MUMBAI: Colors is targeting a revenue of Rs 600 million from its flagship reality show Fear Factor Khataron Ke Khiladi – Torchaar,according to sources.

Even as the Viacom18 Hindi general entertainment channel has moved the show to a ‘weekend slot’ this time with the original khiladi Akshay Kumar returning as host after a gap of one season, the ad sales team of Colors under Simran Hoon is working overboard to strike deals at a premium.

The channel has roped in six associate sponsors, apart from Thums Up as title sponsor. The six associate sponsors are Samsung Mobile which is for the first time coming on a non-fiction show on Colors, Amul Macho, Woodland Shoes, HUL (Sure deodorant, Kumar is also the brand ambassador), Samsonite suitcases and Mahindra & Mahindra Scorpio.

“KKK4 is one of the biggest properties on our channel and this time we have got time to finalise deals. We have stuck to our rates and all the inventories also have been sold out at a premium,” Colors national sales head Hoon said, while refusing to reveal how much the channel is expected to garner from the show.

However, some media experts Indiantelevision.com spoke to said it won’t be easy for KKK4 to earn more than Rs 450 million. “The ad market is not very buoyant now as a majority of advertisers have already spent a large chunk of their ad budget on cricketing events. It will be a huge task for the channel to get premium from advertisers on Khataron ke Khiladi,” a media buyer said on condition of anonymity.

He added that there are only 16 episodes and for the channel to earn Rs 600 million, each episode has to get Rs 37.5 million.

However, another media buying executive said that the coming back of Akshay Kumar would help the channel up the ad rates. In the last season with Priyanka Chopra as the host, the show had got a great beginning but the ratings subsequently dropped.

“Kumar has a certain daredevil persona and viewers have liked him in the past as the host of the show. The channel is hoping that Kumar repeats it for them this time; that is the only way it can charge a premium,” the executive added.

KKK4 was launched on 3 June and is being aired every Friday-Sunday at the 9 pm band.