SRK hits chota parda with SRK - KBC

The King Khan of Bollywood to step in to the shoes of BIG-B.

Kaun Banega Crorepati—scrumptious fodder for those addicted to the idiot box is returning back this time with the Bollywood’s biggest brand name Shah Rukh Khan.

While the much hyped quiz show is going to be a respite from lackluster saas-bahu saga on television, Star Plus is counting big time on KBC to rake in big moolah.

KBC 2 anchored by Amitabh Bachchan charged the sponsors over Rs 3 lakhs for a 10 second spot and around Rs 20 crores for each episode. This time with Bollywood’s hottest star Shahrukh Khan making appearance on the small screen, the stakes are going to be even higher.

KBC 3 will have 104 episodes and for each episode Khan will be paid around Rs 30-50 lakh. With such high figures and even higher popularity, the sponsor and spot rates on the show are bound to inflate. Star is counting big time on SRK’s charm to woo the advertisers.

"Next week we are meeting clients in Delhi and Mumbai. We will tell them about the details of the show. KBC is back four times a week from Monday to Thursday 9 to 10 pm with Shahrukh Khan in it. We are expecting a huge premium out of it," Star Entertainment India CEO, Sameer Nair said.

The show will go on air from January next years and will be slotted between 9 to 10 pm, for days a week. The channel heads say that the show timings have been positioned keeping in mind the cricket World Cup that starts in March next year.

However, with previous sponsors Nokia and LG having already invested Rs 20 - 45 crore on cricket, will KBC sponsorship run into rough weather? Is it going to be tough for the show to find big-ticket sponsors?

"KBC is certainly going to be a big thing in 2007. Post cricket it would be on top of our priority but a lot depends on the TRP’s it will be able to deliver. Since Shah Rukh Khan anchoring it, of course it will rank high but at the same time it might conflict with the brands he has endorsed," LG Marketing Head, Sandeep Tiwari said.

Star has converted the show to an annual seasonal one with a 13 week run. And with a brand new 5-year contract with former owner Celador, Star seems willing to bet on KBC for a long run.

PS: I am sure there is huge expectations from King Khan. First it was the Don, now KBC. Dunno whats next? Welcome back SRK!