MUMBAI: MTV?s musical reality show Coke Studio@MTV is set to return with its third season. The channel introduced the ?leap FROG to Coke Studio@MTV? initiative, which gives young musical talent an opportunity to contest for a coveted spot in the renowned show.

?leap FROG to Coke Studio@MTV? is a precursor to season 3 of the popular music show. It is a venture between Coke Studio@MTV and Blue Frog and will take place at the latter in Mumbai and Delhi respectively.

The event provides a platform for bands performing independent music to get a chance to fast track their way to glory. The idea announces the return of Coke Studio@MTV Season 3 and also sets to scout for young talent.

Coke Studio@MTV is produced and broadcast by Viacom 18 in association with Coca Cola India Pvt Ltd. The show has had a successful run of season 1 and season 2 which were aired on MTV India, Colors and MTV India, Doordarshan (national) respectively.

MTV India EVP and business head Aditya Swamy said, "As we curate the show, we are always looking to present artists that are below the collective conscience. This platform gives us a window into the growing Indi music scene from where we have found some incredible talent in the past. Being a platform that discovers and supports young talent is in the DNA of MTV. It?s this very aspect of discovery that makes the show exciting for the viewers as well. So I am looking forward to hearing some fresh new music".

Building on the phenomenal success of season 2 of the series that captured the imagination of Indian audiences with twelve breakthrough producers and over 200 incredible musicians, this year?s edition of Coke Studio@MTV will take the musical journey to the next level.

Talking about the initiative, Coca Cola India integrated marketing communications director Wasim Basir said, "The adulation from the audience propelled us to take the show to the new level, and for the first time, open up the platform to music aspirants through the ?leap FROG to Coke Studio@MTV? initiative. We hope to see a wide cross-section of bands from all over the country come forth and ?Open Happiness? by joining Coca-Cola in its journey to inspire and provoke innumerable moment of happiness through its flagship music property, Coke Studio."

Talking about the association, Blue Frog MD Simran Mulchandani says, "Since its opening in Mumbai and Delhi, blue FROG revolutionised the live music scene by creating a stage that gave artists of all genres and styles a chance to perform in the two sweetest sounding venues in the country. ?leap FROG To Coke Studio@MTV? goes several steps further: it will discover new talent and create opportunities for budding musicians by giving them a chance to compete for a spot on the hugely successful Coke Studio@MTV. It has the potential of becoming the largest platform for artist discovery in India and being a part of this initiative is a huge milestone."

NEW DELHI: Doordarshan will share 50 per cent of the revenue that it earns from the simulcast of the epic ?Ramayan? with Zee TV.

As in the case of Satyamev Jayate, a talk show that highlighted social issues, Doordarshan will do the marketing of Ramayan on its own, a source in Doordarshan told indiantelevision.com.

The simulcasting of these high pitched programmes is expected to provide bonus earnings to the public broadcaster, which has failed since 2007-08 to meet revenue targets by big margins. In 2011-12, Doordarshan?s earnings from commercial sales totalled Rs 7.94 billion against the target of Rs 12 billion.

The production of Ramayan serial by Meenakshi Sagar of Sagar Arts has been commissioned by Zee TV. Meenakshi is the granddaughter of Ramanand Sagar, the producer of the original Ramayan in the late 1980s telecast on Doordarshan.

Doordarshan also had a windfall this year in the form of MTV?s Coke Studio, which is being telecast both on MTV and Doodarshan. The eight-part Coke Studio started on MTV on 17 June and on Doordarshan on 7 July and are telecast on Saturdays at 7 pm on MTV and on Doordarshan on Saturdays at 8.30 pm.

Though Doordarshan has to share revenues of Satyamev Jayate and Ramayan with the private channels, Coke Studio was given to Doordarshan free of charge. ?DD was, in fact, paid for carrying the Coke brand. We also did not have to share any of the commercial revenues that we earned from the marketing of Coke Studio,? the Doordarshan source said.

DD will decide any future offers of simulcast on a case-to-case basis keeping the larger public interest in view, the source added.

In the case of Ramayan, Doordarshan felt that millions of young people needed to see the epic since the 1987 telecast of the Ramanand Sagar?s serial was seen by the older generation. The Ramayan serial on Imagine TV (then the channel was owned by NDTV and called NDTV Imagine) was not accessible to all since it was on satellite TV. Since Doordarshan is available to a majority of viewers terrestrially, it was felt that the simulcast will prove successful.

MUMBAI: MTV India is continuing its experiment with music. After Coke Studio and MTV Unplugged, the channel is now gearing up to launch a one of its kind show, wherein the music will be created from the sounds from everyday life.

The show, Sound Trippin, will premiere on 14 April at 8.30 pm band. This is for the first time that MTV is launching a show at this time band.

The show is in partnership with unconventional music director, Sneha Khanwalkar. An original home grown format, conceptualised and owned by MTV, Sound Trippin will showcase Khanwalkar?s talent to capture sounds at every place she visits and the idiosyncrasies in the culture and music of that place.

MTV India EVP and business head Aditya Swamy said, ?Music experiments excite us at MTV. This time it is about exploring a new way of making music. We live in urban jungle and in this show we will capture all the noise to create music. The 10 episodic series will making of 10 original songs.?

The channel has roped in Intel as the title sponsor while Woodland and Tata Docomo has joined as associate sponsors.

Khanwalkar, who is best known for her score in films like Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! and Love Sex aur Dhoka, is born and brought up in Indore and trained in Hindustani classical music. She travelled through the rural parts of North India to pick and learn various musical tunes to combine and create musical magic for the movie. Sneha has an inquisitive approach towards making music.