ITV

Category: GECs

  • Not viable to continue Covid2019 discounts with new episodes: Viacom18’s Mahesh Shetty

    Not viable to continue Covid2019 discounts with new episodes: Viacom18’s Mahesh Shetty

    MUMBAI: Covid2019 had a devastating impact on GECs with close to no advertisement revenue for almost three months. Now, television shooting has finally resumed and TV channels have begun to telecast fresh episodes of the shows.

    According to Viacom18 network sales head Mahesh Shetty, in the month of April and May, advertising was severely impacted due to the lockdown. However, with considerable relaxations from June, retail markets opening up and supply chains for brands stabilising, advertising spends have moved up. He points out that more brands are now willing to advertise and even spend more. Shetty also thinks that though new advertisers are queuing up, most of them are still FMCG brands. However, there has been a jump as compared to lockdown levels.

    Shetty explains that the channel is actively working with brands to go beyond the regular free commercial time (FCT) ad spends. “Thanks to the strong ‘impact properties’ portfolio that we have, we are giving customised sponsorship and integration packages to advertisers. In addition to this, we are also working closely with some of the brands on their specific briefs and exploring options on content solutions for our fiction shows,” he adds.

    He highlights that post easing of the lockdown across the country, overall advertiser interest has gone up in July as compared to the previous month. New advertisers have come onboard across categories. Maruti has been the channel's long term partner for Khatron Ke Khiladi and according to Shetty their spending has increased post resumption of the fresh episodes.

    Shetty also mentions that all broadcasters had given special pricing with discounts to advertisers in the April-June period in the absence of original programming. However, with fresh episodes starting this month, it is not viable for any broadcaster to continue with the Covid2019 discounting. “There has been a drop in discounting in July and we are steadily moving close to pre-Covid2019 level pricing,” he shares.

    In terms of inventory fill, growth rate has been at 45-60 per cent level in comparison to April. Advertisers are hopeful to catch up to last year’s level by August.

    DAN India Amplifi group trading director Sujata Dwibedy says, “During the lockdown very few advertisers were active. We are seeing slight momentum since May-June. Hopefully, the festivals would turn it around. As soon as there will be normalcy and the pandemic will contain, we may see more brands coming back. The time slot that would deliver better be more cost efficient and would definitely be preferred.”

    Dwibedy believes original shows will definitely change the previous quarter’s pattern to the classic viewing behaviour.
    Even though audience sentiments are still low, the rates might go up slightly due to original content. But it will still take some time for broadcasters to get back to the original January-February levels as the lockdown is still on and many advertisers are not yet willing to advertise.

    So the new episodes have quite a lot of catching up to do.

  • Fire breaks out on the set of Balaji Telefilms’ ‘Kumkum Bhagya’

    Fire breaks out on the set of Balaji Telefilms’ ‘Kumkum Bhagya’

    MUMBAI: A fire broke out on Saturday on the set of Ekta Kapoor’s show Kumkum Bhagya. The daily soap telecasted on Zee TV is produced by Balaji Telefilms.

    The shooting of the TV series takes place at Killick Nixon. Earlier, the studio was shut down for a few days after Kasautii Zindagii Kay actor Parth Samthaan tested positive for Covid2019. However, the shooting of the shows resumed after a break of three days.

    As per media reports, a major fire broke out at the set, but according to an entertainment portal, the incident happened due to short circuit.

    Shooting was in  progress when the fire broke out. Fortunately no one was injured and the cast and crew were moved to safety.

    Television actress Sriti Jha, who plays the main protagonist Pragya in the show Kumkum Bhagya has shared that she is absolutely safe after a fire broke out on the show’s sets.

    Kumkum Bhagya also stars Shabir Ahuwalia, Mugdha Chaphekar and Krishna Kaul in the main lead.

  • Zee’s leadership stance needs to be emulated

    Zee’s leadership stance needs to be emulated

    MUMBAI: The pandemic has officially infected around 14 million globally, felling close to 600,000 in its wake. The count for India is over a million, with over 25,000 being slain by the dastardly SARSCOV2.

    As harmful, or even more, is the economic and business mayhem it has caused, with confidence both at the producer and consumer end at a well-bottom low. With its rampage not looking like stopping  anytime too soon and warnings being aired by the World Health Organisation and  other health bodies that Covid2019 is here to stay till next year, bringing the confidence back up to a healthy level seems extremely challenging.

    Producers have to see light at the end of the Covid2019 tunnel to start thinking of promoting their products like they used to earlier. Not that their pockets are bulging; they will spend whatever well-shaved marketing budgets they have prudently with an eye on return on investment. Everyone is looking for some green shots of a return of confidence to open their purses.  And they are looking at each other to see who will sprint from the promotion starting blocks first.

    Zee Entertainment Enterprises (Zee) decided to take the initiative on this front. Hence, it rolled out an outdoor campaign wherein it featured some of India’s leading advertisers and their brands, announcing the date of the comeback of fresh episodes of shows on its general entertainment channels. It was a great move.

    First, it recognised some of the advertisers who have been at it, putting TVCs out on television over the past few months when everyone was going snip-snip on their budgets. Secondly, it created a suspense-surprise element around who was behind the billboards, generating some buzz. Thirdly, it got people to start thinking whether they too should open their advertising spigot. Fourthly, it took a leadership in spending to promote its own products – namely its shows, clearly saying that it was walking the talk. Fifthly, it helped give some much-needed fluids to the emaciated outdoor sector. Lastly, it made an event out of it. ‘

    It had its work cut out definitely; it had to get disparate brand managers to agree to its plan. Then it had to execute each brand’s creative similarly so that not one of them would take affront.

    And of course, it picked up the tab, something the brands would have been more than happy with.

    Did it raise confidence?

    Indeed, it was a feel-good sight, outdoor sites promoting products, rather than carrying morbid messages about Covid2019.

    As advertising guru Piyush Pandey told indiantelevision.com in a one on one virtual fireside chat recently:  “Partnerships will play a crucial role in helping recover what we have lost courtesy the pandemic and lockdown.”

    The pandemic is here to stay for a while. We will have to manoeuvre our way around it, through it and behind it, as it tries to cripple us even further.  As they say: “the show must go on.”

    One of the ways that can help make the burden of the show going on appear lighter is through partnerships. More and more companies can resort to such innovative collaborations. With supply chains getting in place and the country’s manufacturing engine beginning to chug, what is needed is some happy promotions and advertising to cheer us even as we are assailed by the dreary news daily about the increasing death toll as well as the much-tattered economy. 

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  • Zee Entertainment revives content brand ‘Zindagi’ on ZEE5

    Zee Entertainment revives content brand ‘Zindagi’ on ZEE5

    MUMBAI: ZEE Entertainment is bringing back its content brand Zindagi on its digital entertainment platform ZEE5. This will include premium content with a global appeal.

    Zindagi was originally a TV channel launched in 2014 by the Zee network, which showed Pakistani and Turkish dramas. However, due to political reasons, the channel had to shut in 2017 and the brand moved online.

    This time, Zindagi is returning with its original content library as well as fresh new shows which will be thought provoking, with a bold multicultural narrative.

    Zee, ZEE5 global and international broadcast business CEO Amit Goenka said, “Zee’s strength has always been in its ability to narrate unique stories, to connect with billions of audiences worldwide, and to offer different genres of content. Zindagi has always been appreciated for its premium content offering and culturally rich stories from across the globe, which are far more attuned to the digital audience sensibilities. Zindagi’s universal content has a very strong appeal, and we are excited to offer this rich and engaging content library to the users of ZEE5, in India and across the world. We also understand that the viewers’ needs are diverse and therefore we have a compelling content catalogue from Zindagi, which encapsulates a universality of emotions. We stay committed to offering an extraordinary entertainment experience to our consumers across multiple touchpoints, and we are sure that our viewers will once again embrace this widely acclaimed brand on our platform.”

    Zindagi will offer a myriad mix of shows that are global in nature, ranging from family dramas to romance including Shehr-E-Zaat, Aunn Zara, Badi Aapa, Mastana Mahi, Main Abdul Qadir Hun, Noorpur Ki Rani and many other such realistic stories which are customised as per the tastes and preferences of the global audiences. This eclectic mix of curated shows, featuring 1000+ hours of meaningful content, will be available for the global audiences on ZEE5. These shows were originally shown on Zindagi TV as well.

    With a promise of ‘Zindagi Mil ke Jiyenge’, the brand reinforces its commitment to live up to its legacy of bringing forth multi-cultural narratives that resonate with the audiences. The brand philosophy is a reflection of its belief that art knows no nation, boundary or religion.

  • This Lockdown, Zee Café Recreates The Fun Times At College with ‘Community’

    This Lockdown, Zee Café Recreates The Fun Times At College with ‘Community’

    College is not just an institution but a phase in our lives that we all cherish! From the countless lectures bunked to the candid canteen conversations and from meaningless banter with your buddies to the misadventures and memories, here’s an ‘adda’ that truly unleashed the madness in you. This lockdown with virtual being the new reality, fret no more as Zee Café brings this ultimate hangout to your television screens with the new-age hit sitcom ‘Community’! With its premiere on Monday, July 13 airing weeknights at 7, the channel presents viewers with a go-to guide to everything woke with a show dedicated to every study group that went the distance.

    Created, written and executive produced by Dan Harmon (Rick and Morty) and  executive produced and directed by Emmy Award-winning directors and Marvel maestros Joe and Anthony Russo (Avengers: Endgame), comes a story of a ‘bindass’ bunch of misfits in a zany sitcom that is a constant reminder that you’re never too old for college! Starring Joel McHale (The Soup), Ken Jeong (The Hangover), Emmy Award winner Chevy Chase and the multi-talented actor and hip-hop sensation Donald Glover (Atlanta) aka ‘Childish Gambino’ among others, ‘Community’ on Zee Café is non-stop barrage of pop-culture references around television and movie tropes that make it an exciting watch.

    The plot revolves around a disjointed study group who accept their crazy selves through the comfort and chaos with one another. Soon, this lovable set of loons turn into one happy family at the fictional Greendale Community College in Colorado. Much of the story revolves around Jeff Winger (Joel McHale), a slick lawyer who is disbarred from his law firm upon faking his degree. He is forced to attend college and gain some real qualifications. However, turns out that he is not the only misfit in this unusual community. With a snooty girl, a nerd, a brash black woman, a cocky former high-school jock, a neurotic drop-out and an eccentric retiree, here’s one whacky study group that is the definition of all things insane. Be it Abed (Danny Pudi) and Troy’s (Donald Glover) bromance and sarcasm on screen or the eccentric rapport between the characters, this is one community filled with unique oddballs that you’d definitely want in on!

    Somewhere between the last page doodles and the tic-tac-toe, here’s a community of students who never went by the book and debunked all of life’s ‘fundas’ on their journey to graduation!

  • Hindi GEC shows highlight Covid2019 precautionary measures

    Hindi GEC shows highlight Covid2019 precautionary measures

    MUMBAI: Turn on your TV sets and you will see that most shows have resumed shooting. But what’s different now? Unlike before, leading characters in shows are seen wearing masks, face shields, gloves and using sanitisers. As a responsible community, GEC shows are also passing on information to viewers about Covid2019 precautions. 

    While speaking to Indiantelevision.com, TV producers shared because the shows are watched by millions of people, channels had requested them to include safety measures being promoted within shows.

    Shoonya Square Productions founder Ved Raj, who is the maker of the show Guddan Tumse Na Ho Payega, highlights that the production house will continue to have episodes where safety protocols will be showcased. However, it will not be so frequent and informative but will reflect in the story. He also points out that the studio will not be shooting from the pandemic point of view, but will try to incorporate the current situation in their stories.

    He said, “From the Covid2019 lens we are showing characters wearing masks and gloves when they are going outside their homes. They are sanitising their hands after entering the house. But the plotline of the story remains the same.”

    However, upcoming episode scripts that were written before the pandemic had to be re-written considering the Covid2019 situation. In this show’s case, the protagonist will not give birth at the hospital but will do so at home. The production house can’t shoot in a different studio with more junior artists.

    Raj also shares, “Earlier our shows included a lot of party scenes and festivals but now I am avoiding that. It is challenging but still, it is better than nothing.”

    A video clip from Star Plus’ popular show Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai is already going viral on social media where the main characters, Shivangi Joshi and Alka Kaushal, are interacting while wearing masks. In the same Mohsin Khan was seen asking Shivangi Joshi to use the sanitiser before helping her wear gloves and face shield.

    Full House Media Production director Sonali Jaffer, who is the producer of the show Tujhse Hai Raabta, thinks that it is the responsibility of the channel and the production houses to showcase the importance of taking precautions. “We are doing this positive messaging through our shows because it is the reality. Until and unless the government tells us to stop wearing masks, we will continue to show safety protocols in our episodes,” she says.

    Sonali adds that even when the pandemic is over, the studio will incorporate positive things that had happened during this timeframe in their shows such as the people who bravely fought with the disease, donated their plasma to help other Covid2019 patients etc.

    As far as challenges are concerned while shooting the episode, Sonali points out that no producer or a writer likes to do a cheat shot. But now, no extra scenes are filmed, important conversations are happening from the point of view of one character only. Double shots of different locations are avoided.

    Shakti Astitva Ke Ehsaas Ki writer Sharad Tripathi says that to a certain extent the makers of the show will introduce pandemic scenes and protocol measures in their show. He also adds that they will be using different footages and cuts of actors wearing masks and gloves wherever possible to create awareness.

    “There is a mass following of the show, so I think it is important for us to tell people about what should be done. In the coming days also, what the government will say, we will try to portray it through our scenes and dialogues,” he further added.

    Ekta Kapoor’s show Yeh Hai Chahatein shows the characters discussing how house-helps should go on leaves. Then the entire family was seen contributing to the household chores. In one of the latest episodes, the main lead played by Aishwarya Sakhuja was seen talking about online classes, and how it would help students to continue their studies with the help of technology.

    SAB TV’s show Tera Kya Hoga Alia started the episode with showing Alia, played by Anusha Arora, and Rabiya, played by Namrata Pathak, on an early morning jog. The two were seen talking about the importance of maintaining social distancing and wearing a mask when outdoors.

    In Sony Entertainment Television’s show Mere Dad Ki Dulhan in its new promo showcased the main leads Shweta Tiwari and Varun Badola wearing masks while they were outdoors.

    Since all producers and writers are facing similar challenges, audiences will get to see reality reflected in all the shows.

  • Star Plus airs fresh content

    Star Plus airs fresh content

    MUMBAI: Star Plus has brought back original episodes of its popular shows Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, Kasautii Zindagii Kay, Yeh Rishtey Hain Pyaar Ke and Yeh Hai Chahatein — on-air with a fresh storyline from running, 13 July. The channel has also announced the launch of its new show Anupamaa, which was supposed to be launched in March but was held due to the spread of Covid2019 and the subsequent lockdown. 

    Star Plus will also host movie premieres on weekends with the world television premiere of Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior on 26 July, 8 pm and Disney’s The Lion King on 8 August, 8 pm. Iconic mythology shows, Ramayana and Mahabharata, will continue to air at 7.30 pm and 8.30 pm, respectively.

    “We are happy to have entertained our viewers throughout the lockdown phase and are excited to bring back their favourite shows after more than 100 days. We hope that our engaging mix of romance, drama series, and light-hearted content along with movie premieres will continue to entertain our viewers,” said a Star Plus spokesperson.

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  • Zee TV rejigs show strategy; adds comedy

    Zee TV rejigs show strategy; adds comedy

    MUMBAI: After a hiatus of nearly three months, television shows finally went on the floors in Mumbai and new episodes started airing from 13 July. GECs are leaving no stones unturned to create the buzz in the market and gain back their viewer interest.

    Zee Entertainment has announced its content comeback via a partnership with its brand partners. Zee collaborated with leading brands – Nestle Maggi, Amul Lassi, PepsiCo, Red Label, Cadbury Dairy Milk, ITC Dark Fantasy to gear up the nation for 13 July, the date of its daily content comeback on Zee TV. ZEEL chief consumer officer Prathyusha Agarwal says that the idea of the teaser was not to mention Zee. According to her the campaign wouldn’t have gone viral if a brand would have mentioned the name of the channel. The idea was to get multiplier reach and audience through a teaser-cum-reveal campaign.

    Agarwal notes that TV consumption has increased by 35 per cent and the channel did a predictive analysis with Nielsen to identify where it is going to settle across genres. The biggest variable that is dictating currently is people sitting at home and people going out for work. It gave the channel a fair idea about the available audience. From being a 'woman as a unit' it changed to 'family as a unit' and brought more people together and this, for her, was the big behavioural change that got established with Covid2019. 

    “We had a Zoom call with our viewers as it was important for us to know how our viewers are feeling. It was not just about what they are viewing but also about what kind of content they are missing. Attitudes and behaviours have changed. Earlier, the day consumption chart looked like one big hump during primetime. But with Covid2019, people are spending more time at home. So there is a non-primetime hump and then there is a primetime one. So, there are more audiences to cater," she shares.

    Given these changes, ZEEL has reworked on its Fixed Point Chart (FPC) strategy to understand how it will handle primetime and non-primetime viewers. "Shifts between genres have happened and supply dictated the demand. With fresh content coming in, the channel is looking at all the genres especially comedy. The channel is trying to introduce the element of comedy in shows through characters and changes in script,” she adds.

    Apart from that, she highlights that there will be no change in programming order. The channel is focusing on creating a larger bank of episodes if there are any stop starts. There is also no change in the inventory choices, it is tailor-made as per the brand.

    While talking about advertisers' response to the new normal, she says, “In the month of April, everyone was wondering what to do next; we didn’t have advertisers. They were also not able to meet the demand on ground. But July is looking very promising. Fill rates are completely back to normal. As the demand has increased significantly in July, I believe advertisers are also keen to meet the demand.”

    The Media Ant co-founder Samir Chaudhary thinks that there will be more advertisements in the non-primetime slot now. Because of the non-travelled behaviour, viewership patterns will remain the same, but the timing will be scattered.

    He adds that inventories will remain the same but more slots will be filled. He says, “Many FMCG brands are eager to advertise as IPL and other events did not happen. But they will be looking more at news channels than GECs because in the past few months the reach has predominantly come from news. However, they will be looking at other segments to advertise.”

    Agarwal further explains that there are different kinds of market. One is where people are not able to use a certain product or they are careful about its usage and for those customers it is critical for brands to create demand. In this situation they are finding ways to trigger demand. The  biggest and active advertisers are FMCG and CPG because people are consuming it a lot more than any other category.

    She adds, “There are decades where nothing happens and then there are weeks where decades happens. In these categories you have brand loyalty that will never change. But during Covid2019 for e.g., you have ten consumption occasions. Consumers were forced to sample other brands and other product options. Hence, it became critical for brands to get back the share. If there is great product and good pricing, consumers are likely to go back. In our business consumers belong to the overdrive consumption category. It is important to get an early mover advantage to gain share.”

    Chaudhary shares that advertising rates will come down by 30-40 per cent and channels will have to incentivise the rates for advertisers to come on board. He adds that as user sentiment has changed, people are buying fewer products so advertisers will get less profit.

    He also notes that most of the brands will go with their core messaging but they might twist their ideas to incorporate pandemic in it. Brands are choosing digital mediums for long ad formats but 30-second or short-form advertisements will continue on television. 

    For Zee TV, out-of-home medium acted as an announcer media, after which campaigns were released on other digital mediums. Agarwal believes that social media has a good number of audiences and platforms like WhatsApp or Telegram can make things viral quicker than word of mouth. The channel adopts a twin strategy for most of its content.

    Zee TV’s singing reality show Sa re ga ma also started production last week. The channel is adopting a hybrid production model to ensure safety and security. According to Agarwal, most of the post-production work is happening remotely. This move has helped it to bring content robustly.

  • ZEEL partners with leading CPG brands for campaign #BanegiBaatSaathSaath

    ZEEL partners with leading CPG brands for campaign #BanegiBaatSaathSaath

    MUMBAI: Celebrating the spirit of solidarity and the joy of being back, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) has announced its content comeback via an innovative partnership with leading CPG brands. ZEEL collaborated with leading brands – Nestle Maggi, Amul Lassi, PepsiCo, Red Label, Cadbury Dairy Milk, ITC Dark Fantasy to gear up the nation for the 13 July, the date of its daily content comeback on Zee TV. Four other HSM channels, & TV (HGEC), Zee Marathi, Zee Yuva (MGEC) and Zee Punjabi (PGEC) are also making their daily content comeback on the same day.

    With a massive outdoor teaser campaign, people took to social media channels wondering what the #13thkitTaiyyari was about. The banter between the brands on Twitter left people even more curious on why they should be stocking up for 13 July with many more brands and companies jumping into the fray building up the excitement for the D-Day. ZEEL has again brought together some of India’s most-loved brands in an extraordinary partnership celebrating the coming together of viewers, partners and fresh episodes with the promise, #BanegiBaatSaathSaath.

    The #BanegiBaatSaathSaath promise has been rolled out across media and to all of ZEEL’s partners along with a film, which is an ode to the entire TV industry coming together to entertain its viewers. ZEEL strongly believes that the challenges we all faced in the first half of 2020 are just like a twist in the tale before the interval and when we all rally together we can achieve the impossible and create an extraordinary second half. 

    ZEEL chief consumer officer Prathyusha Agarwal said, “With the resumption of production, we are excited to bring fresh content for our consumers. The last three months have caused a significant stir amongst the mood of the nation. People are increasingly investing time in entertainment to cope with the uncertainty prevailing around. TV has been the greatest common unifier and respite in this lockdown and as content creators, we acknowledge that it is a huge responsibility we carry. For us, understanding the pulse of our consumers and customers and delivering delight is an obsession, which is what we are attempting to do both with this campaign and in crafting all our stories for the second half 2020. The stories we bring will aim to uplift the mood of the nation and provide our viewers respite through all that they are going through. Zee has and will always stand by its viewers and all its partners and is looking forward to holding hands and turning on the light at the end of this tunnel and are confident that we will once again provide valuable experiences to our partners and viewers.”

    ZEEL chief growth officer advertisement revenue Ashish Sehgal said, “With the resurgence of fresh dose of content, we would like to celebrate the spirit of camaraderie with all our stakeholders – cherished viewers and advertisers – to brighten and cheer up with engaging content. Brands will once again have the opportunity to resonate and pave their way into the minds of their consumers in this new environment. At ZEEL, we have not only seamlessly weaved stories for brands with relevant influencers and have been at the forefront in creating an integrated platform-agnostic solution for our advertisers/brands but ensured that they are part of our communication as well. This has led us to partner with our brands in unique ways and create value for them and #13kitaiyyari is another testimony to the power of partnerships, more importantly, brand partners are an integral part of the communication when we are reconnecting with our consumer.” 

    The philosophy of Banegi Baat Saath Saath brought together viewers and partners in a one-of-a-kind initiative where we partnered with six leading brands and asked consumers to stock up and do #13thkiTaiyyari. In partnership with Publicis Worldwide India, the #13thkitaiyyari campaign panned out in two phases. The first phase created intrigue when six leading CPG brands asked people to stock up via billboards in Mumbai and Delhi that led to a high buzz on-ground as well as piqued curiosity on digital as everyone took to social media to figure what 13 July was about. It was later revealed that the brands had partnered with ZEEL asking consumers to stock up as they would serve as a perfect accompaniment to families watching all their favourite shows resuming on ZEEL channels.

    Lowe Lintas CCO Sagar Kapoor said, “We want to reinforce the power of unity and remind everyone that if we come together we can conquer any barrier. The film made for Banegi Baat Saath Saath is a tribute to the industry’s resilience and its commitment to entertain the vast audience it caters to. The message we want to reverberate is that of hope in sight and encourages everyone to rally together to craft a better second half as we come back from the very short interval!”

    Publicis Worldwide India managing director Srija Chatterjee added, “While we were preparing for the big come back Zee TV campaign, we had this germ of an idea, it was all about bringing multiple brands together to co-create cheer and tremendous excitement, as we know that our dear Zee TV viewers are indeed eagerly waiting for their favourite shows to come back with fresh episodes. We developed #13thKiTayyari and this was a testament of true collaboration between the ZEEL team who got in touch with the brands and the Publicis team who delivered this campaign from start to finish in a matter of just three days. This is probably the first time that so many brands were coming together in one campaign.”

    Laqshya Media CEO Atul Shrivastava said, “We are thrilled to partner with ZEEL for their comeback announcement. The power of the outdoor medium with the might of the partner brands and the ZEEL network created a tremendous buzz on-ground around the campaign. The message of solidarity from ZEEL resonates with the partners and viewers alike and we look forward to more fruitful associations through the coming half of the year.”

    A lot of the storylines will come back to induce a sense of positivity and bring back strong heroes that people turn to for companionship. A collective force of 5000+ people have come together to bring 100+ fresh stories, every day in 11 languages, which take inspiration from the consumer sentiment and echo their anticipations.

    While channels like Zee Bangla, Zee Kannada, Zee Sarthak, Zee Keralam, Zee Telugu have already started and are entertaining viewers in regional markets delivering around 100+ hours of content per week, the four HSM channels – Zee TV, &TV, Zee Marathi and Zee Punjabi go live on 13 July. With a strong understanding of the entertainment preferences of the consumer and keeping their evolving needs at the fore, the channels are returning with a diverse mix of content which caters to the entire family.

  • Colors shows to incorporate Covid2019-related topics for better relatability

    Colors shows to incorporate Covid2019-related topics for better relatability

    MUMBAI: 13 July 2020 is when viewers of all GECs will be able to get back to watching their favourite shows. Viacom18’s Colors is currently looking at numerous ways to engage the audiences.

    Viacom18 Hindi mass entertainment chief content officer Manisha Sharma expresses that the last few months have been life-altering for broadcasters, producers, artists, crew members and most importantly for the viewers.

    In the new episodes that are being shot, the channel is covering pandemic-related subjects and also integrating it as part of the current storyline. It is also incorporating safety protocols and precautions like sanitisation and other safety measures in the narrative to generate relatability.

    “We factored in the lag and production pace before putting fresh episodes on air. Hence, we are working against a timeline and creating banks of episodes for all our fiction shows,” explains Sharma.

    While shooting resumes, safety and security remain a major concern. The channel is being extremely cautious and strictly abiding by the safety protocols implemented by producers, broadcasters and government.

    Their priorities include sticking to the timelines, creating a pressure-free environment, keeping a tab on the daily influx of people on the sets and ensuring the same set of people are working together to keep risks at bay. Apart from that, the cast and crew members are staying in or around the campus to avoid travel hassles. Regular fumigation of sets, access to medical services, placement of sanitisers, usage of N95 masks, regular temperature checks and other necessary protocols are also being followed.

    In the absence of new content, the channel has observed a shift in the viewers’ content consumption habits too. In this phase, family viewing has gained more prominence, people turned to mythological shows for comfort and entertainment, the trend gradually picked up and the audience soon developed a palette for classics. At the same time, there was a great demand for the erstwhile shows and soon reruns started to rule the viewership.  

    She says, “As the content offerings now change with fresh episodes being aired, viewers will slowly move back to their original habit of appointment viewing. While the initial optics might be slow, we are certain that it will gradually pick up owing to the engaging storyline, highpoints, plot twists and intrigue around the characters.”

    For promotion, the channel will use a ‘Kahaani ab tak’ capsule to summarise the journey till before the lockdown. “Taking the audience through their favourite characters’ journey so far has helped us to familiarise the audience with the show once again. Additionally, along with the marketing surround sound, we are banking largely on the highpoints and various other storyline hooks to keep the viewers intrigued.”

    For now, Colors is shooting in controlled and closed environments with safety protocols. They will venture outdoors only when things get better.