Bloomberg UTV to launch biz reality show ‘The Pitch’ in October 2010

Bloomberg UTV has unveiled ‘The Pitch’, touted as India’s biggest business reality show. The show, which would be giving up to Rs 5 crore as prize money, claimed to be the highest amount of money on Indian television, was launched by Ronnie Screwvala, CEO, UTV Group. Actor Boman Irani will host the show.

‘The Pitch’ aims to identify, evaluate and encourage potential entrepreneurs who not only have the most deserving business ideas, but also possess the critical skills required to execute those ideas successfully. Following a nationwide call-for-entries, a jury comprising successful entrepreneurs like Vishal Gondal of Indiagames, Alok Kejriwal of Games2win and Satya Narayanan of Career Launcher will shortlist the top 30 business plans and their creators, who could make it to the show. Led by Sasha Mirchandani, the Mumbai Angels - the most respected angel investors in the country - will closely evaluate these 30 aspirants not only on the brilliance of their business pitches, but also on their individual excellence and identify the final 10 aspirants who will appear on ‘The Pitch’.

In this quest for excellence, Boman Irani will see the aspirants through the challenges thrown to them by some of India’s most prominent business leaders like Rahul Bajaj, Kishore Biyani, Naina Lal Kidwai, Karan Johar, and N Damodaran, among others, across diverse industries. Each week on a fresh episode, a business leader will design and assign business tasks to the participants. The tasks will be designed to challenge the aspirants on the most critical skills required to be a successful entrepreneur and by eliminating the weakest performer, narrow down to the most competent and deserving aspirant who goes on to receive the funding for their business from Mumbai Angels.

Speaking at the launch event, Deepak Lamba, Business Head, Bloomberg UTV, said, “Through this show, Bloomberg UTV continues to strengthen its commitment to make a difference to viewers’ lives. We encourage the spirit of entrepreneurship in the country. There is no dearth of ideas but the buck always stops at the funds and through this show we will provide not only the funds but also a direction to the winner and his idea.”

Serial entrepreneur and co-founder of Mumbai Angels, Sasha Mirchandani, lauded the initiative of the channel. Commenting on what inspired the Mumbai Angels most towards the show, he said, “There are many efforts to identify great business ideas. The critical element of this show is its focus on the acumen and ability of the aspirant. Most great ideas perish for the want of the right execution. The aspirant who makes it to the end is a definite winner.”

‘The Pitch’ is presented by M3M India Ltd. The show will air exclusively on Bloomberg UTV from October 2010.