Zee Café brings three American reality shows

The shows are produced by Fremantle, which recently tied up with the broadcaster for the exclusive telecast of American Idol, America's Got Talent and The X-Factor.

Zee Cafe, the English entertainment channel from ZEEL, is bringing three popular reality shows from America to India. Out of the three shows, American Idol will be the first one to appear on the channel. The other two shows are America's Got Talent and The X-Factor.

American Idol will be aired from March 19, which is a little after the US launch. However, the channel will show it in a stripped format (that is daily format) unlike the US, which is a twice a week airing. The finale will be live from the US.

American Idol is currently in its 13th season. The celebrity judges Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick Jr. will chair the latest season.

As for America's Got Talent, the eighth season of the show will appear on Zee Cafe, followed by the ninth season that will premiere in India on Zee Café. The show will see actor Howie Mandel, radio personality Howard Stern, former Spice Girl Melanie Brown and super model Heidi Klum take to the judging panel once again.

The latest season of The X-Factor, another music reality show, will also be telecast. Its panel will include Simon Cowell, singer and actor Paulina Rubio, former Destiny's Child member Kelly Rowland and songstress Demi Lovato.

In an official communiqué, Anurag Bedi, EVP and business head, Zee Café, says, "These shows are synonymous with entertainment and unarguably amongst the biggest reality shows on television. Having seen the affinity the audience here has for reality shows, we are confident that these shows will be amongst the biggest shows of 2014 and will strengthen Zee Cafe's leadership position in the English entertainment genre."

The three shows are amongst the channel's tent pole properties for this year and hence will enjoy an aggressive 360 degree marketing approach.

Ganesh Rajaram, EVP, sales and distribution, Fremantle Media, adds, "These shows have become a global phenomenon, engaging audiences all over the world because of their ability to attract amazingly talented hopefuls with brilliant stories to tell."