New Delhi, March 4 (IANS): Aiming to strengthen its foothold in the regional market, Viacom18 on Wednesday announced its entry in the market with the rebranding of five ETV regional general entertainment channels, owned by Prism TV Private Limited, under its Colors umbrella.

With this brand licensing, ETV Marathi, ETV Gujarati, ETV Kannada, ETV Bangla and ETV Oriya will soon don the Colors identity.

Subject to receipt of mandatory regulatory approvals, Viacom Inc., through its subsidiary Nick Asia, will acquire a 50 percent interest in the five regional general entertainment channels, while TV18 will continue to own the remaining 50 percent.

The ETV general entertainment channels, that will undergo the brand transition, are known for providing entertainment with the focus on heritage and culture with innovative programming. And this aspect will remain the same even after the rebranding.

“The new regional programming lineups have been evolved to suit the socio-cultural ethos of the respective regional markets. We will bring alive the rebranding of the regional general entertainment channel cluster through enhanced packaging and an integrated marketing approach,” Sudhanshu Vats, group CEO Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd, said in a statement.

The channels will be launched in the new avatar around regional festivals to garner more attention.

“The revelation of the new brand identity of each of the five regional channels has been staggered across a period of two months starting March 3. It is scheduled to coincide with regional festivals that mark new beginnings,” he added.

Campaigns for each regional brand will leverage the distinct flavour of the corresponding state or region through region specific events and onground activations involving popular local influencers.

The campaign will run for approximately four to five weeks, beginning with COLORS Marathi on March 22, coinciding with the Maharashtrian New Year - Gudi Padwa.