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From B'world
Finally, there appears to be some churn in the general entertainment television market. It is not just that ratings have been softening steadily for Star India shows, thanks to Zee’s Saat Phere. Many other little changes are adding up to something that could alter the shape of the market for good.
First is the fact that audience tastes are changing. So scripts are becoming more important and comedies and sitcoms are staging a comeback.
Characters in many of the big hits are donning more realistic roles and looking simpler. Notice the leading lady in Saat Phere, or those in Sarabhai versus Sarabhai, a hit on Star One.
Then, Sony is just not getting its act together. In August, the company went through a fourth (or is it fifth?) restructuring, but is yet to produce a hit after Jassi... and Indian Idol. Sahara, on the other hand, is doing well under new CEO Shantonu Aditya. Both Filmy and Sahara One are using the Ram Gopal Verma and the cinema connection smartly. Then, there is the buzz about several soon-to-be-launched entertainment channels, including one from NDTV.
A shift in popular entertainment tastes, coupled with new entrants and fresh thinking, could add up to a change in the pecking order. There are two reasons this is more significance now than earlier.
One, general entertainment is the largest, most profitable and glamourous part of the Rs 18,500-crore Indian broadcasting business. Star Plus, Sun TV or Sony Entertainment Television are the flagship channels and breadwinners for these broadcasters. Any change in the pecking order changes the way advertisers and cable operators treat the companies that own these channels.
Two, this churn comes at a time when there is a bigger inter-platform war brewing between cable and DTH (direct-to-home). The entry of TataSky, the Tata-Star DTH joint venture, will increase competition and accelerate the shift to DTH for millions of cable homes. Yet, there is no active service monitoring this viewership. In the absence of that, ratings of popular programmes and advertising revenues could fall in the short term. This even as pay revenues take time to catch up.
It is going to be one bumpy, unpredictable ride.
Finally, there appears to be some churn in the general entertainment television market. It is not just that ratings have been softening steadily for Star India shows, thanks to Zee’s Saat Phere. Many other little changes are adding up to something that could alter the shape of the market for good.
First is the fact that audience tastes are changing. So scripts are becoming more important and comedies and sitcoms are staging a comeback.
Characters in many of the big hits are donning more realistic roles and looking simpler. Notice the leading lady in Saat Phere, or those in Sarabhai versus Sarabhai, a hit on Star One.
Then, Sony is just not getting its act together. In August, the company went through a fourth (or is it fifth?) restructuring, but is yet to produce a hit after Jassi... and Indian Idol. Sahara, on the other hand, is doing well under new CEO Shantonu Aditya. Both Filmy and Sahara One are using the Ram Gopal Verma and the cinema connection smartly. Then, there is the buzz about several soon-to-be-launched entertainment channels, including one from NDTV.
A shift in popular entertainment tastes, coupled with new entrants and fresh thinking, could add up to a change in the pecking order. There are two reasons this is more significance now than earlier.
One, general entertainment is the largest, most profitable and glamourous part of the Rs 18,500-crore Indian broadcasting business. Star Plus, Sun TV or Sony Entertainment Television are the flagship channels and breadwinners for these broadcasters. Any change in the pecking order changes the way advertisers and cable operators treat the companies that own these channels.
Two, this churn comes at a time when there is a bigger inter-platform war brewing between cable and DTH (direct-to-home). The entry of TataSky, the Tata-Star DTH joint venture, will increase competition and accelerate the shift to DTH for millions of cable homes. Yet, there is no active service monitoring this viewership. In the absence of that, ratings of popular programmes and advertising revenues could fall in the short term. This even as pay revenues take time to catch up.
It is going to be one bumpy, unpredictable ride.