New Delhi, June 6

Salman Khan may be used to the uncertainty of a Friday opening in his now nearly two-decade-long film career, but this Friday was different. The actor made his debut in Sony’s new television game show 10 ka dum which has already found seven sponsors.

According to media buyers, the sponsors —Vodafone, consumer durables LG and Samsung, L’Oreal and Johnson and Johnson, P&G’s Gillete and ITC Bingo — are paying between Rs 3 crore and 4 crore each for their association. Sony, declining to share advertising rates, said the sponsors would take up 50 per cent of the inventory; the remaining spots are also doing well at Rs 1.75-2.5 lakh for 10 seconds, according to media buyers.

“Those who could not afford the DLF Indian Premier League are more than happy to be associated with this show. This is also the only big property on television currently, and Salman Khan’s debut,” explains Mr Javed Akhtar, Media Director, Indian Media Exchange. “It’s a huge show and we have promoted it heavily during our broadcast of the DLF IPL, and there is great buzz about the show. The format is very different, the other game shows require some kind of knowledge on the participant’s part, here it’s all about India and opinions and it’s much easier to play along,” says Mr Rohit Gupta, President, Network Sales, Licensing and Telephony, Multi Screen Media, (the network’s new name). “Salman Khan has a mass appeal that matches the show’s concept and his movies continue to do well, both of which will benefit the show,” he adds. The channel has also tied up with Zapak and Sify to market the show.

Taken from Business Line

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