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For
some years now the small screen has become a one-stop Pandora’s Box of
entertainment. Viewers have been transported into a world of quintillion
bits of pictures and words with channels dishing out eclectic
programming, from soaps to thrillers, from comedies to tear-jerkers and
from reality shows to news. Microchip technologies, big stars and
bigger serials have become the norm. Over 150 channels, 5,500 hours of
original programming daily and a combined viewership estimated at 46
million, and growing, makes Indian television network one of the largest
in the world. From a single channel in the 1980s the small screen has
metamorphosed into a hydra-headed wonder. With so much at stake, no one
is surprised at the fierce ratings war. Which is why in 2006 claims and
counter-claims flew thick and fast and there were no clear-cut winners
as Star, Sony, Zee and others vied for viewer attention. In 2006,
people were getting more and more sophisticated in their choice of
programmes, channels were leaving nothing to chance to cater to their
tastes and demands in a bid to grab their attention and the advertiser’s
buck. Six years after Kaun Banega Crorepati made Star Plus one
of the most watched channels and Amitabh Bachchan an icon, the show is
back but with a new host-Shah Rukh Khan who viewers feel will match the
Big-B frame for frame. The channel has even shut down two of its prime
time soaps Karam Apna Apna and Virasat to make way for KBC-3. Enter
Shah Rukh However, even as Star Plus was pinning its hopes and prayers
on the Shah Rukh-hosted KBC, it did seem that the era of the game
shows was fading what with reality TV grabbing attention. Viewers hooked
to the drama and intrigue of the saas-bahu suddenly started taking a
voyeuristic interest in reality shows. The floodgates were opened by
shows like Jhalak Dikhla Ja-Dancing With the Stars and Big
Boss on Sony, Sa Re Ga Ma Lil Champs and Cinestar Ki Khoj
on Zee and many more. The currently-on Big Boss is the battle of
survival of 13 people locked up in a house for three months where the
conditions are really tough. They get eliminated one by one, till the
last man or woman would be declared the winner. The show is making more
celebrities than viewers can bargain for But the one that has come on
top as the winner is Sa Re Ga Ma Lil Champs. Its popularity can
be gauged from the fact that its start-up TRP was 2.47 and the final was
11.11. Hardly any other reality show has had such a spectacular rise.
The second in the popularity stakes was The Great Indian Laughter
Challenge-2 whose TRP jumped from 5.06 to 7.94 followed by Jhalak
Dikhla Ja that climbed from 2.86 to 4.33. Comedy shows were a
picture of success. If The Great Indian Laughter Challenge-2 was
laughing all the way to the bank, then The Comedy Show Ha Ha Ha also
on Star one was not too far behind and was building up a committed
viewership. However, Johnny Aa La Re on Zee TV could not live up
to the comic reputation of Johnny Lever. In fact, the pick of the
channels was Star One that started the comedy juggernaut with the Laughter
Challenge and Comedy Show. But its third comedy show Office
Office-2 could not live up to the huge popularity of the original
because of lacklustre scripting. In fact, none of the sequels did well
in 2006 with some like Hum Paanch falling flat on their face. If
reality and comedy were the flavour of 2006, long-running soaps began
losing their sheen during the year. Though they still had their ardent
admirers, they were seen giving way to younger themes and the baton was
passing. Channels realised that a youthful image guaranteed both
viewership and ads which add up to one word, success. Viewer ennui was
apparent in soaps like Kahani Ghar Ghar KI, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi
Bahu Thi and Kasuatii Zindagii Kay as their TRPs began
heading southward. Kyunki....slipped from a lofty 13.33 in 2005
to 11.23, Kahani dropped from 11.87 to 9.55 and Kasauti
was down from 10.93 to 8.78. Cover versions It was also the year of
cover versions, copies or adaptations. The success of Orange County,
Seinfeld and Desperate Housewives spurred serial makers to
identify overseas soaps that would click in an Indian avatar. The
blatant copying of earlier days gave way to the more honourable legal
adaptations. While Sony’s latest show Jhalak Dikhhla Ja-Dancing
With the Stars was based on the format of the British series Strictly
Come Dancing, Zee TV’s Business Baazigar was a version of The
Apprentice, a reality show that originated in the US on NBC. SAB TV
came up with Lo Kal Lo Baat, a badly made copy of the American
series Whose Line Is It Anyway? presented by veteran comedian
Drew Carrey. More than the soaps and shows the year saw the rise of
the news channels as the main drivers of satellite television. They were
vying with each other in providing groundbreaking stories ‘on the
hour, every hour’, as BBC World puts it. The war amongst the news
channels has just begun. Apart from established names like NDTV, Aaj
Tak, Star and Zee News there were several other new players like Total
TV, S-1, Janmat and more that were making their presence felt. But the
big news was in the English language where two new channels—CNN-IBN
and Times Now began challenging the supremacy of NDTV 24X7. Though it
was apparent that Times Now would take a lot more time to build up a
steady viewership, the serious challenge came from CNN-IBN that began
lapping at the heels of NDTV Focus on reporting The TV-18-promoted
CNN-IBN led by Rajdeep Sardesai—who left NDTV to take up this new
assignment—was the first serious challenge to NDTV. The programming
content of this journalist-driven channel-as the logo goes-is guided by
the Atlanta based media giant CNN. Rajdeep took his breathless reporting
to his new channel, that lays emphasis on exclusives, breaking news and
live stories. The channel has already eaten into the viewership of NDTV
and was improving by the day. Even overseas channels like the National
Geographic Channel (NGC), Discovery and History Channel were going great
guns. However, NGC emerged a clear winner with its India-centric
programming. In the foreign news segment CNN was marching ahead with a
penetration of around 5.5 million cable homes. Its bouquet of channels
included HBO and Cartoon Network that were reaching 15 million homes
each. The growth of the channel was steady and it was busy entering
smaller towns and was building upon a young viewership. Times they are
a-changing and people at the helm of affairs were getting edgy about
viewers who were getting fickle about their choice of viewing. And with
the Conditional Access System coming in major metros at the start of
2007 things would get even more competitive for channels. In fact, the
New Year promises an even bigger rollercoaster ride for viewers already
spoilt for choices. (All TRP ratings sourced from TAM Peoplemeter)
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