MUMBAI: Viacom 18-owned general entertainment channel Colors has entered into a long-term broadcast agreement with Times Group for its coveted beauty pageant Femina Miss India.

Sony Entertainment Television, the GEC from the Multi Screen Media group, was the incumbent broadcast partner for the event, which completed its 50 years recently.

According to a Colors spokeswoman, Femina Miss India 2013 will be telecast live for the first time in the annual event?s history. The GEC broadcaster will also have the right to sell on-air sponsorship.

The title sponsor of the event has also changed hands with Pond?s jumping in as the title sponsor to replace Pantaloons that was the title sponsor for almost five years beginning 2007. Incidentally, Pond?s was the title sponsor of the beauty pageant for almost three years prior to Pantaloons.

Along with the broadcaster and title sponsor, the logo of the event has also undergone a change and will have a new sound track too. PC Jewellers, contemporary and traditional jewellery maker, has joined hands with Ponds Femina Miss India 2013 as the Crown & Jewellery Partner.

Commenting on the acquisition, Colors CEO Raj Nayak said, "We are excited to showcase Femina Miss India?s 50 year milestone journey on Colors as we see a perfect synergy between both brands and audiences. Colors? is synonymous with content that is different and inspiring and therefore, we are happy to welcome Femina Miss India in our bouquet of unique event offerings. As our core audience is the woman, we hope the progressive imagery resonates and inspires them."

Hindustan Unilever VP Skincare Arun Srinivas said, "Pond?s, an iconic beauty brand, has been offering every Indian woman a reason to look and feel beautiful for many decades now. Femina Miss India, the renowned beauty pageant platform, celebrates Indian beauty delivering recognition to beautiful women and helping many others live their dreams through these inspirational role models."

To ensure national representation at the pageant and to encourage participation of contestants from across India in its 50th year, auditions and selections will be initiated from all regions across India, with seven City Pageants being held in Pune, Goa, Indore, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chandigarh & Delhi which will ultimately culminate into the grand Finale in Mumbai.

The winner of the city pageants will get a lifetime opportunity to fast track to the finals at the grand finale of Pond?s Femina Miss India 2013.

New Delhi: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has extended till 24 September the date for comments by stakeholders on its draft amended regulations with regard to advertisements on television channels.

Trai has reiterated in the draft amendments that the advertisement duration ceiling of twelve minutes per hour announced by it on 14 May this year was as mandated by the central government.

TRAI said in a statement on Tuesday that the decision to extend the period for comments was taken at the request of stakeholders. The amended regulations were issued on 27 August and responses were sought by 11 September.

In the amended regulations, while TRAI suggested that the restriction on maximum duration of advertisements carried in the programmes of a TV channel shall be regulated on a clock hour basis, it brought live telecast of sports into the ambit of the regulations.

The draft regulation "Standards of Quality of Service (Duration of Advertisements in Television Channels) (Amendment) Regulations, 2012" said the provisions in the Cable TV Networks Rules 1994 with regard to the maximum duration of advertisements that can be carried per hour cannot be applied differently for different hours of the day, thereby discriminating the consumers? viewing experience depending upon the hour of the day.

Noting that the duration and the format of advertisements on TV channels were generally not in accordance with the provisions laid down in the advertising code under the Rules, TRAI had on 16 March this year issued a consultation paper, "Issues related to Advertisements in the TV channels", with the primary objective of striking a balance between giving a consumer a good TV viewing experience and protecting the commercial interests of broadcasters.

Based on the views/comments of the stakeholders, including consumers and consumer organisations, analysis of various aspects, facts and available studies, TRAI had notified the "Standards of Quality of Service (Duration Of Advertisements in Television Channels) Regulations" on 14 May 2012.

This had been challenged by several broadcasters in Tdsat and so the regulator decided to review the Standards of Quality of Service (Duration of Advertisements in Television Channels) Regulations, dated 14 May 2012.