Compaq has entered into an agreement with Star India to be a part of the popular KBC-3 quiz show. The company is believed to have paid around Rs 2-2.5 crore (Rs 20-25 million) for the integrated promotion of its PC as the 'computerji' on the show, said sources close to the deal.
Last year, for KBC-2, Lenova managed to strike a last minute deal by paying around Rs 60-70 lakh (Rs 6-7 million), sources said.
"This deal has certainly taken a while and we finally have Compaq onboard for KBC3," confirmed Paritosh Joshi, president ad sales & distribution, Star India.
The situation was a tricky one for Star, last year's show had Lenova as the integrated computer on the show and in the fresh season with Shah Rukh Khan playing host, who also is the brand ambassador for rival company Compaq, it was a tough call to make.
"Though the deal with Lenova was signed on the last minute at a highly discounted rate, KBC2 has helped Lenova build a brand name across households," Joshi said.
The new version of KBC is slated to hit the small screen on January 22 and will continue for 52 weeks before ending April 22.
Apart from the ten main sponsors the channel has ropped in for a whopping sum of around Rs 130 crore (Rs 1.30 billion), Airtel, Hyundai and Cadbury, UTI Mutual Funds, Videocon, Godrej Sara Lee, Jyothi Labs, Pantaloon Retail (Big Bazaar) and UB group, Motorola, other sponsors on board with KBC3 are Bharat Matrimony, Bharti Airtel, Eureka Forbes and Union Bank.