Colors acquires format rights for Keshet International’s 'Rising Star'

Colors today announced a licensing deal with production and distribution major Keshet International, acquiring the format rights for its reality show, ‘Rising Star’. The show is one of the world’s most celebrated singing-based reality shows with live viewer engagement at its core. The Indian adaptation of ‘Rising Star’ is slated for an early 2017 launch on Colors and will be produced by Optimystix Entertainment.

Commenting on this landmark acquisition, Raj Nayak, CEO, Colors, said, “For the first time, here is a reality show that will not only be live, but will also give the viewers sitting at home an opportunity to engage with the progress and build-up of the show. What is beautiful about the format is that it is instant and live. We are delighted to be collaborating with Keshet International to bring ‘Rising Star’ to India. Our channel boasts of having one of the biggest consumer engagement platforms in the country and one can assert that a format like ‘Rising Star’ couldn’t have found a better stage than ours. The show’s USP is that it’s not only high on entertainment quotient, but also has the ability to connect and communicate with the viewers directly.”

With Digital India being the new order of the day, ‘Rising Star’ is a first-of-its-kind futuristic interactive engagement-led format which puts the power of determining a contestant’s fate in the hands of the viewers. Through its app based mass talent-led format, the show will welcome budding singers from across the country, bringing them together on a common platform.

Gary Pudney, Head of Asia, Keshet International, commented, “We are beyond excited about bringing ‘Rising Star’ to the Indian audiences. India is embracing technology more ferociously than ever before and, in partnership with our brilliant partners at Colors, we will be delivering prime time entertainment that satisfies viewers’ hunger to become more active and engaged viewers of high-end content.”

The ‘Rising Star’ format, created and produced by Tedy Productions and Keshet Broadcasting, has since its inception in 2013 enthralled global audiences with the most vivid talent. With more than 250 episodes globally to its credit, the format has been aired across more than 16 countries, including Israel, USA, Brazil, Portugal, Argentina, China, Cambodia and Indonesia, among others.