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TELEVISION
: NEW PROGRAMMES
Star
Struck
Kaun
Banega Crorepati has triggered a makeover mania on TV, with rival
channels scrambling to capture the lucrative prime-time slot
By
Namita Bhandare
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| Peter
Mukerjea stands tall with the moolah-raking KBC in his hands |
A
game show on every channel, prize money that could trigger a cardiac arrest,
new soaps and sitcoms, big-time stars, new channel launches: Indian TV
is in for a serious facelift before the year is out. The battle is primarily
for the lucrative prime-time slot currently captured by Star's Kaun
Banega Crorepati (KBC). Advertisement rates for KBC have zoomed from
a reported Rs 80,000 to Rs 3 lakh for 10 seconds, thanks to an increasing
viewership. Mumbai alone has a 76 per cent market share, claims Star TV.
Shaken rival channels, Zee and Sony, are wasting no time, with the new
programmes and plans timed to coincide with the ad-rich Diwali season.
|
 SONY
» Set
to launch a new game show; no details.
»New
programmes including Shree Ganesh and a tie-up with Disney.
» Exclusive
arrangement with Hrithik Roshan and the Deol family for a one-time
event.
|
|
 ZEE
» To
launch a new game-show in October with Rs 10-crore prize money.
»
Antakshari set to carry a Rs 1-crore booty, also from October.
»
A mythological,
Jai Ganesh, and new soaps are in the offing.
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B
4 U
» Launches
an entertainment channel that will include a game show.
»
Exclusive
one-year tie-up with Shah Rukh Khan to produce two programmes.
»
B4U
Movies to be launched by the end of the year.
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NINE
GOLD
»Cash-rich
channel debuts with programmes on DD Metro on September 11.
» Unconfirmed reports of
plans for the Hindi version of a popular international game show,
Greed.
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Zee recently
took the stakes up to Rs 10 crore for a new game show it plans to launch
in October. CEO R.K. Singh won't go into the details, saying only that
the show was "homegrown, not imported"-a dig at KBC which has
bought the rights of Who Wants to be a Millionaire from the UK-based Celedor.
What's more, starting October, the popular Antakshari will come with an
additional Rs 1-crore booty. "We don't like this trend of money becoming
a consideration," Singh admitted to INDIA TODAY, "but we're
in the market and we have to respond with similar tactics."
Sony too
has plans for a game show, the details of which it isn't prepared to reveal,
even as CEO Kunal Dasgupta admits KBC's popularity has prompted the changes.
Like Zee, Sony has announced a slew of new programmes, including soaps
and a mythological. Originality could be at stake though. While Sony airs
Shree Ganesh, Zee has a Jai Ganesh in store. Sony has already
roped in Hrithik Roshan to do a special one-time year-end show and the
Deol family, pater and fils, has also signed up to feature in a special
one-time event.
B4U (Bollywood
For You), meanwhile, has launched an entertainment channel in addition
to a music channel that took off earlier this year. Rumour is rife that
Shah Rukh Khan-who has an exclusive one-year contract with the channel-will
be the host. However, B4U Chairman and Managing Director Kishore Lulla
refused to confirm this, saying only that the star would produce two programmes
exclusively for the channel. By year end B4U, which has a distribution
tie-up with the Hindujas, will also launch B4U Movies, which it claims
has rights to over 1,000 films.
The other
new presence, Kerry Packer's Channel Nine (a joint venture between Himachal
Futuristic Communications Limited and Nine Broadcasting India), debuts
Nine Gold on September 11, with two hours of programming from 7 to 9 p.m.
on Doordarshan Metro. The channel has bought an additional hour of programming
from 9 to 10 p.m., reportedly spending Rs 110 crore for the rights. The
channel is also reported to have bought the rights for another popular
international game show, Greed, though marketing head Jaideep Grewal refused
to either confirm or deny this. "We're offering viewers fresh formats
and are making a considerable investment in marketing," he says.
There's
no room for skimpy budgets. Industry sources estimate that the three giants,
Zee, Sony and Star, together spent Rs 250 crore on programming last year.
This year, the budget for KBC alone-said to be anything between Rs 70
and Rs 80 crore-is believed to have exceeded Star TV's programming budget
for last year. "Obviously, the game show announcements are a reaction
to KBC," says Yash Khanna who heads Star's corporate communication
division. "But it does seem strange that no details have been announced.
I wonder if they've been worked out at all. All that they say is that
they will be interactive," he says.
Interactive
is the buzz word today. Channels are no longer content with passive viewers.
They want you to call in, to participate, to win real money and raise
ratings. However, a question no one seems to have asked is whether the
Department of Telecommunications can cope with the unprecedented pressure
on telephone lines. These are the nitty-gritty that could spoil the party.
But for viewers it's a bonanza. One that's only just started. By the end
of the year, Star will have launched Star Gold, a Hindi movie channel
dedicated to old classics. It's also toying with various other game show
options, but like its rivals, is short on detail. Couch potatoes have
never had it so good.
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