30 Rock‘, amongst others.

Seinfeld is an American television sitcom. Set predominantly in an apartment block in New York City‘s Manhattan‘s Upper West Side, the show features a host of Jerry‘s friends and acquaintances, in particular best friend George Costanza, former girlfriend Elaine Benes, and neighbor across the hall Cosmo Kramer.

That ‘70s Show is an American television period sitcom that centers on the lives of a group of teenage friends living in the fictional suburban town of Point Place, Wisconsin, from May 17, 1976, to December 31, 1979.

The Exes is an American comedy television series. Divorce attorney Holly (Kristen Johnston) introduces her client, Stuart (David Alan Basche), to his new roommates: two other divorced men who share an apartment that Holly owns. At first Phil (Donald Faison) and Haskell (Wayne Knight) have reservations about Stuart moving in, but Holly is right across the hall to help when things start to go downhill. The series is created by Mark Reisman.

30 Rock is an American television comedy series created by Tina Fey. The series, which is loosely based on Tina Fey‘s experiences as head writer for Saturday Night Live, takes place behind the scenes of a fictional live sketch comedy series depicted. The series‘ name refers to 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City, the address of the GE Building, in which the NBC Studios are located.