Big CBS to launch HD channel this quarter

MUMBAI: Big CBS, the 50:50 JV between Reliance Broadcast Networks (RBNL) and US media conglomerate CBS, will launch an high definition channel, Big CBS HD, this quarter. It is also looking at tying up with a distribution platform.

RBNL business head Television Division Nikhil Mirchandani said, "With the HD launch and the first channel launching from the RTL stable in the next quarter, we will have a bouquet of six channels. We are talking to two platforms for distribution and the aim is to increase reach, reduce carriage cost and grow revenue."

Big CBS Prime (the male skewed channel) and Big CBS Love (the women focused channel) will have 25 hours of fresh content each week. The broadcaster has done deals with several content distribution companies like Alfred Haber, Bobby Goldstein and Boman Bridge. Mirchandani said the content split mix is 70:30 in favour of the CBS library.

Big CBS Prime has two local shows, ?Aspire? and ?Big Wheels?. The formats were bought from Bloomberg UTV. Aspire, hosted by Vikram Oza, is a lifestyle show covering things like cars, money, women and all things that men are interested in. The other show is about cars and is hosted by Autocar India editor Hormazd Sorabjee.

On the international front, it will have the drama ?The Defenders? (starring Jim Belushi and Jerry O Connell). Returning shows include Hawaii 5.0. To boost the action quotient, the channel will have Lucha Libre which sees masked wrestlers fighting free style. Ballator a mixed martial arts programme.

As far as Big CBS Love is concerned, the channel will have a local show - India?s Glam Diva where 10 top divas from the country will compete for the title on the basis of body, mind and soul. The channel had earlier done ?India?s Sexiest Bachelor?.

In December, the channel will launch ?Jo Fit Hai Woh Hit Hai?. A lifestyle, travelogue treatment will be given to the show. From abroad comes ?Kid Nation?, a reality show where 40 kids have 40 days to build a world of their own. ?Excused? looks to offer a fresh take on dating. ?Oprah?s Ultimate Australian Adventure? will air on weekends, while ?Oprah? airs during primetime.