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Weekend TV hits similar notes
Weekends are not lacklustre anymore! General entertainment channels have ensured that viewers have a diverse programming platter to choose from — dance and music reality shows, stand up comedy, crime thrillers, fictional soaps and Bollywood blockbuster premieres. The only snag: most of them are aired on the same time band on rival channels!
Crime pays rich dividends
It's a given that crime is a big TRP-tripper. Case in point: 'CID', 16 years old and still going strong, banking on the presence of Shivaji Satam and his co-actors has single-handedly given its broadcast channel the GRPs it requires to make it among the top three GECs week after week. The Ronit Roy starrer 'Adaalat' is slated for a complete revamp, while 'Har Yug Mein Aayega Ek Arjun' has introduced user-friendly nuggets for viewer post the show, on how to cope with crime in real life. 'Hum Ne Li Shapath' has just undergone a cast revamp, while 'Crime Patrol' consistently notches up high TRPs even without a prominent star cast.
Even though a major chunk of the audience comprises homemakers, a wider spectrum of viewers switch to television for entertainment on weekends, which explains the unusual programming mix. What's surprising however is, most GECs are airing similar genre shows at the same time band? Doesn't it lead to cannibalisation of viewership? Ashish Golwalkar, non-fiction head of a GEC shares, "Post IPL every channel is trying to present its best entertaining option to bring the audience back. All GECs have their own targets to achieve and this is the right time for it. "
Producer Vipul D Shah says, "In India we have limited options in weekend shows. Whichever genre works is likely to see takers who follow the trend. We look at it as healthy competition."
For GECs everything's fair in the TRPs war, even if it means similar programming format on same time bands!
Crime pays rich dividends
It's a given that crime is a big TRP-tripper. Case in point: 'CID', 16 years old and still going strong, banking on the presence of Shivaji Satam and his co-actors has single-handedly given its broadcast channel the GRPs it requires to make it among the top three GECs week after week. The Ronit Roy starrer 'Adaalat' is slated for a complete revamp, while 'Har Yug Mein Aayega Ek Arjun' has introduced user-friendly nuggets for viewer post the show, on how to cope with crime in real life. 'Hum Ne Li Shapath' has just undergone a cast revamp, while 'Crime Patrol' consistently notches up high TRPs even without a prominent star cast.
Even though a major chunk of the audience comprises homemakers, a wider spectrum of viewers switch to television for entertainment on weekends, which explains the unusual programming mix. What's surprising however is, most GECs are airing similar genre shows at the same time band? Doesn't it lead to cannibalisation of viewership? Ashish Golwalkar, non-fiction head of a GEC shares, "Post IPL every channel is trying to present its best entertaining option to bring the audience back. All GECs have their own targets to achieve and this is the right time for it. "
Producer Vipul D Shah says, "In India we have limited options in weekend shows. Whichever genre works is likely to see takers who follow the trend. We look at it as healthy competition."
For GECs everything's fair in the TRPs war, even if it means similar programming format on same time bands!
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