Tag: Crime Petrol

  • The resurgence of horror shows on GECs

    The resurgence of horror shows on GECs

    MUMBAI: The horror genre has formed an important part of TV entertainment since the 1990s when Zee Horror Show, Aahat and Ssshhh…Koi Hai were anticipated shows. A resurgence of horror shows on TV has been noticed in the past one month. Ekta Kapoor’s Qayamat Ki Raat, which airs on Star Plus, and Colors TV’s Kaun Hai, both opened to incredible ratings in their first week. Vivek Dahiya and Karishma Tanna starrer Qayamat Ki Raat bagged the seventh spot with 5.6 million impressions while Kaun Hai received 3.89 million impressions and was at the 11th spot.

    Bodhi Tree Multimedia has produced quite a few horror shows like Rooh and Fear Files for Zee TV. “Horror has always been a genre that has worked in the Indian market. It is also been an underserved genre with only our show Fear Files running for the past one year. So more horror shows coming was always anticipated,” says Bodhi Tree Multimedia founder Mautik Tolia. 

    Endemol Shine CEO Abhishek Rege holds a different opinion. He feels that the Indian audiences are dedicated to all sorts of genres and horror was possibly an underserved one. “Although many shows are launching, how many does the market need will only be known after the ratings or the consumption pattern comes out.”

    If horror shows want to create a mark today, they have to come up with good content. Earlier horror shows used to have just one story in an episode. Now horror shows have long term stories with a supernatural background. 

    Earlier, late prime time was the slot given to the horror shows assuming that the kids are asleep by then. But now things are changing. The horror shows have got promoted to earlier time slots (7-9 pm). According to Rege, any time after 8-8.30 pm is a good time slot for a horror show. Shows like Aahat, Fear Files or X-Zone were hard core horror shows. Nowadays there are many shows which have different approaches and if they are not hardcore horror they can be broadcasted at early prime time slot.

    Tolia thinks that the increase in the number of horror shows in India could be due to exposure to international content releasing in India. “A lot of good international horror has been produced over the past few years. Films from the Conjuring universe, Quiet Place, Lights Out, It, Mama and now Hereditary have breathed new life into the genre. So the rub off effect is surely being seen.”

    Advertisers tend to stay away from horror shows due to their low viewership. The earlier shows couldn’t get advertisers due to the late time band. The sudden surge in horror seems to be the channels’ attempts at expanding its offering before festive season kicks in. They could then be replaced with reality format shows.

    Madison Media Sigma CEO Vanita Keshwani feels differently. She says, “According to me, the crime/thriller genre works most for the Indian audience than the horror genre. Shows like Savdhaan India  and Crime Patrol garner more viewership than Aahat and Fear Files. Since shows like Qayamat Ki Raat, Laal Ishq and Kaun Hai have just launched it’s too early to give a judgment on those shows. According to me the horror as a genre is not doing well. But I think they are betting on it.”

    Indian makers have even been plagued by budget issues and a very narrow approach towards the depiction of horror inspired by Indian imagery. However Indian horror is also seeing a paradigm shift in terms of quality of content over past few years. A new breed of filmmakers is churning out a spate of horror films and shows that are able to blend Indian imagery with great storytelling.

    Even though the shows in this genre may or may not gain good TRP, the experimentation continues for adding variety to a channel’s offering.

  • Sony adds colour with two new shows

    Sony adds colour with two new shows

    MUMBAI: So what if it’s currently yo-yoing among the bottom three as far as TAM ratings go? Sony Entertainment Television is leaving no stone unturned to regain lost ground.

    Earlier this week, the GEC has launched a new show titled Desh Ki Beti Nandini with another one, Bhoot Aya, preparing to air every Sunday, at 11:00 pm, starting 13 October.

    Desh Ki Beti…, produced by Rashmi Telefilms, traces the journey of a typical Indian woman from the confines of her home to the limelight of politics and is a comment on how every Indian woman is a delicate mix of softness and strength.

    In sharp contrast, the upcoming Bhoot Aya, produced by Akashdeep Sabir and Sheeba’s Cinetek Telefilms, explores the dark forces through real-life, spine-chilling encounters of ordinary people.

    Speaking about the marketing campaign for Desh Ki Beti… , SET senior vice president, head – marketing Seth says: “Nandini’s rise to, the promise of the show is that one day, she is going to run the country and that is something we have showcased in all our communications. Whether it was in music, promos or it’s been the visual imagery in print or outdoor. It shows the journey and definitely gives that hope and umeed to say that an empowered, confident and intelligent woman has no feelings.”
    We will dominate that slot through the power of our idea and our concept, says a confident Gaurav Seth

    Seth adds that in a bid to get people to understand the concept, the channel asked them the question: “Do you believe, ek ladki joh ghar chala sakti hai.. desh bhi chala sakti hai?”

    As regards the non-fiction show, Seth says: “Firstly, we have tied up with the Indian paranormal society, which in a sense we refer to as ghost hunters. They go out and validate whether it is a fraud or for real. We are marketing it in a very interesting manner using this scary super-natural spooky zone to promote it. We have press ads which are going to show on the day of launch.”

    Independent experts have been roped in who will relate how these things happen to the audience and the channel is confident the show is going to really scare people. It has even created five to six television spots for the purpose of promoting the show.

    This apart, Sony’s official page, which boasted around 460,399 likes at the time of writing this article, will be used to promote the new shows. Asked why no exclusive pages have been devoted to the programs, Seth reasons: “We have stopped creating individual character pages. We are pushing Nandini as a show and concept across all social media.”

    What about competition considering Desh Ki Beti will air at 9:00 pm? “It all lies in the concept. There’s always going to be competition at any given slot across multiple channels. And I don’t think competition is something we are really worried about. We will dominate that slot through the power of our idea and power of our concept,” Seth shoots back confidently.

    With one of Sony’s best and longest running crime shows, Crime Petrol, having been cut down to accommodate Bhoot Aya, isn’t the channel worried about viewership? “We are just making a three-day thing to a two-day thing. There won’t be a problem in that. We want to introduce some novelty and some differentiation,” quips Seth.

    Meanwhile, asked if the new shows will help Sony reclaim its number three position or higher, a media planner says: “We cannot be wrong in saying that, Sony has been very experimentative in nature. I see some positive vibes from Nandini, the storyline and concept is relevant in today’s time. As far as Bhoot Aya is concerned, the concept is not something unusual. Already there are shows like this; people want to see something different. I don’t know what different the channel plans to show viewers, but this non-fiction piece will definitely fail viewership.”

  • Sony is No. 2 second time in a row

    Sony is No. 2 second time in a row

    MUMBAI: Even as viewers were watching a bigger drama unfold on news channels with Anna Hazare holding ground at Ramlila Maidaan and the Government in the Parliament, the Hindi general entertainment channels (GECs) didn‘t lose there share of viewership.

    Sony Entertainment Television (Set) continued to be the second most-watched GEC, according to TAM data for the week ended 27 August (Hindi speaking markets ,4+, C&S) Though the channel lost 3 GRPs (gross rating points), it still ended the week with 242 GRPs, well above Colors (228 GRPs in the week).

    For Set, good news is that KBC is maintaining an average TVR of 4+, while its fiction shows – Bade Acche Lagte Hain (4.11), Crime Petrol, C.I.D. and Saas bina Sasural – are also getting good viewership numbers.

    Star Plus, the numero uno channel, closed the week with 299 GRPs (last week 297). Star Plus‘ Saathiya Saath Nibhaana (7 pm show) is leading the shows chart with 5.6 TVR.

    Zee TV, which has now slipped to fourth position, remained the only channel which saw a fall in GRPs. The channel lost 14 GRPs from its last week‘s tally and has registered 180 GRPs in the week.

    Sab, meanwhile, remained unscathed at 128 GRPs, while Imagine TV closed with 75 GRPs (76 in previous week).

    Star One and Sahara One closed the week with 32 and 31 GRPs respectively.