Indiantelevision.com Team

(31 December 2009 8:30 pm)

MUMBAI: Star World, the English general entertainment channel (GEC) from Star India, is set to launch the third season of Ugly Betty, come 1 January.

Targeting the younger demographic, the one-hour show will be telecast from Monday to Friday at 10 pm.

Says Star World VP-programming Jyotsna Viriyala, "The show will replace the fifth season of Desperate Housewives. Once the season for Ugly Betty gets over, we will get Desperate Housewives back onto the slot with its sixth season."

As part of the marketing initiative, the channel has tied up with Elle, the leading fashion magazine in India. As a part of the partnership, the channel is running a contest to find the Betty Of Elle wherein one winner will get the chance to intern at Elle and win a cash reward of Rs 50,000.

Earlier, an Ugly Betty cutout was placed in agencies wherein people could get themselves clicked with Ugly Betty and frame their pictures to be placed on their tables.

Those who opt to get themselves clicked automatically qualify to be a part of a lucky draw. Five lucky winners per agency get and vouchers worth Rs 1000. The activity was carried out in 11 media buying agencies across Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore.

Internet activities were initiated through SMOs; the Star World page on Facebook, Orkut and Twitter was populated with Ugly Betty related updates. Blogs were also created and one blogger given a wildcard entry to intern with Elle. This is apart from the microsite created for 'The Star World Betty of Elle contest'.