That's the message (article)

heyy guys!! i found a article which had sumthing bout indian idol so i decided to share it with u guys!

THATS THE MESSAGE

What started out as promising has now turned into a hitch in television programming. SMS or short message service emerged as the Indian broadcast industry's biggest marketing tool. In the past few years, it also opened up the broadcasters' worldview to audiences countrywide.

Channel after channel chose the SMS route to reach its audience; that of course speaks volumes about the telecom revolution sweeping the country. Alongside mobile phone usage SMS use has also taken off in a big way, say telecom analysts. At Frames 2005, the annual media and entertainment conference, Kunal Dasgupta, CEO of Sony Entertainment Television India, said the channel was astounded by the stupendous SMS response to its first edition of Indian Idol. But the euphoria over SMS is changing. Talent-based reality shows are bearing the brunt of SMS votes with undertones of provincial interests. Fairly good singers were voted out from Sony's Fame Gurukul. Star One's Nach Baliye, a dance-based show, was also similarly affected. More recently, Zee TV's Sa Re Ga Ma Pa was faced with a piquant situation related to SMS votes. The show has received an unprecedented number of votes in favour of Debojit, a contestant from Silchar, Assam. Debojit is pitted against Vinit, a contestant from Lucknow, in the last leg of the show. Participants, including music directors have openly admitted that one contestant had got this far on the sheer strength of SMS votes coming from his state. They are repeatedly asking audiences to put aside regional considerations and vote purely for talent. Local newspaper reports say the show directors are flummoxed but unable to do anything as audience vote is the sole criteria for adjudging the winner. On Indian Idol 2, the jury members — Farah Khan, Anu Malik and Sonu Nigam — do not seem too pleased with the audience verdict. The regional bias of TV audiences was evident in the final round of Indian Idol 1. In housing colonies across Mumbai, notice boards akin to those put up by political parties urged residents to vote for the city boy. Pitted in the final bout was Abhijeet Sawant of Mumbai against Amit Sana of Bhilai. Sawant went on to win, backed largely by the huge number of votes coming from Mumbai. Tickle, tickle The humour quotient on Indian television is slowly inching up, to meet a growing demand for such programming. But humour on TV is currently all about bumbling fools, missed opportunities, mimicking stars, politicians and cricketers, and everyday follies. There is no clear winner here. If SAB TV's Aaj Ke Shrimaan Shrimati manages to get some laughs on one episode, the plot falls flat the next time round. In fact, the promos for the show appear much more on the mark! Star One's The Great Indian Comedy Show does have some interesting gags but many of them are silly. Though one must admit that the show has a bunch of talented actors led by Ranvir Shorey and Vinay Pathak. The Great Indian Laughter Challenge One even threw up some talented stand-up comedians. Sahara One's recently launched show NGTakes (no good takes), anchored by comedian Suresh Menon is all about trivia in Hindi films.

ETV Gujarati has gone one step ahead... promos for its comedy programme, Wah Bhai Wah, hold out this promise: "Rib tickling jokes from well known artists will relax you from your busy and erratic life... If you want to laugh without joining a laughing club and wasting money, keep watching the laughter show... ''