ZEE TV has announced it will be adding yet more original dramas in October, which will reduce the percentage of re-run and repeated shows further.

A new Aruna Irani produced soap by the name of 'Naagin...Waadon Ki Agni Pariksha' will become the first all weekend primetime soap on the channel. It stars Sangeeta Ghosh as the 'ichadhari naag', a snake that can take any human form.

'Naagin...Waadon Ki Agni Pariksha' will take over the 21:30 slot from 12th October on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This will result in 'Betiyann...Ghar Ki Lakshmi' showing Monday to Thursday only.

'Naagin...Waadon Ki Agni Pariksha' will be Aruna's fourth soap on the channel after the hugely popular 'Mehndi Tere Naam Ki', 'Tum Bin Jaaon Kahan' and 'Rabba Ishq Na Hove'.

The debut of 'Naagin...Waadon Ki Agni Pariksha' will also see the Saturday prime-time movie being shifted to 22:00. As a result, the Sunday late night movie will commence at 01:00 as oppose to the earlier midnight start.

Towards the end of October, 'Ardhangni' will launch in the 22:30 Monday - Friday slot, which will see 'Har Ghar Kuch Kehta Hai' being shifted to a Sunday-only slot. 'Har Ghar Kuch Kehta Hai' is currently aired weeknights and Sundays (omnibus) but due to slot unavailability on the packed out ZEE TV UK schedule, the soap will be relegated to its omnibus-only 15:00 edition. Meanwhile, 'Ardhangni' launches on Monday 22nd October.

It was announced earlier on BizAsia.co.uk, ZEE TV UK had scrapped its midday movies to make way for original (less repeated) shows, which it has done. With the way it looks, the channel has all-original shows from 17:00 - 23:30 weeknights. This is now also being carried out through the weekend with the launch of 'Naagin...Waadon Ki Agni Pariksha' and 'Har Ghar Kuch Kehta Hai'.

With so much money being invested in new shows, ZEE TV UK is hoping these will equate to a hike in subscription revenue, which only time will tell.

Related links:
Ofcom approves four new licences for ZEE UK
ZEE TV drops matinees for "original shows"
ZEE TV increases original programming output