What does the afternoon viewer want?
A. L. Chougule
Posted online: Friday, June 03, 2005 at 0000 hours IST
A channel's first priority is putting in place its primetime band.
Afternoon prime time, the second best bet for viewership and
advertising revenue, is the next phase. Subservient to prime time,
its development is however, dependent to that extent on primetime
development. As most satellite channels are pre-occupied in
safeguarding their place on prime time charts their afternoon bands
are devoid of any significant activity. Thus STAR Plus, the leader
in cable and satellite homes at prime time, is ruling the roost in
the afternoon as well. The only other significant player in the
afternoon is Doordarshan, though in small towns, semi-urban areas
and the interiors. An analysis...
Like the rising post-noon temperature, afternoon television has been
heating up for a few years now. In fact, every season is a good
season for afternoon television because television's day darling,
the homemaker, is all by herself to be wooed by emotional
entertainment that allows her to relate to the problems of heart and
hearth of fictional characters. The trauma of Kumkum and Saroj
bhabhi, the machinations in the Wadhwa and Chopra households, the
karma and dharma that Saarthi and Pancham claim to preach is
probably the best emotional multi-cuisine full-course meal for the
homemaker. Viewership for the afternoon prime band has increased
gradually from 1 TVR a few years ago to nearly 7-8 today.
However, though there is substantial viewer-base for afternoon
television, the only channel that has gained in the afternoon slot
is Star Plus which continues to lead the lunch party in cable and
satellite homes that begins at 12 noon and winds up at 4 pm. Other C
& S mass entertainment channels - except Zee that has three original
afternoon soaps while Sony Entertainment Television, Sahara and SAB
TV have nothing to their credit for this slot. When STAR Plus is
consolidating its position, why are other channels lagging behind?
Can something worthwhile be expected from them? Is DD's afternoon
band working? But more importantly what does the afternoon viewer
prefer to watch?
Afternoon prime time is the second best bet for generating
viewership and revenue for channels after evening prime time. That
is if the prime time is strong enough in the first place. Which is
what is not the case with most channels in comparison with STAR
Plus. As Sony's vice-president and creative director Anupama
Mandoloi says, "Before we move on to afternoon band we must ensure
that the obvious best bet is safeguarded. Our strategy is quite
straight forward. We want to consolidate prime time before we focus
on other day parts and use the afternoons to create sampling for our
prime time shows. Currently our prime time is a good healthy
reflection of original programming, afternoons would be the next
obvious step."
Whether afternoon TV is STAR Plus' playground essentially on its
programming strength or because of lack of competition from other
channels or is it a combination of both factors is anybody's guess.
According to Shailja Kejriwal, creative director, STAR Plus, the
lead is simply phenomenal, more than six times that of the nearest
competition - 76 per cent against 12 per cent each of Sony and
Zee. "STAR Plus has remained on the top and far ahead of
competition. Some of our afternoon shows are getting more ratings
than some of our competitor's prime time shows," says Shailja.
Gulshan Sachdeva whose afternoon daily Pancham has just gone off
Zee's airwaves feels it is lack of competition that's adding to STAR
Plus' gains. "What also gives STAR Plus an edge over others, be at
prime time or any time of the day, is its lead in the entertainment
gallery. The leader always enjoys more attention which ensures a
minimum TRP for the channel irrespective of programme quality," says
Sachdeva. It is true that the leader enjoys 'leader premium' that
gives extra viewership over the competitors. Sachdeva admits Pancham
did not match the TRPs of some of STAR Plus' afternoon
shows. "That's because Zee is currently not the leader in the
entertainment pack," he reasons. "But TRP alone is not the benchmark
of quality." Whatever may be the case, the TVRs of STAR's shows are
pretty impressive Kumkum (6.6),Bhabhi (5.0), Kesar (4.16), Kasuatii
(4.0), Kyunki... (3.4) and Saarthi (3.1). What's more, Kumkum is way
ahead of prime time shows of Sony and Zee. Says Shailja, "The
popularity and huge fan following of our shows endorses the
popularity of our afternoon band. The numbers these shows bring in
goes to show how effective afternoon viewing has become."
***** ***** *****
To start with, there was no concept of an afternoon time band on
Indian television. Requisite experiments were done to develop the
slot for which the credit goes to DD. Nobody gave a thought to
afternoon television aimed primarily at housewives till United
Television came with the unique idea of a daily afternoon soap in
1994. At a time when it was a big challenge to produce a bi or tri-
weekly, skeptics called it programming hara-kiri. Shanti was not
only lapped up by nap-loving homemaker but thanks to support from
advertisers who found a relatively cheap slot to reach their target
audience, the soap created a successful slot for dailies on DD's
afternoon band. A year later Plus Channel followed suit with
Swabhimaan, which despite being telecast at 3 p.m. found takers.
Following the success of Shanti and Swabhimaan, software makers
found DD's afternoon band ideal for dailies. More dailies like Waqt
Ki Raftar, Itihaas, Aurat and Aparajita followed and Doordarshan
extended its afternoon band from 12 noon to 3.30 pm. However,
satellite channels continued to fill their afternoon bands with
cookery shows, beauty tips and repeats of their prime time weekly
dramas.
Another experiment followed and this time on satellite channels.
While Zee created an hour-long afternoon band called Darpan with
half-hour weekly dramas, Sony followed in DD's footsteps with
dailies like Ghar Ek Mandir, Nazdikiyaan and Ek Mahal Ho Sapno Ka.
Both experiments worked though DD was considered the best bet for
afternoon television. Things took a different turn in the post-KBC
days. The two STAR Plus popular prime time dailies Kyunki Saas Bhi
Kabhi Bahu Thi and Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki got a more than expected
response in their afternoon repeat telecast. This made STAR Plus
concentrate on strengthening its afternoon band by launching two
afternoon dailies, Shagun and Sanskriti. The mix package of
originals and repeats worked wonders and the rest, as the saying
goes, is history with the channel garnering huge share of eyeballs
with 'Star Dopahar' in the satellite pack. DD's afternoon band
however, remained a favourite of a few production houses.
If afternoon TV is STAR's playground in cable and satellite homes
where does the pioneer of afternoon television stand in the game?
Well, in comparison it is not doing as bad as the leader of C & S
homes. Between 12 noon and 2.30 pm DD has six dailies. According to
producer-director Rakesh Chowdhry, DD's afternoon band is very
strong and doing even better than STAR Plus. "It has an average TVR
of 1.5 to 4, all India all TV homes, which is higher than C & S
homes," he points out. The media doesn't talk about it because in
metro cities and major urban centers DD is a least preferred
channel. But in small towns, semi-urban centers and the interiors in
the north DD is a favourite channel. In terms of reach, TRP and
advertising DD gives best value for money. "In real CPRP (cost per
rating point for ten seconds) term at Rs. 15,000 to 20,000 DD offers
cheapest rates for sponsors and advertisers and higher reach against
Rs. 22,500 of Star Plus." The popularity of afternoon soaps makes it
hard to believe that not long ago shows on cooking, home
improvement, childcare and beauty were hot.
What explains the sudden popularity of fiction in the form of
dailies? It is widely believed that Indian viewers, especially
women, prefer fiction to reality. Zee pioneered women-oriented
reality weekly shows like Khana Khazana and Chhoti Chhoti Baatein
but the channel realized that weekdays have to be habit forming. One
view is that fiction is the best option since afternoon band is
clearly the woman's slot. But Anupama has a different view. She
elaborates, "It is difficult to say with conviction that this is
exactly what the viewer wants to watch. However, the mainstays of
afternoon viewing are women and one needs to give them something
they can enjoy while they take a break from routine. Drama, stories,
chat shows, healthcare etc are all possibilities for afternoon slots
but the trick really lies in engaging the woman, involving her and
speaking her language whatever the format of the show."
However, Sachdeva feels beauty, cookery and health shows don't
engage women anymore. "These shows have lost their appeal and
utility. Women want to watch fiction, particularly emotional dramas
with real-life problems." Adds Shailja, "Star Dopahar showcases
purely family drams and these shows have clearly defined viewers'
preference as compared to other genres on other channels." Chowdhry
however, differs, "Family dramas have less appeal because not only
they limit the action within a family but become repetitive after a
point. It's the emotional social drama that has more appeal and
variety to engage women."
Afternoons no doubt have turned into value for money. What drives
evening prime time is good original content but what drives
afternoon is good scheduling. The general view is that effective
viewing does not go beyond two hours. Which is why the main
afternoon programming of original content is scheduled around these
two hours, which form the backbone of the ratings, and the repeats
keep the show going till the addiction of tea takes over soap
addiction. Repeats from the channel's earlier library or from old DD
library, as Star Plus did during pre-KBC days, play the role of new
programming because there are new viewers coming in the afternoon
slot besides a whole generation has passed since the first run of
these shows. Also the idea behind packaging original dailies with
repeats of some of the popular prime time dailies on the afternoon
band is obviously to keep the cost under control. However, channel
heads deny that afternoon programming is low cost business. Says
Shailja, "It's no way low-cost programming. STAR Plus is the only
channel with so much original afternoon programming. The repeats are
the No. 1 shows which are at the top at prime time." According to
Anupama, original programming on any slot is an expense and
afternoons are an extremely important aspect of programming on any
channel. She elaborates, "It would be good business to try and
ensure that the investment delivers eyeballs and is an attractive
ground for sponsors. To that extent it is not as much a function of
investment as it is of creating brands that become synonymous with
channel image and viewer loyalty. When we decided to programme
actively for afternoon it would be with the intention of delivering
a promise to viewers."
Though afternoon viewing is largely women-dominated it would be a
fallacy to call it completely women-driven. Shailja says it is
mainly women and children - those back from school and college - who
form the viewer base though homemaker is a big segment. This is
substantiated by the fact that the youth audience in this slot has
shown consistent increase in 2004 to about 10 per cent of the total
audience. However, there are no programmes addressing this important
segment at all because afternoon programming is subservient to prime
time. 😉 she exactly knows wht v want
Meanwhile with TRP figures as sole indication of popularity and
preference, the battle to woo the once-upon-a-time nap-loving
housewife continues. Remote in her hand, household chores and babies
to look after, television's afternoon darling has no choice but to
choose between the original dailies and repeats. Nobody is dead sure
of what she prefers to watch and how effective is the viewing. Is it
the drama of domestic conflicts, suffering savitiris and vamps or
shows in other genres?
haha well this was really funny.. all the creative heads of the channels fighting😆...
all v ave to say is that kumkum is an all time super hit of the afternoon.. no1 can disagree.. it has the highest TRPs in all indian shows/serials in the afternoon slot
know kumkum - ek pyara sa bandhan is called the queen of afternoon soaps😃
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