ITV

Tag: Zee

  • Hindi GEC women-centric shows highlight crucial issues around women’s day

    Hindi GEC women-centric shows highlight crucial issues around women’s day

    MUMBAI: Over a period of time, Hindi GECs have made many attempts to show the female protagonist in a stronger character. From Tulsi of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Parvati of Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki solving their domestic issues in the shows to Anandi of Balika Vadhu fighting for her basic rights to Mini of Patiala Babes addressing issues faced by women channels have made sure to portray women characters in a better way which is more relatable and also inspires many women viewers and convey a strong message in the society.

    Viacom18 Hindi Mass Entertainment chief content officer Manisha Sharma said, "Colors believes in leading the content curve, more so when it comes to women-centric programming. Over the years, we have given Indian television some of the most iconic women characters who are impactful and empowering. Our current line-up of shows have Meher of Choti Sarrdaarni, Pinky of Naati Pinky Ki Lambi Love Story, Bondita of Barrister Babu, Heer of Shakti.. Astitva Ke Ehsaas Kii who embody the spirit of womanhood and are a true inspiration.”

    This year, United Nations celebrates Women’s Day with the theme of ‘Each for Equal’, which upholds that an equal world is an enabled one. It is unfortunate that women are still judged and constantly made to feel awkward for something as frivolous and insignificant as a ‘peeking bra strap’. Viacom18’s youth and entertainment channel MTV has launched a campaign Baar Bra Dekho to normalise conversations around bra straps and slam the judgemental eye rolls on a woman’s peeking strap.

    The campaign kickstarted with a series of engaging content on social media and grabbed the attention of the viewers, asking them to talk it out and share their stories of strap shaming. It also went out into the crowd to understand the perception of uncles, aunties and youngsters alike on peeking bra straps.

    The channel’s show Nishedh will also addressed relevant issues on Women's Day. “Since inception, Viacom18 has worked towards identifying differentiated content that cultivate positive social change through its storytelling. MTV Nishedh looks at issues that have been brushed aside under the garb of stigma too long in ignorance. These are issues such as safe sex, consent, safe abortion, malnutrition and TB, which impact women. Through relatable and close to reality characters, the show answers some pertinent questions of concern. The lead female character of Aastha Gunawat unravels many facets of the young woman of today. A risk-taker at the age of 21, Aastha deals with challenges in her new journey, looking to make a name for herself.  MTV Nishedh gives a voice to concerns that are suppressed by patriarchal conventions with a strong narrative that engages and relates to the youth,” said Viacom18 corporate marketing, communications and sustainability head Sonia Huria.

    In line with the brand philosophy of Sony Entertainment Television, which values partnerships, this year’s Women’s Day campaign highlights gender equality #SheEqualsHe. The campaign thought stems from a very critical question – What do women really want? Instead of opening the car door for her, it’s time to open our minds; instead of giving her a reserved seat in a bus or metro, it’s time to make her feel safe when she’s travelling. Instead of saying ‘Ladies First’, it’s time to say ‘we are equals”. It’s time to say #SheEqualsHe.

    Link of TVC:

    https://www.facebook.com/sonytelevision/videos/207311794014138/?epa=SEARCH_BOX

    Sony Entertainment Television’s show Patiala Babes starring Ashnoor Kaur, Sourabh Raaj Jain and Saisha Bajaj truly believe that no child should grow up in the spectre of violence and abuse and this very thought has been incorporated in the form of an interesting track around ‘Good Touch and Bad Touch’ within the show. Patiala Babes has always been at the forefront of educating its viewers through its progressive narrative, be it women empowerment or establishing one’s identity in the society or even pay parity.

    In the show, Mini (Ashnoor Kaur) will be seen teaching her younger sister Aarya ( Saisha Bajaj) about the concept of ‘Good Touch and Bad Touch’ after one of her friends in the school has a bad experience with the school Peon. Post the incident Arya is in a state of shock and reluctant to talk about it to anyone. Mini takes charge and not just ensures proper guidance to Arya but also fights back with the support of other ladies of her mohollah through a campaign #ChuppiNoMore.

    To celebrate Women's Day the channel’s The Kapil Sharma Show will have all women cast of Devi on Sunday, 8 March.

  • Nobel Hygiene gets ‘Real’ with the launch campaign of RIO -Heavy Duty Pads

    Nobel Hygiene gets ‘Real’ with the launch campaign of RIO -Heavy Duty Pads

    Mumbai: RIO, the first sanitary pad designed for women with heavy flow, launched its communication campaign featuring Radhika Apte. With the campaign, RIO aims to spread awareness about heavy flow and establish the inadequacy of existing solutions.

    The campaign will also seek to educate the audience on the pains of heavy flow and its main causes being PCOD and early onset of menopause, create solidarity among women facing it by letting them know they are not alone and encouraging them to talk about it. RIO has already taken up a raw and real approach with its Digital Audios released with #MyBloodySecret. The same tone is carried forward in the TVC with Radhika Apte calling Heavy Flow, for what it is. The imagery used is true and brings out the problems of heavy flow without mincing any words and striking imagery. After the successful digital leg, that saw a plethora of women share their stories on heavy flow, the video campaign will take the conversation a step further.

    Commenting on the campaign launch, Nobel Hygiene VP Kartik Johari said, “Menstruation is one of our more discussed taboos, but issues with Heavy Flow are largely subsumed. With our direct campaign, we hope to spark a few million conversations in homes and shine a light on the silent suffering of women throughout the nation. We can’t imagine what it must be like when your body is fighting against you so regularly, and when everyone around you is indifferent, at best! So, we haven’t pulled any punches – casting Radhika Apte with her performing prowess; Afshan as the director of the film, who is close to the problem herself; a maxed female crew, so that we don’t miss a step along the way. And we have a powerful film that can command a heavy-duty conversation, for a heavy-duty problem.”
    The Womb Communications founding partner Navin Talreja said, “1 out of 5 women suffers from PCOD in India, a condition that leads to heavy flow. Most of these women are middle-aged and above. Our communication had to appeal to these mature, self-assured, confident women. This offered us the opportunity to lead culture with this brand and stay away from the fake codes of the category. In a category obsessed with whimsical and impractical pay-offs like women jumping hurdles and wearing white pants, RIO is pitched as an empathetic brand, a brand that understands the real issues faced by real women who suffer from the heavy flow.”

    Radhika Apte also added, “By now, everyone knows what a sanitary napkin ad is going to be like. Same old white pants, girls running and hopping around, and that same old blue liquid! I mean, we’ve had enough. It’s 2020! Why can’t we just show what heavy flow is really like? Why can’t we just show the blood? That’s why the red, bleeding balloon. A symbol of heavy flow. And a symbol to help women open up about their feelings and experiences. Heavy flow is not just something you can forget. It needs attention. It needs solutions; not jugaads.”

    The 30-sec TVC / video will be seen across multiple digital platforms and television channels that include Sun TV, Star, Zee, News18 and a few more.

    Rio sanitary pads come in XL size and will have features such as Cottony Top Sheet, 3X More Absorption, Better Dryness, Wetness Lock, Odour Lock, Extra glue grip and will provide Complete Coverage with Strong Side Leak Guards instead of wings. RIO will be available in leading retail & chemist stores and will also have an online presence on Amazon

  • Publicis India rolls out integrated campaign for Zee Biskope

    Publicis India rolls out integrated campaign for Zee Biskope

    MUMBAI: For the first time ever, recently launched Zee Biskope has got on-board all three superstars of Bhojiwood – Nirahua, Pawan Singh, and Khesari Lal Yadav as its brand ambassadors. It also rolled out a high-decibel integrated ad campaign that celebrates the channel’s unique offerings. The campaign spanned across mediums like television, print, outdoor, digital, and radio with the aim to create awareness and build sampling momentum.

    Publicis India conceptualised a unique campaign that epitomises the three main genres of Bhojpuri movies: Action, Romance, and Drama which are essayed by Zee Biskope’s brand ambassadors Pawan Singh, Khesari Lal Yadav, and Niruaha, respectively. All three films were written and directed keeping the Bhojpuri audience and nuances in mind. The creative idea was to rejoice every moment of your Bhojpuriya life to its unabashed best just like Bhojpuri movies do.

    Highlighting the marketing idea behind the campaign, Zee Biskope and Big Ganga business head Amarpreet Singh Saini said, “The idea behind the campaign was to capture the essence of Bhojpuri movies albeit with a clutter breaking rendition. The films were meant to connect with the audience and at the same time establish the brand as a unique offering in the category. Each film takes a distinct and stand out route to introduction of the conflict, revealing the mega star and culmination into celebration of brand promise in three distinct styles. The high uniqueness score’ in brand survey corroborates the efficacy of this well thought out campaign. The collaboration with Publicis ensured authenticity and finesse across films, given their keen eye for detail and high thrust on sophistication in execution.”

    Adding his views, Ajay Gahlaut, MD & CCO, Publicis India MD and CCO Ajay

    Gahlaut said, “We wanted to appeal to the sensibilities of the delightful people of Bhojpuri belt – witty, funny and unapologetically over-the-top. We are giving the people what they want with this campaign – unlimited entertainment at all hours of the day. We are happy to see our messaging having a great impact with the audience it is intended towards.”

    ZEE BISKOPE aims to be the ultimate destination of authentic Bhojpuri entertainment. The brand signifies a space which enables viewers to rejoice their Bhojpuriyat at their unabashed best. Touted as the go-to destination for Bhojpuri movies; ZEE BISKOPE offers a slew of robust content spread across an array of genres highly popular amongst Bhojpuri audience, such as romance, drama, action and comedy. With a strong library of 300+ movies, ZEE BISKOPE boasts biggest blockbuster movies of last 5 years and the biggest hits of the top 3 superstars of Bhojiwood – Nirahua, Pawan and Khesari. The channel’s library enjoys movies across eras – region’s legends (Manoj Tiwari, Ravi Kishan), current superstars (Nirahua, Pawan & Khesari) and upcoming favourites (Chintu Pandey & Yash Mishra). With chartbuster movies, exclusive titles, movie-based programming throughout the day the channel is geared up to aggressively deliver its core proposition “Aathon Pahariya Loota Lahariya” (enjoy Bhojpuri entertainment throughout the day).

  • BARC week 6: Four Zee regional channels lead regional markets

    BARC week 6: Four Zee regional channels lead regional markets

    MUMBAI: In week six of BARC India ratings, Zee's four regional channels  Zee Bangla, Zee Biskope, Zee Marathi and Zee Kannada led in Bangla, Bhojpuri, Marathi and Kannada markets respectively. Zee Punjabi and Zee were seen holding second position in their respective market, whereas Zee Tamil holds third position in the Tamil market. 

    In Bangla market, Zee Bangla, Star Jalsha, Jalsha Movies, Zee Bangla Cinema and Colors Bangla were the top Bangla channels in week 06 of BARC India ratings. Last week Star Jalsha held the leading position in the Bangla market. This Colors Bangla also entered replacing Sun Bangla in the list.

    Bangla

    In Bhojpuri market, Zee Biskope, Bhojpuri Cinema, Big Ganga, B4U Bhojpuri and Dabangg were the top five Bhojpuri channels. No changes were observed in the pecking order of top five Bhojpuri channels in week 06 of BARC India ratings. 

    Bhojpuri

    In Gujarati market, Colors Gujarati Cinema, Colors Gujarati, ABP Asmita, TV9 Gujarati and VTV News were the top five Gujarati channels in week six of BARC India ratings. No changes were observed in the pecking order of top five Gujarati channels. 

    Gujarati

    +

    In Kannada market, Zee Kannada, Colors Kannada, Udaya TV, Star Suvarna, and Udaya Movies were the top five Kannada channels and no changes were observed in the pecking order of channels in week six of BARC India ratings.

    Kannada

    In Malayalam market, Asianet, Mazhavil Manorama, Flowers TV, Surya TV and Zee Keralam, were the top five channels in week six of BARC India ratings

    Malayalam

    Zee Marathi, Colors Marathi, Star Parvah, Fakt Marathi and Star Talkies were the top Marathi channels in week six of BARC India ratings 

    Marathi

    PTC Punjabi, Zee Punjabi, Pitaara TV, Maha Punjabi and DD Punjabi were the top five Punjabi channels in week six of BARC India ratings.

    Punjabi

    Sun TV, Star Vijay, Zee Tamil, KTV and Star Vijay Super were the top five channels in week six of BARC India ratings. This week Star Vijay Super replaced last week's new entrant Adithya Tv at fifth position. 

    Tamil

    Star Maa, Zee Telugu,  ETV Telugu, Gemini TV, and  Gemini Movies were top five Telugu channels in week six of BARC India ratings. This week Zee Telugu has moved up to second position and Gemini Movies has replaced Star Maa Movies in fifth position.

    Telugu

     

  • Zee Thirai to fulfil demand for content and star-driven movies

    Zee Thirai to fulfil demand for content and star-driven movies

    MUMBAI: Zee has covered most of the regional space with its GEC and movie channels. With the launch of Zee Thirai it strengthened its footprint in the southern market. Unveiling the plans and programming strategies for the channel to have strong consumer pull in Tamil market, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEEL) South Cluster Head Siju Prabhakaran says, “Our commitment is to keep ourselves in-line with the demand for content driven or star driven movies in that market.”

    He further says, “The ability to differentiate viewers by offering brand propositions and our engagement with audiences, are what we believe will make us stand apart from other players and help us garner viewership share.”

    Zee Thirai has 400 plus library strength and it will aggressively acquire movies from time to time both star-driven and content-driven. The library would be shared between Zee Tamil and Zee Thirai but there will be big movies which might air on Zee Tamil first and then come to Zee Thirai or there could be certain movies which might premiere only on Zee Thirai.

    “We believe in the regional market and specifically in southern market which is very strong. Otherwise we would not be investing in it. These are growing markets and there is tremendous scope for us to grow in this market too,” says Prabhakaran.

    He also informs, “Through our brand we are trying to communicate that we will celebrate Tamil cinema in the best possible way and this celebration will extent to the channel's offering. Every week there will be new premiere and this is a first of its kind that any regional channel is offering.”

    Viewership trends in southern market is different from other markets. The audiences in this market consumes more content in the morning and afternoon. To grab maximum eyeballs from those slots, Zee Thirai has strategised by offering a breakless movie slot in the afternoon and in the morning slot it will show classical movies from yesteryear.

    “All these product offerings make Zee Thirai very interesting. It is available on all leading DTH operator/ players and lot of cable operators are carrying it. In fact, those who have not carried it yet are getting constant enquiries,” says Prabhakaran.

    The channel is looking at both advertising and subscription-driven revenue models. “We have just launched the channel and I am sure once the audience build up happens, advertisers will follow but it’s very important that we get the product right first. If the consumer pull is created, advertisers are always willing to support brands which build consumer base.”

    Tamil is one of the largest regional markets in our country and movie as a space is the second largest genre after general entertainment. Movie channels specifically contribute around 12 per cent viewership. With the increase in the number of movies released in the theatre, it is a value proposition for the broadcasters to have movie channels. Movie viewership has also grown on the television.

    He opines, “In Tamil Nadu, we have been growing from strength to strength in the last 3 to 4 years. We are able to establish ourselves as a strong number two channel in market. In a market where there are difficulties but we have managed to get very strong viewership, it gives us confidence to launch other channels.”

    Prabhakaran also hopes by the end of the 12 months, Zee Thirai becomes a strong brand. “We definitely want to be amongst the movie watching audience. We want to be able to capture the minds of our audience,” he concludes.

  • Edelweiss, Elara Capital stay bullish on ZEEL; raise target price

    Edelweiss, Elara Capital stay bullish on ZEEL; raise target price

    MUMBAI: Despite a decline in advertising revenue, EBITDA, brokerage firms Edelweiss and Elara Capital are bullish on the target price of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL). The analysts also expect ZEEL to maintain its momentum in subscription revenue growth.

    Edelweiss expects ZEEL to be a key beneficiary of the NTO regime given its strong pan-India viewership, comprehensive bouquet offerings, and entry in new markets. The firm maintains the target PE of 20x and roll forward to June 2021 to arrive at a target price of Rs 424.

    “We expect ZEEL to maintain momentum in subscription revenue growth; however, its secular growth is hinged on the resumption of the advertising momentum, particularly by FMCG and auto players. In our view, though promoters have sought a resolution on share pledging, watch out for the outcome of the ongoing audits. We maintain the target PE of 20x and roll forward to June 2021 to arrive at a TP of Rs 424. The stock is trading at ~14x/12x FY21E/22E EPS. Maintain ‘BUY/SP’,” says Edelweiss in a research report.

    “ZEEL trades at a fair valuation of 15x FY21E P/E and 14x FY22E P/E, which factor in concerns on ad revenues from macroeconomic headwinds and limit scope for potential downside. ZEEL also had an overhang due to strategic partner uncertainty, which negatively affected valuation for over a year; however, post the 22 November announcement that the promoter stake has reduced to 4.9 per cent to resolve group firm debt,” Elara Capital comments.

    It has raised its target P/E by 25 per cent to 17.5x (from 14.0x) forward P/E. It reiterates Accumulate and raise its December 2020E TP to Rs 350 from Rs 310. It predicts ZEEL will continue to trade at a small premium to SUNTV, given better ad growth prospects and scale-up in digital (ZEE5).

    However, it has mentioned that concerns persist on the ad growth front, as the FMCG vertical has yet to show signs of improvement in ad spend while macroeconomic headwinds persist with economic slowdown. Further, implementation to NTO 2.0 also would impact ad spend on the negative, given the transition period.

    It also says that the positive impact of new channel launches for the ad segment is likely to be offset by the negative impact of a decline in international ad spend as ZEEL plans to move away from traditional TV in overseas markets. It also pared off its ad growth estimates to 8 per cent in FY21, given the scope of outperformance has converged for the network, as ad spend remains weak for the GEC genre and some select regional genres seem to have peaked for strong double-digit growth.  However, there may be some respite for ad growth if Zee Anmol becomes a pay channel post NTO 2.0.

    After subscription growth of 23 per cent YoY thanks to NTO1.0, Elara Capital expects this segment to remain flat in FY21, due to NTO 2.0. It also adds that in an adverse scenario, scope exists for low single-digit decline. EBITDA margins remain under pressure, with content investment on the digital side and launch of five new regional channels in Q4FY20, which remain an overhang. Hence, it expects margin to fall below 30 per cent in FY21E.

  • ZEEL’s consolidated revenue stands at Rs 2048.7 crore in Q3 FY20

    ZEEL’s consolidated revenue stands at Rs 2048.7 crore in Q3 FY20

    MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) and its subsidiaries for the quarter ended 31 December 2019 on Tuesday. For the third quarter of FY20, ZEEL reported consolidated revenue of Rs.20,48.7 crore. EBITDA was Rs.5,65.8 crore with an EBITDA margin of27.6 per cent.

    During the third quarter, ZEEL's consolidated advertising revenue declined by 15.8 per cent YoY to Rs. 12,30.8 crore. Domestic advertising revenues declined by 15.7 per cent YoY to Rs. 11,57 crore. Domestic advertising revenue was impacted by the continued slow-down in key consumer sectors.

    “As the volume growth for most consumer companies did not see any uptick during the quarter, they cut advertising spends to protect their margins. While the festive month of October saw a pick-up in advertising spends, the growth slumped post that. The growth was also impacted due to a higher base and the effect of conversion of two channels from FTA to pay in March. We believe that the worst phase is behind us and the growth should revert to normal trajectory from next fiscal,” ZEEL stated in a press statement.

    ZEEL's consolidated subscription revenue grew by 15.4 per cent to Rs. 7,13.7 crore during the quarter. Domestic subscription revenue grew by 21.7 per cent Yo Y while the International subscription revenue declined by 17.4 per cent Yo Y.

    During the quarter, the television network had an all-India viewership share of 18.2 per cent. While its regional portfolio increased its viewership share, share in the Hindi speaking markets declined.

    Zee TV maintained its weekday prime time leadership, but lost weekend prime time share and was the number 3 channel in the pay Hindi GEC segment during the quarter.

    The network’s regional portfolio had mixed performance during the quarter. Moreover, its maintained leadership position in the Marathi, Bangia and Kannada markets, with Zee Kannada further strengthening its leadership position, widening the gap over the nearest competitor.

    Viewership shares in Marathi and. BangIa markets declined during the quarter ehile Zee Tamil improved its viewership share, Zee Telugu witnessed a marginal decline. Zee Keralam, continued to gain share in the Malayalam market establishing itself as a strong contender for the number two position. Zee Sarthak regained leadership in the Odiya market towards the end of the quarter.

    During the quarter, ZEEL's International business revenue was Rs. 1,66.5 crore. The advertising and subscription revenues declined by 18.6 per cent YoY and 17.4 per cent YoY, respectively. 

  • ZEE launches Tamil movie channel -Zee Thirai at Zee Cine Awards Tamil 2020

    ZEE launches Tamil movie channel -Zee Thirai at Zee Cine Awards Tamil 2020

    MUMBAI: The first ever Zee Cine Awards Tamil 2020 held on the 4th of January was a celebration of Tamil cinema with Zee Tamil honouring the talent that has revolutionized the industry. Amidst the grandeur, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) officially announced its entry into the Tamil Film Entertainment space with a new movie channel – Zee Thirai. The new channel is the sixth channel in the Southern region by the network and the second movie channel in the south after Zee Cinemalu.

    The announcement was made during the momentous occasion by Mr Punit Mishra, CEO- Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (India Broadcast Business) along with the emperor of Tamil Cinema- Dr Kamal Hassan. While Mr Mishra thanked the audience for their immense love and support towards Zee Tamil and dedicated the new channel to the people of Tamil Nadu, Kamal Hassan officiated the launch of Zee Thirai with a clapboard to an ecstatic audience.

    Zee Thirai, a movie channel dedicated to Tamil cinema enthusiasts, is set to resonate with the pulse of Tamilians and their love for cinema that has deep cultural and social context in the lives of Tamilians around the world. The brand tagline – “Rathathil Kalandhadhu Cinema” which literally translates to “Cinema is infused in our blood” represents the passion and impact that movies have on the Tamil Market and the power that it has to inspire the dreams and visions of the common man.

    Zee Thirai is the Tamil Film Entertainment Channel of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL). Launching in Q4 FY 19-20, Zee Thirai is set to emerge as the one-stop destination for fans of Tamil Cinema across the world. With a strong library of over 400+ films across genres such as horror, comedy, action-thriller, drama and so on, the channel aims to change the conversation from the ‘what’ to the ‘why’ of cinema.

  • WoW Music in a Brand New Avatar → iLove! Activates DD Freedish – Adding 125 million viewers!

    WoW Music in a Brand New Avatar → iLove! Activates DD Freedish – Adding 125 million viewers!

    MUMBAI: PEN Studios TV Broadcast arm, revamped its WoW Music Channel to iLove, which will now cater to an additional 30 million households across India! iLove has evolved into the fastest growing music channel, successfully more than doubling its viewership in the last 6 months!

    DD Freedish is equipped to provide access to more than 30 million households(~ 125+ million viewers), most of which fall under the HSM(Hindi speaking Markets). iLove is poised to quadruple its viewership leveraging DD Freedish starting December 01, 2019.

    This is in conjunction with permissions from MIB (Ministry of Information and Broadcasting) authorizing the re-branding to iLove.

    PEN Studios has Eight TV Broadcast Channel licenses, Two of which are on-air viz. B-Flix and iLove. Six more channels are being prepped to launch in 2020 including MTunes+.

    PEN Group is the fastest growing Entertainment Powerhouse. Pioneering Film syndication since the 1980’s to Doordarshan and subsequently to C&S channels across all major broadcasters viz. Zee, Star, Sony, Viacom, to name a few. After producing smashing box office successes like Kahaani and Shivaay, they recently announced a big production with Sanjay Leela Bhansali titled “Gangubai” starring Alia Bhat. PEN is very strong on theatrical distribution and formed a Joint Venture, ‘PEN Marudhar’ last year. PEN Marudhar has distributed over 20 movies till date including Zero, Badla, Dream Girl, Marjaavan to name a few and will be distributing the upcoming Love Aajkal 2 and Angrezi Medium. Acclaimed for its multitude of box office returns, PEN has a legacy of working with some of the most inspiring minds from the film industry and has been consistent in enabling quality content catering to a wide range of audiences across India. PEN has tied up with VFX company Famulus which furnished VFX for Mission Mangal.

  • How ‘Bigg Boss’, ‘Chhoti Sardarni’ are driving Colors to the top

    How ‘Bigg Boss’, ‘Chhoti Sardarni’ are driving Colors to the top

    MUMBAI: Reality TV shows have practically dominated television in recent years, but do channels really benefit by airing cost-intensive, star-studded, high-impact shows?

    Colors Hindi – the GEC from the Viacom18 stable – seems to know the answer. And the answer is Bigg Boss.

    In its thirteenth season, the Salman Khan-hosted show has once again helped the channel reclaim the top position in BARC India week 45 ratings in HSM urban prime time slot, with decent help from Chhoti Sardarni, which that completed 100 episodes earlier this month.

    Launched on 29 September, Bigg Boss opened with a viewership of 6.9 million, making it the second-best launch in the category (year to date FY20 – YTD FY20). However, as the show progressed and viewers got familiar with the new contestants in its latest edition, its viewership saw a positive rally. Within six weeks of its launch, Biggg Boss has already reached 139 million viewers across India, according to data provided by the channel team.

    In the latest two weeks – BARC week 44 and week 45 (26 October to 8 November) – data for which is available, Bigg Boss has emerged as  the number 1 non-fiction show on weekends and the undisputed slot leader on weekdays with 27 per cent market share in HSM Urban 2+ and 29 per cent market share in AB 15+ category.

    Bigg Boss is not only leading its slot  (weekdays 2230 to 2330; weekends 2100 to 2200) but its huge-viewership during the last two weeks has also helped Colors regain the much-coveted number 1 spot in the crowded Hindi GEC market, according to channel data. 

    On the weekends, however, as seen in the picture above, Bigg Boss is facing stiff competition from Sony’s Indian Idol and The Kapil Sharma Show.

    Speaking on the success of Bigg Boss Season 13, Viacom18 chief content officer Hindi mass entertainment Manisha Sharma says: “Bigg Boss is doing very well – its popularity has only increased with the years. It opened with a viewership of 6.9 million on HSM Urban and has already reached over 140 million Indians, which is a very big number. On digital as well, the show is getting amazing numbers.  It’s the second-best launch this year in non-fiction shows.”

    Notably, Bigg Boss has also helped Viacom18 in getting more eye-balls on Voot. “Voot had nearly 60 million monthly users. But since the launch of Bigg Boss, that number has shot to 80 million. Bigg Boss Kannada is also getting a lot of traction on Voot,” reveals Sharma.

    She is also upbeat about reality shows despite the high-input capital required in their production.

    “Reality shows are high-impact properties and almost every network in the world is investing in them. They generate a lot of impact and grab eyeballs, which attract big sponsors. Colors is doing very well with its impact properties. There is Bigg Boss, Fear Factor – Khatron ke Khiladi, Rising Star, and Dance Deewane. All these shows are doing very well.”

    Colors ratings, however, have also been helped by a decent performance by Chhoti Sardarni. Based in a small village, Choti Sardaarni narrates the story of Meher, who is fighting for the rights and safety of her child. It has emerged as the number 1 show on Colors and is also a slot leader (weekdays 1930-2000), cornering a whopping 40 per cent market share in HSM Urban during BARC India week 42 – week 45. The show consistently features in the top five  fiction shows and became the number 1 fiction show in BARC India week 43 (17 October to 25 October).

    “Chhoti Sardarni has become the slot leader in its category within a short span of four months. It has finished 100 episodes but it feels like we have just started. The lead character, Meher already features in Ormax’s Top five loved characters and it happens to be the fastest character to enter the top 10 most loved characters across India on the Ormax characters India loves study. This is a testament to how much its characters are being loved by the viewers,” Sharma adds.

    Together, these two shows have helped Colors reclaim the top spot in Hindi GEC in week 45. Overall, from week 38 to week 45, Colors was the number two channel in Hindi GEC Urban category. 


     
    The Hindi GEC is a crowded space with the likes of Sony Entertainment, Sony SAB, Zee, Star Plus and Colors slugging it out for the top spot. While Colors was at the top spot in week 45, Sony and Star Plus aren’t much behind. In fact, all three channels (Sony, Star and Colors) have been at the top in Hindi GEC during the last two weeks, a testament to the tough competition in this category.

    Sharma has no qualms in acknowledging the tough competition in the Hindi GEC category.

    “Competition is tough in Hindi GEC but the stakes are even higher because of the size of the market. In a category like infotainment, the competition might be less, but then, revenue generation is also limited. On the contrary, Hindi GEC, despite being a highly-competitive and sometimes scary space, is a fun place to work as the size of the market is such that just the success of two to three  shows can guarantee you RoI,” she adds.

    For now, Bigg Boss and Chhoti Sardarni, are proving to be just that. And while Bigg Boss can only run for a limited time, Sharma is clear that Chhoti Sardarni has a long way to go.

    “Good shows like Kumkum and Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai have run over 1000 episodes. We have similar plans for Chhoti Sardarni,” she adds. “The Hindi speaking market is very aspirational and I think our shows will be able to capture that sentiment.”

    Her tack seems to be working so far. And it can only mean a more colourful time for Colors in the days ahead.