ITV

Tag: Nissar Parvej

  • TV channels have to innovate to survive OTT threat: Sony Sab’s Neeraj Vyas

    TV channels have to innovate to survive OTT threat: Sony Sab’s Neeraj Vyas

    MUMBAI: As competition in the GEC space continues to intensify, Sony Sab has been consistently launching new shows to keep viewers engaged. The second GEC from Sony's stable, Sab TV maintains that it is the only dessert in a thali overflowing with saas-bahu sagas. But as OTTs emerge as the new challenger, channels can no longer remain complacent with the same old formulaic shows. On its part, Sab is banking on its latest offering Hero – Gayab Mode On, the channel’s take on the extremely popular and lucrative superhero genre, to cut through the clutter and draw in viewers.  

    Sony Pictures Networks India channel Sab and Max cluster of channels senior EVP and head Neeraj Vyas revealed that it took almost eight months to conceptualise and create the show. Unaffected by the upheaval caused by the Covid2019 pandemic, Vyas believes that the lockdown period has in fact helped him to work on the show. It allowed the makers to work on graphics, VFX, CJI and the overall storyline.

    Hero – Gayab Mode On is the journey of a common man, Veer, played by Abhishek Nigam, and his quest to find his father. Veer’s life takes an exciting turn when he chances upon a miraculous ring, which upon wearing gives him the power of invisibility. However, Veer’s prized possession is also desired by the evil aliens of the outer world and here begins the Hero’s real challenge to save humanity.

    The show also stars Manish Wadhwa as Amal Nanda, Ajay Gehi as Shukracharya, Yesha Rughani as Zaara, Nitish Pandey as Mama and twins Surabhi and Samriddhi as sisters Sweety & Meethi, along with a host of supporting cast.
     
    Sony Sab have ensured no stone is left unturned to impress the audience with its state-of-art graphics, elaborate costume designs, and visual effects. An entire alien spaceship interior was created on the set with hi-tech features like sliding doors, long spaceship corridors, round monitors and giant chairs, amongst other elements.

    Peninsula Pictures producer Alind Srivastava shared that makers have used both VFX and live prosthetics on actors. After a lot of trial and error, the prosthetics were ordered from the US but it couldn’t reach India due to the pandemic. Finally, the production house decided to hire Prasoon Basu to create disposable prosthetics locally. Attention was paid to the minutest details – right from the skin texture, face, hair – while designing the prosthetics for actors. It takes almost three hours for the makeup and hair process.

    Due to Covid2019 restrictions, the channel has had to cut down on the staff allowed on sets. As a result, it is extremely difficult to create a sci-fi show with limited crew members, said Srivastava. From 12 hours of shoot, the studio is able to extract only seven minutes of shot footage. The shooting is happening at Naigaon’s Mother Nature studio whereas editing and VFX is done in Peninsula Pictures’ own VFX studio in Andheri.

    Vyas mentioned that the storyline of the show is very different from other TV shows. There is a backstory to all the characters. Said he: “If you see the show there are a lot of nuances which are unlike other daily programmes, where the only aim is to create footage and ensure that the episode is delivered regularly. The lockdown helped us to work on scripts, we casted much in advance and most importantly we worked on VFX and graphics.” Hero – Gayab Mode On is believed to be different from the channel’s existing roster in the same genre Tenali Rama, Aladdin and Baalveer Returns. 

    Sab has already roped in Amul Macho as the presenting sponsor.

    As far as marketing and promotions are concerned, the channel is looking at a younger space. Hero – Gayab Mode On will be promoted through television, digital, print and OOH mediums.

    Asked about competition in the space, as other channels have similar kinds of sci-fi shows, Vyas remains unfazed. He highlighted that Sony Sab is a living room brand where every member of the family is a vital decision-maker in this process. Unlike other channels, Sony Sab is not bound to create content only for housewives. A lot of its content is geared towards entertaining various segments of the audience. While it has programmes like Tarak Mehta ka Oolta, Katelal & Sons, Chashma and Bhakharwadi which appeal to the entire family, shows like Aladdin: Naam Toh Suna Hoga, Baal Veer and Jijaji Chhat Per Hai clearly targets a younger audience. He intends to keep the audience mix beautifully balanced and intact.

    Sony Sab’s biggest viewer segment is the youth, aged between 15 to 21 years. This is followed by a huge chunk of audience in the age group of 21 to 30. The channel is actively looking at Hindi speaking market but it is not a rural-focused channel, the content is created keeping in mind the urban audience. Sony Sab clearly targets the one million-plus population market.  

    Vyas underlined that their current focus is on making audiences aware of the quality and variety that the channel is delivering to ensure that television survives from the competition faced by OTT content. Said he: “Online content is viewed by every category of the consumer across the country and it is not elite anymore. Today, it’s not unusual for the common man to have two to three OTT apps. It means that people are now seeing a huge amount of innovative, and very high-quality differentiated content which was not the case a few months back. If TV has to stay relevant, we absolutely can’t be just for the sake of ratings and keep putting out the same content.”

    He opined that ratings are critical but now consumers have the right to choose. It is important to create a fine balance between rating and brand image in the long term. He believes that keeping a watchful eye on ratings and also managing to create a differentiated appeal for the brand in terms of production quality, content, packaging makes a lot of difference. The entertainment audience will now have to cater to a much larger audience. Innovation and variety are the need of the hour, he said.

    With this philosophy in mind, Srivastava, who conceptualised Hero along with his partner Nissar Parvej, has derived his inspiration from Indian mythologies and Puranic stories. The makers have incorporated a distinct Indian silhouette along with the element of modernity while designing the set, head gears, weapons and costumes. They have made use of LED lights in the costumes which is further advanced by VFX and CCI. The show is directed by Maan Singh, and the sets designed by Vinod Bagh and Archana Shourey. The duo has recreated Mumbai streets inside the studio to shoot multiple fight sequences. Souvik Bhattacharyya is the music composer. Costumes are created by senior costume designer Vini Malhotra.

    The studio has hired concept artist Harshvardhan Kadam to design the look of the spaceship and other characters. Apart from Srivastava and Parvej the show is developed and written by Shakti Sagar Chopra and Faisal Akhtar. Later, Utkarsh Mathane also joined the writers’ room.

    The channel is all set to announce yet another show, but currently, Vyas refused to delve into further details about it.

  • Broadcasters split over rising production cost of GEC content

    Broadcasters split over rising production cost of GEC content

    MUMBAI: The rise in over the top (OTT) platforms has also led broadcasters and production houses to drive up the investment into its TV shows. The same companies are now even producing for both TV and digital.

    TV still has more headroom for growth, despite the OTT hype. India has 64 per cent TV home penetration and much room for growth. Data also shows that 86 per cent of Indian homes still watch TV on CRT sets and only 3 per cent are multi-TV homes. TV viewing in India has grown from 3 hr 14 min (2015) to 3 hr 36 min (2017) but it is still lower than the US, which boasts of an ATS of 3 hr 54 min. This gives a clear indication that there is immense scope for TV and it will further rise. According to FICCI 2018 report, TV viewership has grown by 21 per cent and it has grown across all age groups. On the other hand, even giants like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video are finding it tough to crack the OTT market here. The country’s online video market, valued at over $700 million, is expected to grow to $2.4 billion by 2023.

    According to Zee TV business head Aparna Bhosle, production cost will not increase. Whereas, Sony Sab, Pal business head Neeraj Vyas believes it will definitely increase. Viacom18 youth music and English entertainment head Ferzad Palia said that the cost of production will not be affected massively but will see a win-win situation for broadcasters, production houses and consumers.

    Viacom18 Hindi mass entertainment and kids TV network head Nina Elavia Jaipuria made her point by saying that a GEC needs fresh episodes every day, unlike OTT where the concept is of limited episodes and seasons with intervals. She added that there could be inflation and there could be little talent cost going up but there would not be that kind of inflation where the cost of production will go up.

    Vyas said, “Content house is constantly growing and this is the time where good, differentiated and innovative content is really needed, and that’s not going to be cheap." Whereas, Bhosle said, “The cost of production will not increase. It largely depends on the kind of story, where you set it and how much you want to spend on it. So you can make a story in Rs 40 lakh or you can also make a story in Rs 5 lakh. It all depends on the quality.” She differentiates that OTT viewing is individual in nature while TV here is more family-oriented. So even if shows are being watched on OTT, it does not mean that it’s eating away from television.

    Moreover, Palia said that there have been cases where the cost of production for digital is higher than what one would pay for television. He said that he has also heard about the instances where the bigger production houses had limited bandwidth and had chosen to do a digital show over a television show. According to him, it is a great opportunity for them because they can now monetise it across different screens and also for the production houses who could earlier make content for television to now broaden its base to mobile screens as well. “So I think it’s a win-win and I don’t think it will massively affect the cost of production. The consumers will also have a broader choice for the content that they want to watch and at a time and place where they want to watch,” he said.

    Indian broadcasters produce over 100,000 hours of content annually across languages and formats while newer players are investing higher amounts per episode and are tying up with leading talent. The increase in cost is expected to impact cost of film acquisition more than costs of episodic content. The overall cost of content rose by almost 2-3 per cent of their top line. With OTT companies refusing to take their foot off the pedal, broadcasters have no choice but to pay up. However, if their bid for quality programming fails to generate higher viewership which can be monetised better, broadcasters may not pursue quality, and stick to current cost metrics, according to a report. 

    Jaipuria said that TV needs to be supplied with 10 episodes a day and to meet such demands, the supply has to be at an affordable rate. While there is always inflation, I’m not sure there is going to be so much inflation in the cost of content per se when the demand is so high. "There has to be a demand and supply which will always even out. Even if there is an increase in cost, we are hoping that in the long term, we better our subscription revenue with the tariff order and that means we will invest more in content," she added. 

    Production houses have a similar story to tell. For Peninsula Pictures, led by Nissar Parvej and Alind Srivastava, the cost of production will not observe a hike. On the contrary, Swastik Productions writer, director, and producer Siddharth Kumar Tewary felt the opposite.

    Parvej said that the money is definitely more in the OTT space, but that doesn't make TV insecure.  “TV will be TV. I feel it will go down because I think the advertising money that they used to get before is not the same. The kind of cost we used to get five years is not seen anymore, it has come down and that is why the competition has become stiff. Reliance etc. are pumping in money but how much of it works, we will have to wait and see. There might be a cut-down or might take 4-5 years for OTT to settle,” he said.

    Srivastava chipped in and said, “I don’t think cost of production will go up. It also depends on the storylines like mythological shows can be made in Rs 10-50 lakh per episode.” Since consumers are exposed to global content now, local players, as per Tewary, will have to work on the content quality.

    Twisting it around, Carat India SVP Mayank Bhatnagar gave a different perspective to the mushrooming trend. He said that in 2019, the production quality has to be good but it will all depend on marketing. “People will only watch this content if there is enough awareness. Here, marketing spends will play a major role. If you look at the overall cost, it includes all the marketing expenses plus the production expenses then definitely the cost of production will go up because the kind of clutter that is there in the market, one needs to invest money behind promotion otherwise nobody will notice it,” he concluded.

    According to the KPMG FICCI report 2017, on an average, 20–30 minutes of fictional digital content can cost anywhere between Rs 12–15 lakh, which is higher than content costs on television. Despite significant beliefs from the broadcasters, production houses and media planners, OTT content is equally or more expensive than producing TV shows.