Old is gold on television
Ten shows going off-air in six months is uncommon in general entertainment television. What could be the reason for such a high rate of failure while the older shows are still going strong? While Star India's COO Sanjay Gupta feels that the shows that shut shop early either didn't connect well with viewers or lacked potential to grow, Zee's head of marketing Akash Chawla says that there could be different reasons for different shows. "But the prime reason is they must have failed to resonate with viewers," he adds. Chawla admits that shutting a series is not an easy call to take because of the kind of planning and investment that goes into launching it. "But it's better to shut a serial that doesn't bring in returns rather than bleed," he feels.
However, producers are of the view that while competition is making things difficult for newshows, channels are also getting increasingly impatient. "Thanks to competition, new shows need longer time to grow. But unlike earlier, channels seem to be low on patience and want instant result. Constant comparison with rival shows in same time slot makes channels jittery about losing on eyeballs. So you have no choice but to deliver within a short period or get out," rues producer J D Majethia of Mera Naam Karegi Roshan. Pyar Mein Twist's producer Asit Modi is of the opinion that viewers are not sampling new shows because of strong loyalties to old series. "While lack of good content could be one reason, loyalty to old shows and the channel's commercial compulsions is affecting the success rate of new shows," he feels.
Producer-director Ravindra Gautam of Aarakshan doesn't think content is an issue. "It's just that some shows fail to connect with the audience," he adds. Majethia agrees, "There is no co-relation between ratings and quality (good content). All the shows that are getting good ratings can't be called good." He further observes that more than content, loyalty is a major issue. "Look at all the hit shows. There is no consistency in their ratings. The show that's number one today goes down to number three the next week. New shows need lot more consistent eyeballs over a longer period, for numbers to come in," he elaborates.
In Gautam's opinion, what's making life difficult for shows is experimentation in stories besides too many shows getting launched within a short span. Another reason could be the fragmentation in viewing pattern in family units. "Different age groups within a family are watching different channels and genres," points out veteran TV director and ex-channel programmer Sanjay Upadhyay. However, according to Upadhyay, the key reason for higher rate of failure is lack of faith and freedom for writers. "There is absolutely no faith in writers. Channel creative teams think that they have the final word though their creativity mainly comes from relying on hit Hindi films for inspiration and reference. As a result, all original ideas and characterisations are reduced to stereotypes."
Upadhyay gives two examples to illustrate his point. "Take the case of Balika Vadhu. The show is successful because its writer not only has an insight into the subject but has also been given freedom to develop and explore its full potential. Similarly, what has worked for Sasural Genda Phool is Ravi Ojha's creative conviction that wouldn't have been possible without the channel's support," he elaborates. But if the success rate has come down to just about 15 per cent, does it mean fiction shows are heading for shorter life? Gautam admits life is getting shorter by the day. "We are definitely heading towards shorter and tighter stories," he agrees. However, Upadhyay feels it's happening by default. "Shows are planned for at least a year. If they are successful then they are stretched to a few years more. But failure means sure death," he adds. It means a big financial set- back for producers as well.
@screenindia.com
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