Mumbai: The English GEC genre accounted for less than one per cent of TV viewership and ad volumes in 2020, according to Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India. TV broadcasters hoped that the genre might grow subscription revenues post the implementation of the new tariff order (NTO). However, the pandemic struck before the TV viewership stabilised. With OTT platforms luring away their core audience with original content, some channels are now looking at massy shows to attract new audiences.
In 2020, popular English movie channels HBO and WB, GECs AXN and AXN HD, and infotainment FYI TV18 were shuttered. The viewership and advertiser support for the English GECs dwindled as global content pipelines were disrupted, stalling fresh programming. Most English GECs acquire pre-produced content which includes international sitcoms, reality TV, and even movies that are packaged for TV viewers in India.
“English general entertainment category has been impacted severely post NTO implementation which has resulted in multiple channels within the genre going off-air. All these factors, along with the regulatory changes, have been a double whammy for the English GEC in India, severely challenging its growth potential,” said Ormax Media, partner, Keerat Grewal.
The content cost for English GECs was lower than other language GECs, as they did not have any original programming. However, that turned out to be an Achilles heel post-pandemic. When the production of English content resumed, much of it was distributed via OTT platforms that reached a global audience. These platforms paid a premium to acquire English content and thus producers were able to recoup their investment.
“Competition for English GECs is mounting with the growing demand for OTT that makes premium English content more accessible to viewers in India. Consequently, English GECs have to dig deeper down the funnel to attract and interest viewers,” said Merren, chief operating officer, Monalisa Saxena.
Experts also highlight that the audience for English GECs is primarily metro skewed, and that overlaps with the paid SVOD audience. Metro audiences are migrating to video on-demand platforms, following the lure of original content. Many of these audiences are unlikely to return to TV screens once they’ve formed a habit of on-demand content.
Since subscription revenues were being claimed by OTTs, TV broadcasters looked at growing the advertising revenues for English GECs.
Zee Café has launched massy show formats like “Chef vs. Fridge” and “Dance With Me” to grow viewership and advertising revenues. While these properties were launched on Zee Café they were also aired on other network channels to make it more attractive to advertisers.
“English audience growth is linked to curation and creation of content that explores interest areas of the audience. Dance and cooking-based content are interest areas that Zee Cafe has explored. Across these formats, Zee Cafe has been able to drive sampling across more than 35 million audiences across the network,” said Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, business head – premium channels, Karthik Mahadev.
The strategy worked as the broadcaster was able to rope sponsors for both the shows. Brands like Haier, Lifebouy, Parle Platina Hide & Seek, Prestige, Catch Salt & Spices, The Gift Studio partnered with “Chef vs. Fridge” while Cetaphil Bright Healthy Radiance Range, Lifebuoy, L’Oreal Paris Total Repair 5, Jeevansaathi, Prestige and Yamaha Fascino 125Fi Hybrid partnered with “Dance With Me”.
It is a win for the brands, Mahadev noted, “On English GEC SD, between 8 p.m to 9 p.m Sunday time band, 83 per cent viewership contribution comes from reality genre followed by sitcom at 8 per cent (BARC, Period Wk 1’21- Wk32’21 – Jan 2021 to YTD).”
While these shows aired on an English GEC and were made for a premium audience, the hosts converse with the audience in Hindi or Hinglish increasing their mass appeal. This has also contributed to the popularity and reach of these shows.
“In the longer run, regional markets undoubtedly will be the driver for growth for English entertainment. There is a whole set of audience moving from regional to English content as they become more comfortable with English as a professional, conversational language” remarked Mahadev.
In terms of the top shows, The 
The original production area continues to grow in importance. One of these was Magic Asia: India which she says captured the hearts of the Indian viewers with two American magicians, Chris Korn and JB Benn. Jong-Wong says, “They brought the real excitement of street magic to the streets of India. They performed magic amongst its people and in the process, discovered the magic of India themselves.”
“Our original productions are meant for all of Asia and India is very much a part of this. Our biggest original property for this year — The Amazing Race 3 — will be back on Thursday nights at 10 pm from 11 September with 20 new faces, 10 new teams, two of which are from India: a pair of cousins and a father and son team. This will be the toughest race ever. Our viewers can expect more buzz, more excitement and enjoy the thrill ride in this all new season” she explains.
The aim of the channel has been to strengthen the mix of sitcoms, dramas, talk shows and reality-driven content. Within this, bands like ‘happy hour’ are created which look to clearly communicate the nature of the slot. If shares are anything to go by then the channel has succeeded in its aim.
As far as AXN is concerned, Jong-Wong points out to three key learnings. “We need to focus on the brand to keep us top-of-mind with viewers. We also need to be bold, daring and innovative. It is key for us to experiment with new genres and formats that have an Indian relevance. Therefore, we have done shows like AXN Extreme, Top Chef (with Padma Lakshmi) and Top Design. Most important though for us is not to have a herd mentality but to ensure that our position is clear, our content is unique and our offering is attractive.”.
The demand side by clients for the English general entertainment genre has not increased. There has not been a big increase in terms of the number of clients who use this genre. So, the rates have not gone up by more than seven to eight per cent over the past year. This genre is used by clients who target upper scale viewers who view television as a light snack.”
The second challenge he says lies in distribution. New Hindi GEC channels are launching and are willing to pay huge carriage fees which smaller channels cannot afford. Ensuring visibility is hence going to be an issue for this genre. Of course you have digital platforms like Tata Sky which would want to have these kinds of channels in their bouquet.”
In terms of the top 20 shows, AXN has got 16 in that list. The top entry interestingly enough is a film Spiderman 2. Other shows that made it include Guinness World Records, Ripley‘s Believe it or Not and David Blaine.
AXN India business head Sunder Aaron puts on a brave face, saying that no corrective measures were really required as all programming conforms to Indian norms and guidelines for content. “As with any new season, we had new television series and programmes which we refreshed the channel‘s schedule with,” says Aaron.
He offers the example of “Elite Weekends” which is the non-primetime slot on Saturday and Sunday from noon to 3 pm. The aim is to allow the dedicated fan base to sit back and enjoy catching up on their favourite international series which they have missed out over the week. “We have, therefore, ensured they get to watch all the series back to back and have clearly positioned the band as – ‘Catch all the week‘s action on AXN Elite Weekends‘.”
For Zee Café, the strategy has been different in that it decided not to focus much on local shows. In the past, it had done shows like Bombay Talking but the channel‘s business head Neil Chakravarti feels that Indian audiences are not ready for Indian fiction. The focus rested on showcasing the latest from the US. Since September, it started to bring in shows from the US at the same time as their premiere there.
Star World‘s focus, meanwhile, rested partly on the tried and tested shows like Desperate Housewives, Heroes and Ugly Betty. Complementing this were special events like Miss World and the Grammy Awards.
In terms of local initiatives, Star World has the property Koffee With Karan. The channel is exploring other local concepts.
As digitisation grows, more players are looking to enter this space. Last year, this genre got a new entrant in BBC Entertainment. As of now though the channel is only available on Tata Sky. The channel brings shows from the UK such as Spooks. The British sensibility is the starting point for this channel in terms of its USP. The programming strategy is such that there are horizontal and vertical strips.