KBC to air on ETV Marathi

MUMBAI: After airing on Hindi general entertainment channels (GECs), big-ticket non fiction shows are travelling to regional-language channels. The latest to make this journey successfully is Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC), the Hindi version of the popular game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire.

Already exploited by Star India for its South Indian regional channels, KBC will now move to ETV Marathi.

The Marathi version of the show is titled Kon Hoeel Marathi Crorepati. ETV Marathi has secured the production and broadcast rights from format owner Sony Pictures Television and has partnered with Big Synergy to produce it on a "never-before-seen scale of participation and grandeur for Marathi viewers".

Kon Hoeel Marathi Crorepati will go on air in summer 2013. The show draws inspiration from KBC and stands for power of knowledge and education. It will offer the opportunity for every Marathi-speaking person to exercise their vast knowledge and possibly change their destiny through their participation in what has been called the most successful game show ever.

Says ETV Marathi Non Fiction head Amit Phalke, ?I am delighted to announce Kon Hoeel Marathi Crorepati, the world?s most popular format show, especially for Marathi Manoos. The show is a game changer, as it goes beyond the realm of entertainment and enters into a space that changes people?s destiny. We invite all Marathi viewers to the biggest and the most powerful game show so that they can put their knowledge to the test and have a fair chance to win the grand prize of rupees one crore?.

Big Synergy founder Siddhartha Basu avers, ?We are very optimistic and excited about our foray into Maharashtra with Kon Hoeel Marathi Crorepati. This is a culturally rich region, with its own history and highly developed literature, and people thirsting to prove themselves - which makes it a fertile ground for this life-changing knowledge game. Having broken ground in the southern and eastern regional markets of India with multilingual productions of Kaun Banega Crorepati, we are now looking forward to creating the same magic on ETV Marathi?.

Kaun Banega Crorepati has been made in Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Bangla and Bhojpuri. Besides being highly popular on Sony Entertainment Television as a Hindi show, KBC?s Kannada and Malayalam versions on Suvarna and Asianet channels have got high ratings.

Bigg Boss is another big-ticket show which ETV will be airing on its Kannada channel. Bigg Boss Kannada will show on ETV Kannada in March.