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Reality shows have been the flavour of the season on television for a while now. Indians, it would appear, love being a fly on the wall.
From finding soulmates to bagging dates, you can get it all on Indian television. Ask Rumpa Roy, the 25-year-old winner of the reality show, Perfect Bride, who spent 13 weeks evaluating prospective grooms and mothers-in-law on camera. For Star TV, too, the show was a winner — the high drama, with mother-son conflicts and attractive young girls competing for the title of Perfect Bride, going down very well with audiences and delivering high TRPs and lucrative sponsors like Lux.
Ratings are all that matters on the telly. So if aspiring brides wooing Rahul Mahajan on NDTV Imagine's Rahul Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (RDLJ) gets TRPs of 2.4, better than what many serials bring to the channel, then you can be sure that the channel will spare no expenses in fashioning a dream wedding for its viewers.
The show, which began in February is now down to four finalists who will lock horns in the finale on March 5, and the channel is hopeful of ending on a high note. Joseph Eapen, CEO of ratings agency aMap estimates that although Mahajan's show opened with ratings that were lower than Rakhi Ka Swayamvar, it has managed to hold "viewers attention steadily. This is good news for the channel".
Online videos of RDLJ have recorded 34 per cent more views than Rakhi Ka Swayamvar, informs Murtuza Kagalwala, business head (video-on-demand), BIGFlix.com. "The time spent by a user on RDLJ has increased to almost double that of Rakhi Ka Swayamwar, with average viewing time per user for RDLJ at around 27 minutes," he says.
Rakhi Ka Swayamvar, which reportedly attracted 28 million viewers across the country in the first week itself, had average TRPs of 4. However, Pati Patni Aur Woh, the other reality show on NDTV Imagine centred around parenting, didn't hold the audiences — clocking average TRPs of just 1.7.
For Aditya Swami, senior VP (Marketing), MTV India, reality shows are intellectual properties (IPs) for the channel, that grow bigger with every season. Monetisation for popular reality shows like Roadies and Splitsvilla begins on the Internet where aspiring contestants, fans are asked to register. "We have built vibrant digital communities that comment and blog about the shows, participants and hosts," elaborates Swami. Advertisers, he adds, are glad to reach out to the youth through web-based promotions, games, contests and sometimes social networking tools.
MTV's closest rival, Channel V too has cut down on music content and added to its reality format shows. Dare 2 Date on the channel is hugely popular among 16-24 year olds. Prem Kamat, general manager, asserts that Channel V will now maintain around 30 per cent reality shows in its programming mix. "Dare 2 Date delivered average TRPs of 0.8 and has successfully engaged its targeted viewer base," he claims. Already Kamat is planning a second season of Dare 2 Date, expecting it to become one of the key shows for Channel V to establish its dominance among the younger audiences.
With around 700 channels, over 10,000 hours of original daily programming, a combined viewership running into millions and ad spend touching Rs17,600 crore, the Indian television network is one of the largest in the world. Experts believe that products advertised during reality shows have a high brand recall.
Says Heather Gupta, channel head of UTV Bindass, "Advertisers in reality shows grab a greater percentage of eyeballs since these shows are different and more captivating." Thus it's not surprising that reality shows today constitute 20-40 per cent of the programming mix (depending on a channel's genre) in the Indian television industry, compared to 5-10 per cent earlier. Indians, it seems, can't seem to have enough of being a fly on the wall.
Speaking of UTV Bindass, the youth-centric general entertainment channel hit the jackpot with its reality series Emotional Atyachaar. Centred around love and fidelity, the show involves spying on one partner with a hidden camera and streaming it live for the other to watch. With a huge marketing budget of Rs 2 crore and title sponsors like Monaco Smart Chips, the show ends its debut season in April with average TRPs of 0.81. "The second season will have to be even bigger and we are working to re-jig the format so that we come back afresh," says Gupta.
Ten years ago, MTV Loveline, the show which had Malaika Arora discussing relationship woes on-air, was as close to reality as you could get on television. Today the leading youth channel runs an in-your-face reality show called Splitsvilla that encourages flirting and tests relationships. The show has a steady list of sponsors, with big names such as Vodafone among others. Now in its third season, Splitsvilla has received over 20,000 entries from eager participants and premiered to an audience of nearly a million viewers. The channel, on its part, worked to grow the show and in its latest season, shot in the exotic locales of Phuket. "For Splitsvilla's fourth season, we will have to outdo ourselves again with a new format and more exotic locations," says Swami ,without giving away too many details.
In truth, of course, "reality" TV is not all "real" in the sense that it takes an entire team of editors to fashion the hours and hours of footage into a captivating story line. "The result is pure entertainment, much more potent that any soap opera may have seen," says Bindass's Gupta. MTV's Swami too feels that these concepts will remain as long as people are watching it and giving networks high ratings.
As for the participants in the reality shows, especially on the youth channels like Channel V, MTV, UTV Bindass, they are mini-celebrities for the duration of the show and for a short while after. "Some even grab a couple of new shows banking on the popularity or notoriety that the reality shows generates for them," informs a producer who does not wished to be named.
For others like 24-year-old Priyadarshini Singh from Varanasi, who missed out on a year in college year when she was chosen as one of the 16 aspirant brides on RDLJ, the show was a chance to come to Mumbai. "I plan to join public relations," she says. Singh, who was eliminated from the show, has no regrets about her decision.
And as long as viewers continue to lap up what's offered, well, who's complaining?
Reference: http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/the-costrelationships/387033/
From finding soulmates to bagging dates, you can get it all on Indian television. Ask Rumpa Roy, the 25-year-old winner of the reality show, Perfect Bride, who spent 13 weeks evaluating prospective grooms and mothers-in-law on camera. For Star TV, too, the show was a winner — the high drama, with mother-son conflicts and attractive young girls competing for the title of Perfect Bride, going down very well with audiences and delivering high TRPs and lucrative sponsors like Lux.
Ratings are all that matters on the telly. So if aspiring brides wooing Rahul Mahajan on NDTV Imagine's Rahul Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (RDLJ) gets TRPs of 2.4, better than what many serials bring to the channel, then you can be sure that the channel will spare no expenses in fashioning a dream wedding for its viewers.
The show, which began in February is now down to four finalists who will lock horns in the finale on March 5, and the channel is hopeful of ending on a high note. Joseph Eapen, CEO of ratings agency aMap estimates that although Mahajan's show opened with ratings that were lower than Rakhi Ka Swayamvar, it has managed to hold "viewers attention steadily. This is good news for the channel".
Online videos of RDLJ have recorded 34 per cent more views than Rakhi Ka Swayamvar, informs Murtuza Kagalwala, business head (video-on-demand), BIGFlix.com. "The time spent by a user on RDLJ has increased to almost double that of Rakhi Ka Swayamwar, with average viewing time per user for RDLJ at around 27 minutes," he says.
Rakhi Ka Swayamvar, which reportedly attracted 28 million viewers across the country in the first week itself, had average TRPs of 4. However, Pati Patni Aur Woh, the other reality show on NDTV Imagine centred around parenting, didn't hold the audiences — clocking average TRPs of just 1.7.
For Aditya Swami, senior VP (Marketing), MTV India, reality shows are intellectual properties (IPs) for the channel, that grow bigger with every season. Monetisation for popular reality shows like Roadies and Splitsvilla begins on the Internet where aspiring contestants, fans are asked to register. "We have built vibrant digital communities that comment and blog about the shows, participants and hosts," elaborates Swami. Advertisers, he adds, are glad to reach out to the youth through web-based promotions, games, contests and sometimes social networking tools.
MTV's closest rival, Channel V too has cut down on music content and added to its reality format shows. Dare 2 Date on the channel is hugely popular among 16-24 year olds. Prem Kamat, general manager, asserts that Channel V will now maintain around 30 per cent reality shows in its programming mix. "Dare 2 Date delivered average TRPs of 0.8 and has successfully engaged its targeted viewer base," he claims. Already Kamat is planning a second season of Dare 2 Date, expecting it to become one of the key shows for Channel V to establish its dominance among the younger audiences.
With around 700 channels, over 10,000 hours of original daily programming, a combined viewership running into millions and ad spend touching Rs17,600 crore, the Indian television network is one of the largest in the world. Experts believe that products advertised during reality shows have a high brand recall.
Says Heather Gupta, channel head of UTV Bindass, "Advertisers in reality shows grab a greater percentage of eyeballs since these shows are different and more captivating." Thus it's not surprising that reality shows today constitute 20-40 per cent of the programming mix (depending on a channel's genre) in the Indian television industry, compared to 5-10 per cent earlier. Indians, it seems, can't seem to have enough of being a fly on the wall.
Speaking of UTV Bindass, the youth-centric general entertainment channel hit the jackpot with its reality series Emotional Atyachaar. Centred around love and fidelity, the show involves spying on one partner with a hidden camera and streaming it live for the other to watch. With a huge marketing budget of Rs 2 crore and title sponsors like Monaco Smart Chips, the show ends its debut season in April with average TRPs of 0.81. "The second season will have to be even bigger and we are working to re-jig the format so that we come back afresh," says Gupta.
Ten years ago, MTV Loveline, the show which had Malaika Arora discussing relationship woes on-air, was as close to reality as you could get on television. Today the leading youth channel runs an in-your-face reality show called Splitsvilla that encourages flirting and tests relationships. The show has a steady list of sponsors, with big names such as Vodafone among others. Now in its third season, Splitsvilla has received over 20,000 entries from eager participants and premiered to an audience of nearly a million viewers. The channel, on its part, worked to grow the show and in its latest season, shot in the exotic locales of Phuket. "For Splitsvilla's fourth season, we will have to outdo ourselves again with a new format and more exotic locations," says Swami ,without giving away too many details.
In truth, of course, "reality" TV is not all "real" in the sense that it takes an entire team of editors to fashion the hours and hours of footage into a captivating story line. "The result is pure entertainment, much more potent that any soap opera may have seen," says Bindass's Gupta. MTV's Swami too feels that these concepts will remain as long as people are watching it and giving networks high ratings.
As for the participants in the reality shows, especially on the youth channels like Channel V, MTV, UTV Bindass, they are mini-celebrities for the duration of the show and for a short while after. "Some even grab a couple of new shows banking on the popularity or notoriety that the reality shows generates for them," informs a producer who does not wished to be named.
For others like 24-year-old Priyadarshini Singh from Varanasi, who missed out on a year in college year when she was chosen as one of the 16 aspirant brides on RDLJ, the show was a chance to come to Mumbai. "I plan to join public relations," she says. Singh, who was eliminated from the show, has no regrets about her decision.
And as long as viewers continue to lap up what's offered, well, who's complaining?
Reference: http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/the-costrelationships/387033/
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