(16 February 2010 8:30 pm)

MUMBAI: Viacom18 Media, the joint venture between Viacom Inc. and Network 18 Group, has officially announced the launch of its flagship Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) Colors in the UK.

The channel, which was soft launched in UK on 25 January, is available on sky platform’s EPG No 829.

The GEC, which was recently launched on Dish Network in US as Aapka Colors, will be available free-to-air for some time in UK and then subsequently will be added to the ViewAsia package. Colors brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan will front the channel in the UK.

The channel will offer a blend of entertainment programmes, from reality and drama series through to comedy, game shows, and Bollywood films.

“After having successfully consolidated our leadership position in India, I have no doubt that we will be able to replicate our success in key international markets like US and UK as well. One of our key strategies for UK is that there will be no lag in the telecast of episodes versus India thus ensuring that the viewers in this market are always up to speed with all of our key shows,” Viacom18 COO and Colors CEO Rajesh Kamat said in a statement.

Viacom18 Board Director and MTV Networks International’s Emerging Markets group MD and EVP Bhavneet Singh added, “Our aim is to bring compelling and innovative programming to all Hindi audiences outside the Indian sub-continent, across all generations. There is a huge appetite for Hindi language entertainment and we are confident that Colors will quickly become the ultimate family entertainment destination for Asian communities across the UK.”

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