Films down, daily soaps rock

Films down, daily soaps rock

If 2009 was not a good year for films at the box-office, their performance has not been good enough on television either. Take the case of Wanted and Blue for instance. Both premiered on television in January and December on Star Plus and Colors, respectively. While Wanted, the biggest box-office hit of last year delivered around 4 TVRs, Blue averaged 3.1 rating. Both the films were however, telecast in the evening slot instead of the usual Sunday night. Blue's second run on NDTV Imagine two weeks later delivered only 1.5 rating. The premiere of Delhi-6 on Colors in December, the number one GEC, had notched up a paltry 1.6 rating. Re-runs of 2008 blockbusters like Jab We Met, Singh Is Kinng and Welcome are struggling for 1 TVR. The case with Ghajini, Bhoothnath, Golmaal Returns and several other titles is no different either.

In contrast, popular television dailies like Pavitra Rishta, Laado, Uttaran, Balika Vadhu, Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, Agle Janam... and Bidaai are rocking with close to five and six ratings. On a few occasions, some of these shows have even delivered 7-plus and 8 TVRs. Even early prime-time shows like Choti Bahu and Bhagyavidhaata have delivered better value for money than some of the star-studded films. The only recent exception has been Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani, which notched up an impressive 7.5 TVR for its premiere run on Colors and averaged around 3 on Imagine in second run. Why are films, considered to be the best for wholesome family entertainment, lagging behind television fiction on rating meter? While industry experts feel that most films failing to pass the test of popularity on television is the direct reflection of their lacklustre performance in theatres, channels however, have a different view.

According to Star India's head of marketing Anupam Vasudev, films continue to grab eyeballs. "They comprise about 15 to 20 per cent of general entertainment consumption. It is a healthy ratio in the current scenario of competition and multiple choices," he defends. Zee's head of marketing Akash Chawla explains, "Films as a genre is doing fine. It is just that some films don't do well. Blue wasn't a box-office hit. Taare Zameen Par had delivered five-plus ratings for us."

However, Danish Khan, Sony's head of marketing, is of the view that not only films but fiction also has had a decline in ratings. He explains, "Some films continue to do well. Chak De! India and Vivah were blockbusters on Sony. Earlier fiction used to deliver close to 15 TRP. Today it has come down to 7 and 8 TVR. Similarly, the rating for films has come down from 8 to 3.5 and 4 TVR. The decline is across the board." Akash has another point. According to him, not all films are targeted at mass audience, thanks to the multiplexes. "Films meant for the niche audience don't rake in the kind of money mass films do. The same holds true for television," he avers.

However, they all agree that the current syndication model that came into effect from last year has affected films' ratings. "Earlier films used to be exclusive properties of one particular channel for five years. Now they are syndicated for multiple airings to different channels. So when a film is telecast several times within a span of six months ratings are bound to be affected," defends Akash. Besides the syndication model what is also affecting ratings is the number of films being telecast on GECs. "Earlier films used to be telecast at prime time only on Sundays on three channels. Today every channel airs four to six movies on weekends," points out Danish, adding, "Besides there are three exclusive 24x7 movie channels competing with GECs."

While DTH is said to be no reason for decline in ratings as DTH homes (about 20 million) are covered under TAM universe for determining ratings, the recent dry run of films at the box-office is another reason being cited for low TRPs. "The current numbers reflect the not so good performance of several films in theatres," admits Akash. While Akash and others agree that the overall ability of films as a genre to deliver higher ratings has gone down for various reasons, they all continue to be bullish on films though. The major reason is the variety and wider audience which patronises films. "The profile of audience for films is far more result-oriented than that of fiction," adds Sony's ex-fiction head Sanjay Upadhyay.

Also, like reality TV, films are essentially marketing tools for channels. "They not only bring in additional non-core GEC viewers (kids, youth and men) but are used as a marketing strategy to promote existing and new shows," says Nikhil Madhok, head of marketing and communication, NDTV Imagine.

But films don't come cheap. The premiere of a box-office blockbuster costs as much as Rs. 2 crore while its second and third runs cost about Rs. 1.5 and Rs. 1 crore, respectively. Acquisition cost for average and niche films varies but nothing comes for a song. In comparison, the average cost of an episode of a daily is about Rs. 6 to 7 lakh. Most films are telecast over three hours (six half-hours slots) while a few run for three -and-a-half hours. Thus the premiere of a film spread over three hours costs as much as Rs. 40 lakh per half hour, compared to Rs. 7 lakh for a fiction show.

Given such a high cost of acquisition and lower ratings, do films make good business sense in current environment? Nikhil admits that economics are not loaded in favour of films. "Not only fiction is the bread- and-butter of GECs, it is profitable too. But you don't lose money on films even if you don't make pots of it," he adds. While Danish says one needs to be clever enough to monetise on film properties, Anupam is of the view that caution and careful planning is the name of the game.

http://www.screenindia.com/news/films-down-daily-soaps-rock/580470/