In the hot seat

Two months ago, 60,000 households across the country waited for a knock on their doors. Cable entertainment network Star India had told them they would be getting free pizzas. The occasion? Star was launching the second season of Kaun Banega Crorepati, the Indian version of the British hit series Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

The pizzas were relished, but KBC's new avatar didn't receive as warm a welcome. Amitabh Bachchan's appearance was a huge turn-off: the trademark white goatee remained, but formal suits had given way to leather jackets. And the audience wasn't game.

A month after its August launch, KBC2's television ratings (TVRs) in the Hindi-speaking markets slipped from 19.75 on the day of relaunch to 11.72 on September 2 (source: TAM Peoplemeter System).

In the TV business, where ratings are fully convertible to rupees, this is bad news. So, here's the Rs 2 crore question: is KBC 2 a winner?

Answer 1: Money, money, money
Media buying houses demonstrate the effect of declining rates using back-of-the envelope calculations. According to them, an increase of 3-4 rating points results in ad rates shooting up by Rs 30,000-50,000 for a 10-second spot. The converse is equally true.

Going by this, the drop in KBC2 ratings could enable media planners to negotiate ad rates of KBC2 from Rs 3.4 lakh (card rate) for a 10-second ad spot to Rs 2.40-2.80 lakh. Does this lock the fate of KBC2? Not really. Ad commitments have already been made, claim Star officials. Eight sponsors, including LG and Airtel, have invested Rs 18-20 crore each in tie ups that were finalised before the relaunch.

Answer 2 : Second time lucky
The success of the first KBC made Star's job almost too easy. Given that KBC had catapulted Star Plus from the No. 3 position to the top slot among general entertainment channels meant the channel could approach viewers and advertisers effortlessly. Still, says Sameer Nair, COO, Star India, "We worked on the principle that we have to do better and be different from the first time."

So, backed by research, the show was tweaked to make it look and feel younger "" more current affairs questions, points out Nair. Star also hiked promotional spends, from Rs 10 crore for KBC to around Rs 90 crore now.

However, this time, the network had to cover a larger ground. In the past four years "" KBC went off air in December 2001 "" the number of cable and satellite viewers in the country has doubled from 26 million to 61 million (source: NRS). This was both an advantage (deeper penetration) and a disadvantage (different audience tastes in the non-metros).

To increase viewer interaction, Star invited viewers to play along in every episode "" Har seat Hot seat. A question is posed to television viewers and one lucky winner is awarded Rs 2 lakh.

More responses also meant Star would have to increase its response lines. For instance, KBC had 500 to 600 lines a region. This time the number has increased to about 3,000 lines a region. As a result, the number of responses has shot up significantly.

Nair claims that the channel has received 10 crore calls for the first 40 episodes of KBC2. In comparison, KBC received about 9 crore calls over 200 episodes. This time, 77 per cent of the responses came from non-metros.

Answer 3 : Just a position
KBC was telecast from Monday to Thursday. This time, the channel followed a weekend schedule (Friday-Sunday). The reason: serials like Kavyanjali and Miilee were firmly lodged in the weekday prime time slot.

Then, Bachchan's contract was for only 85 episodes. If KBC2 were to be telecast four times a week, the Big B's magic would last just 21 weeks (five months). With three days, the show could be stretched to seven months without a renewal of the anchor's contract.

Answer 4 : Win some, lose some
KBC peaked at the right time and continued its form for one and a half years. KBC2, in contrast, was quick to take off but appears to be losing steam just as quickly. Media analysts point out that KBC2 could have again notched up TVRs of 20-22 had it been telecast on weekdays.

But Nair says that KBC2 has ensured that Star's weekend profile gets a boost. "Earlier, we had TVRs of 1-2 on weekends. After KBC2 it has gone to 11-12, which is relatively good." Consider the hike in Star's weekend ad rates: from Rs 12-15,000 (estimates) to over Rs 3 lakh for 10 seconds. Even competitors agree. Kunal Das Gupta, CEO, Sony Entertainment Television, says that KBC2 has worked well for Star on weekends.

So which option is the right answer? Unlike on the show, any or all these answers could be winners.