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TELEVISION: PRIME TIME
Zee TV and Sony
are rejigging their programming in a bid to win back the viewers they
lost to their rival. But Star TV has also
got some new tricks up its sleeve.
By Namita Bhandare
It's time to rattle
sabres once again. Time to win back viewers and advertisers in a bid to
recover ground lost less than a year ago to Star TV's Kaun Banega Crorepati
(KBC). Time to see whether television is ready for yet another programming
shake-out.
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REPLICATING SUCCESS: Ji Mantriji is a political satire
on the lines of the hugely popular Yes Minister
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Now that KBC is being cut down to thrice a week
from its usual four-channel spokesmen say it is to accommodate Junior
KBC once a week starting in May-and TRP ratings have dropped from a heady
17 points to 6.7 (for the period March 25-31), rival channels Sony and
Zee TV have reason to sit up and take note.
Not that Star is particularly worried. After
all, the two most popular programmes on cable and satellite TV-Kyunki
Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi ... (13.5 points) and Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki (10.7
points)-are on Star. True, KBC has slipped to number four (Sony's March
31 telecast of Hrithik Roshan's Delhi show grabbed third place), but it
must be gratifying for the channel to know that Jeeto Chappar Phaad Ke,
Sony's answer to KBC, has rapidly plummeted with ratings of only 3.
Game shows seem passe and it is back to soaps
to boost ratings. Star has announced its new daily thriller, Kaahin Kissii
Roz (put down the spelling to producer Balaji Telefilm's numerology fixation).
To be launched on April 23, the soap will be part of the flanking programmes
on which the channel plans to sustain its new-found position (see graphic).
Meanwhile, Saans, which has been limping along
for two and a half years will be axed even as NDTV makes its entertainment
debut with Ji Mantriji (on the lines of the hugely popular BBC series
Yes Minister) on Star Plus later this month.
The run-up to the latest battle for prime-time
TV has Zee in an intense do or die attempt: 17 new programmes, including
India's first reality show POW. To be shot at a specially constructed
set sprawled over an acre at Zee's Esselworld in Mumbai, the nine pows
will endure a genuine bootcamp experience, including prison food and a
prison schedule, which will be recorded by over 50 camcorders across the
set. In order to escape, participants will get clues on the Net.
Zee spokesperson Sainath Iyer won't talk about
the exact launch date. However, the channel has a pretty impressive April
line-up. There's Ketan Mehta's Pradhan Mantri starring K.K. Menon and
former model-turned-actress Malavika Tiwari. Unlike Star's spoof, Zee's
serial is set in the future and deals with a young prime minister grappling
with contemporary problems like corruption.
In addition Zee has four sitcoms aimed at the
weekday 7.30 p.m. slot and a clutch of daily family soaps. These include
Ek Thi Rajkumari with retired Bollywood actress Padmini Kolhapure in the
lead and another family soap, Chandan Ka Palna Resham Ki Dori, starring
Apara Mehta (the mother-in-law in Kyunki...) which went on air on March
26.
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FAMILY MORES: Zee expects its new serial Chandan Ka Palna
Resham Ki Dori to act as a counter to Kyunki... and Kahaani
Ghar Ghar Ki
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This, of course, doesn't take into account five
new serials launched by Zee in February. Zee seems to be relying on its
traditional strength-family soaps. But is the feast too rich? "None
of the programmes has really created a buzz yet," says Sulina Menon,
client services director for media selling company Carat.
The problem with launching so many new soaps
and sitcoms all at once is that they'll be indistinguishable from each
other, she warns. Despite that, Zee is confident: "Our basic strength
has always been content. We've always been known as innovators,"
says Zee President Madhavi Mutatkar.
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