And the shows begin

Star Plus is also readying to launch the big international reality format,Survivor. “There’s no artifice in Survivor,it’s the ultimate reality show where a participant has to survive against nature and fellow human beings. When you are hungry and exhausted,you don’t know how you will behave,” she points out. Though participants—at least 10 celebrities are slated to be on the show and big names like Kapil Dev are doing the rounds,with John Abraham as likely host—-are yet to be announced,the show is going to be shot in the Philippines with its virgin beaches and forests.

SAB TV is also scheduling a new comedy shows to grab eyeballs after IPL ends. Colors is stated to have a new fiction offering soon and is launching one more series of Khatron Ke Khiladi Torchaar with Akshay Kumar returning as host. This season,in its fourth outing,will air on weekends,instead of weekdays. Says Ashvini Yardi,programming head,Colors,“While the earlier seasons were aired on weekdays,this season Khatron Ke Khiladi is slotted on the weekends to further strengthen our weekend viewing. Viewers are looking out for differentiated content and we are confident that Torchaar is their best weekend appetite. With the strong line-up of sponsors and partners,we are extending the show across all levels to every home.”

Says Ashesh Jani,partner,Deloitte Haskins & Sells “All channels are aware that the world of possibilities will reopen once the cricket mania ends with the end of IPL-4. All channels,thus,have slated launches of their new programmes beginning the first week of June. Content also changes when schools reopen in June and one part of the audience (children) gets reduced due to this.”

Sukesh Motwani,Zee TV fiction head,says that the network is going to take viewers back to the 11th century for a story from Gujarat,Shobha Somnath Ki,starting June 18. “It’s a big-budget historical and we have been working on it for the longest time. We are offering it a daily slot in prime-time,” he adds. The same day will see the launch of another fiction show,Mrs Kaushik Ke Paanch Bahuyein,a “sweet story more to do with the smaller issues in life”. All the programming heads we spoke to admit that content on TV is now veering towards “believable,realistic,everyday stories”. Says Motwani,“It’s actually a mix –– larger-than-life dramatic stories also work,but people now don’t want to see unreal plots or very loud dramas.”

Shergill of Star Plus agrees that “there is a tilt towards realistic storytelling”. Says Jani,“Unlike the earlier days where only Doordarshan was a main source of popular TV entertainment,airing shows like Byomkesh Bakshi,Nukkad,Hum Log,Buniyaad,Mahabharat,Ramayan,etc,the audience is now spoilt for choice with channels and their numerous programmes.”

“Each broadcaster has now realised that without new and creative content,all the effort of production is lost and the balancesheet may have more of red ink if the viewership does not pick up,” adds Jani. With different age groups having different choices,TV shows should be a mix of drama,fiction,romance,comedy,tragedy and thrillers. Insiders say everyone is in the race to churn out something to beat the competitor with and grip the audience for a number of episodes. “Only then will the sponsors pour in money,” Jani points out.

Motwani says the audience likes original,off-beat content,but as Jani points out,shows based on true incidents and other reality series work well,but every such reality show doesn’t necessarily hit the spot.

Indian television is again on the cusp of change,technologically speaking. Now broadcasters are faced with the need to move from standard to high-definition services (HD),which is beset with a host of challenges. Says Jani,“If the content is not ‘HD worthy’,then the money spent in the production and launch will be lost. Every content is not required to go ‘HD’,hence producers and broadcasters need to be aware that only the required content,like nature shows etc,need to go ‘HD’.

With 3D around the corner,it is high time that more time is spent on content than on marketing,which may give only limited gains.”

“Rising content costs is a cause for concern,” admits Motwani,but points out that at Zee “a lot of thought goes into returns on investment”. A lesson in this for new channels off the block.