MUMBAI: Cellcast Interactive India Pvt. Ltd., a global interactive digital broadcaster, has claimed that its TV show, Bid2Win launched earlier this month, collected over a million bids in its opening week.

The show is broadcast every evening on Sony, Sahara One, Zoom and Zee Punjabi by using an interactive reverse auction system, Bid2Win. It enables viewers to purchase high-value items such as LCD TVs, iPods, home theatre systems, digital cameras and laptops, at a nominal amount by submitting the lowest unique bid via SMS and IVR.

An official release suggests that, such the show has helped open up the market for premium mobile services in India, thus, Cellcast‘s popular format has subsequently been launched in many markets across the Middle East and China.

Commenting on the successful launch of the show in India, Cellcast plc CEO Andrew Wilson says, "Until now, the market for live interactive programming, which has been so successful in other parts of the world, has been constrained in India by extremely low tariffs. With Bid2Win, Cellcast has shown that subscribers are willing to pay for premium mobile services, particularly if they have a strong TV tie-in. With the world‘s fastest growing mobile subscriber base and a vibrant multi-platform television industry, India is now ready for the full range of interactive products that Cellcast has proven in other markets."

Capitalising on its success in India, Cellcast plans to roll-out Bid2Win to other Indian television networks across the globe over the next three months. "Broadcasters can now expand their content offerings to the Indian diaspora beyond the current staple of movies, drama and music and enjoy new revenue streams at the same time," added Wilson.

Commenting on future growth potential, Cellcast Interactive India CEO Pankaj Thakar says, "We have an exciting range of new products and shows which we expect to launch in India over the next six months. These include Golden Goal, a virtual soccer show to be aired during World Cup; a new virtual cricket show Beat Them All; an interactive astrology show, Interactive Astro; an exciting game similar to Tambola, Go Bingo; the numbers quiz Qeno; a celebrity-based quiz show, The Challenge; an interactive shopping show, Shop-o-holic; an interactive show based on Bollywood, Bollywood Dhamaka and Insomnia, the interactive gameshow enjoying international success."