MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Television Networks, Asia has set its sight on its next original production ? *The Apprentice Asia* ? to be presented by Expedia, Hilton Hotels & Resorts and AirAsia.

?The Apprentice Asia? will premiere on AXN across 21 countries in Asia in the first half of 2013.

The Asian adaptation of the mega hit reality series will be hosted by aviation tycoon Tony Fernandes, with the production helmed by FremantleMedia Asia. The elimination competition format will pit Asia-based business executives against each other for the lucrative opportunity to work for one of business magnate Fernandes? businesses.

Sony Pictures Television Networks, Asia executive VP Ricky Ow says, ?AXN is the perfect platform for ?The Apprentice Asia?. The competitive nature and entrepreneurial spirit of the format combined with Tony?s dynamic personality, is sure to entertain Asian audiences. We are proud to partner with Mark Burnett, FremantleMedia, and Tony Fernandes and look forward to the debut of this enthralling and dramatic new pan-Asian original production on AXN.?

One of Asia?s youngest and most celebrated business leaders, Fernandes is the force behind Malaysian entertainment and leisure group Tune Group Sdn. Bhd, the parent company of low-cost airline AirAsia and the Caterham Formula One team. The ultimate dreamer, he also recently fulfilled his childhood dreams by acquiring English Premier League team Queens Park Rangers Football Club and British sports car manufacturer Caterham. In 2010, Fernandes was also named ?Asia?s Businessman of the Year? by Forbes Asia, with an estimated worth of $700 million.

Fernandes said, ?I?m excited to see how the UK and US versions of *The Apprentice* have inspired many entrepreneurs. With the diverse pool of talent in Asia, I hope to find one who dares to follow his dreams, and work for me.?

?The Apprentice? was created by reality TV guru Mark Burnett (The Voice, Survivor), with multi-billionaire Donald Trump as host and co-executive producer. The series has been a worldwide runaway success since its debut in the US in 2004.

Mark Burnett Productions senior VP of international distribution, production C. Scot Cru said, ?We?ve been waiting for just the right time to launch *The Apprentice Asia?. Now that Tony Fernandes is on board, we are looking forward to a great show. AXN is the one and only place I?ve wanted to have ?The Apprentice Asia?; their market dominance means that the maximum amount of people possible will be able to watch this series?.

MUMBAI: Sony Entertainment Television (Set) has appointed Vivek Bahl as its chief creative director. Bahl will be responsible for the overall programming of the Hindi general entertainment channel, which was operating without a programming head since Ajay Bhalwankar had left in June 2011.

He will be reporting in to Set Sr EVP and business head Sneha Rajani.

MSM COO NP Singh said, "Vivek?s entertainment experience and a cross-functional strategic perspective will enhance the growth of Set. On behalf of Sony Entertainment Network we look forward to a long and fruitful working association with him."

Bahl comes with over 25 years of experience in the entertainment industry. Prior to this, Bahl had a short stint at Viacom18 as network advisor - content.

Rajani said, "We are delighted to have Vivek Bahl on board. Vivek has great experience and knowledge of content across genres. I wish him all the success and good luck for his new assignment."

Bahl added, "I?m delighted to join Set and hope to provide valuable programming inputs in all genres of shows. This is an exciting and challenging role and I am honored that trust has been reposed in my abilities."

Prior to that he was with Turner International as its Chief Content Officer, overlooking the content strategy and development for Turner?s entertainment brands in India, including Imagine TV, Cartoon Network, Pogo and Warner Brothers. He has played various roles of creating, writing, programming, producing and directing entertainment content.

Prior to Turner, he was executive creative director for Star India and he co-produced the series ?Navya? for Star Plus. He has also worked with Mahuaa Network in a consulting role to set up their new regional channels and Zee TV.

Mumbai: Sony Entertainment Television (Set), the No. 2 Hindi general entertainment channel ,is gearing up to expand its prime time band with the launch of a new fiction show, Shubh Vivaah.

Starting 27 February, the new show will air Monday to Friday at 7.30 pm.

Multi Screen Media COO NP Singh said, ?The year 2012 began on a successful note with the launch of Kyaa Hua Tera Vaada. Our second fiction offering this year, Shubh Vivaah will enhance the existing bouquet of fiction shows on Set. With a robust roll out for both fiction and nonfiction slated right across the year, 2012 promises to be an exciting year for us.?

Set Sr EVP and business head Sneha Rajani added, ?Having consolidated our fiction line up between 8 pm ? 11 pm slot, with Shubh Vivaah we are now extending our offering further. The show, based in UP, has a compelling story line that will appeal to the audiences across Hindi heartland.?

Produced by UTV Television, the show talks about how middle class girls in India dream about marriage since their childhood and how each girl tries to find love and makes her marriage work.

UTV Television COO Santosh Nair said, ?Shubh Vivaah is an adaptation of the award winning Tamil show ?Metti Oli? and we are glad to bring this show to our Hindi audiences through Set. The show has a heart warming storyline which will definitely strike the right cord with the audience. We look forward to this show being another stupendous success like its Tamil counterpart.?

Eijaz Khan and Neha Janpandit are the leads of the show.

MUMBAI: Sony Entertainment Television (Set) has joined forces with soap factory Balaji Telefilms once again to launch a new fiction show, Kyaa Hua Tera Vaada.

Kyaa Hua? will premiere on 30 January at Monday-Friday 10 pm band, replacing Saas Bina Sasural, which is being shifted to 9 pm.

Set was airing two fiction shows - Dekha Ek Khwaab and Parwarish - for 45 minutes each. Starting 30 January, the shows will run for 30 minutes, vacating the 9 pm slot.

Multi Screen Media COO NP Singh said, ?With the incredible performance of all our fiction shows, we are ready for the next level of growth with a fresh lineup of interesting shows.?

Set senior EVP and business head Sneha Rajani added, ?Kyaa Hua Tera Vaada marks another milestone in our relationship with Balaji. At Set, our endeavor is to pick up shows that are engaging with the characters, language and the environment to which today?s Indian families can relate. We strongly believe in connecting with our audience at an emotional level. We are confident that Kyaa Hua Tera Vaada at 10 pm with a relatable and endearing concept will connect with the viewers and will further strengthen our hold on the prime time slot and also consolidate our position as the second most popular general entertainment channel in India.?

The show follows the story of a married couple with three growing children. It traces the rise and fall of love and togetherness in a typical Indian married couple, whose time and attention for each other survives the vagaries and demands of life?s problems. Mona Singh returns to fiction shows after a hiatus of almost seven years opposite Pawan Shankar who plays her husband Pradeep Singh.

Balaji Telefilms joint MD Ekta Kapoor said, ?After Bade Acche Laggte Hai ruling the charts, we at Balaji are all geared up for yet another interesting show ? Kyaa Hua Tera Vaada which celebrates marriage after 10 years. Through this show we want to show our viewers how the relationship between a husband and wife changes through time but love remains constant. I am extremely delighted to take the relationship with Sony Entertainment Television to another level with the launch of Kyaa Hua Tera Vaada and hope that we are able to create magic together once again.?

MUMBAI: More music, a mood-based daypart strategy and a focused distribution is Sony?s gameplan as it launches its music channel in a crowded marketplace that is struggling to grow audiences as well as revenue.

For Multi Screen Media (MSM), the launch of Mix on 1 September comes after a gap of five years (English movie channel Pix was launched in 2006).

MSM COO NP Singh said, "A music channel is the natural progression for Sony as we now have two strong Hindi GECs in the network."

To break the clutter, Mix will tap into older audiences in the morning and late night hours while sticking to the core youth viewers that advertisers look for in music channels. The channel will have 30 per cent of its content targeted at the 24-44-year-olds.

"Though music channels are predominantly youth focused, there is a secondary TG of 25-44 years that is largely underserved. We will have 30 per cent of our content for the secondary TG. We have cleverly divided the content in different day parts and will serve music which will enhance the mood of the hour," Singh averred.

Armed with a music library of over 3000 tracks, Mix plans to play three times the music that other channels do. "On an average, other music channels play around 250 songs per month. We will play 750 songs. Our content is much more than what others play or show," Mix EVP and business head Neeraj Vyas said.

Mix?s challenge is to increase the time spent on music channels. "Time spent on music channels at present is abysmally low, around 25 minutes per week. We intend to grow it with our content," Vyas said.

On the distribution front, MSM will focus heavily on markets like Maharashtra, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat from where it expects more stickiness to come.

Vyas said, "Among the HSM also, we are following a different
distribution and promotion strategy. More focus will be on
Maharashtra, MP and Gujarat, which will increase the time spent on our channel. Though Delhi is a big Tam market, in terms of time spent it is very low. Similarly, West Bengal and Punjab are not our focus."

Mix, which comes with a tagline of Dekho, Suno, Gungunao (watch, listen, hum), has chalked out a theme-based scheduling strategy to suit the need of the hour.

The channel will have different time bands playing out to the
different moods. Its aim: to encourage appointment viewing, something which music channels have not been able to address. Mix VP and head programming Alleyah Asgghar said, "It is all about scheduling the content. Many channels put random playlist of songs where viewers lose interests if the tone of the music suddenly changes. No one likes a Sheela Ki jawani at 7 am in the morning."

Mix will air Arziyan, a segment on devotional music, every morning at the 7-8 am time band, followed by Surili Subah (8 am to 12 noon, Monday - Friday).

On weekdays, the 12-3 pm slot is given to Ishq Vishq, a segment that will target housewives with love songs. The 3-6 pm band will be Mix Adda, playing more contemporary music, while 6-8 pm will be Mix Music Madness, airing peppy numbers.

The channel is also getting back the format of weekly countdown, which will be aired every Friday at 8-9 pm under the segment Badmash 20.

From 10 pm till midnight, Mix will play old songs in the show Raina Beeti Jaye.

In the special programming segment, the channel will have Mix Musicians on Sundays (8-9 pm). It will tell the stories of music directors, singers, lyricists etc.

Mix will also air a special show - Yun bana Song with Swanand Kirkire, wherein the lyricist will tell the story behind the formation of songs.

In addition, Mix will also have six factoids every hour, revealing trivia details about the songs. It will play 10-12 full length songs per hour and trailers for three minutes.

MSM has started promoting Mix on its network channels - Set, Sab, Max and Pix. The second phase of promotions will start from 1 October. The focus will again be more regional.

Mix has shot 35 commercial films, airing on the network channels at present.

The logo, brand film and creatives of the channel are created in-house, while OMD is the media agency of Mix.