W hile Amitabh Bachchan charmed his way into the hearts of viewers on Sony Entertainment Television (SET) in the fourth edition of Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) this season, Madhuri Dixit made the audience dance to her tune in the inaugural week of Jhalak Dikhla Ja (JDJ-4).
Star power seems to have paid off for SET, with the channel overtaking Zee to become the third largest in the Hindi general entertainment (GEC) segment this month, after a two-year gap.
According to data with TAM, a television viewership measurement agency, Sony took a market share of 16 per cent in the latest weekly assessment (ended December 18) in the Hindi GEC segment. Zee had 14 per cent. STAR Plus maintained the lead at 25 per cent, while Colors accounted for 19 per cent.
The team at SET is looking ahead and has initiated work to make, they say, Sony the biggest in terms of viewership numbers over the next two years. Says Ajit Thakur, executive vice president and business head, SET: “Since July 2009, we have upped our GRPs (Gross Rating Points) by 135 points. We are growing steadily, based on our own set of differentiators. We showcase varied content, suitable for viewing by the entire family. Our shows, be it CID, Comedy Circus, Saas Bina Sasural, are all doing well because of the alternative content. We expect to attain the top slot in the segment by the end of 2012.”
More to come
To this end, the programming line-up is being tweaked to air a mix of four old shows and three new launches this season. Going ahead, the channel would introduce four to six new properties every quarter. While older shows such as CID and Indian Idol would continue to be presented in renovated formats, newer offerings would focus on covering a gamut of genres, ranging from reality and game shows to crime thrillers, comedy and soap operas.
The number of movies showcased on the channel would, in the meantime, be brought down from six to two on a weekly basis.
Sony’s gamble with hosting KBC-4 has paid off. The show had the highest ratings in the opening episode, at 6.2 points, surging ahead of Big Boss-4 being aired on Colors and Masterchef telecast on STAR Plus, which managed to garner TVRs of 4.8 and 2.6, respectively, on their opening days. JDJ-4 attained an average television rating (TVR) of 5.6 in its inaugural episode.
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Big-budget reality shows are criticised by sections in the industry for creating noise which fail to translate into actual viewership numbers. Thakur, who has managed to rope in two of the biggest names in the industry this season, offers another. “The return on investment on reality shows is higher and the buzz helps in bringing the channel alive. KBC, for instance, has been bigger than even 3 Idiots. The show drew in new viewers. Advertisers were willing to pay a premium for associating with the show.”
Executives at SET say the ad rates the channel outlines for 10-second slots on reality shows is often as much as 300 per cent higher than that for soaps.