Youth channels think up new strategies to woo audiences with a fresh mix of programming.
If you thought youth channels were all about music and dating shows, then you couldn’t have been more wrong. Once labelled as just non-stop music channels, MTV, Channel V and UTV Bindass today fine-tune their programming every six months to keep up with evolving audiences.
Every youth channel has customised its programming strategy to include show genres like careers, dating, relationships, campus festivals, reality shows, and most recently even films. And why not, since research says 88 per cent of the youth have at least one favourite channel which they tune into regularly.
This explains why, six months ago, MTV dropped the words ‘music’ and ‘television’ from its logo claiming that it was not limited by music. Aditya Swamy, senior vice-president (sales and marketing), MTV India knew what was needed to keep the ratings high. He admits, “We might have come from music but MTV also stands for new ideas, formats and methods to reach people.” Swamy says that it was in-house audience research and viewership feedback that led to the programming re-jig. Apart from music and cricket, youngsters love films, claims MTV. “This led us to produce hour-long movies, all based on scripts and stars young actors”, explains Swamy. These movies go on air from July 4.
Over the past couple of years, MTV brought several non-music programmes like Roadies, Splitsvilla, and Stuntmania that went on to become cult shows. Incorporating elements from the GEC model — airing films — might help the channel to maintain its ratings especially since rivals have upped their ante on new show formats.
Channel V too has jettisoned its music-only image to embrace a wider mix of content. The channel is launching its first ever sitcom titled Roomies in July that will be aired once a week and is based on five college-going youth who share a flat. Prem Kamath, general manager, Channel V (India), is confident that they are all set to topple the leading channel (read MTV) to become the favoured youth-centric GEC.
He says, “We have been clocking neck to neck viewership ratings for couple of weeks now and with fresh lineup of programmes, Channel V is ready to lead the market.”
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Likewise, the newest kid on the block, UTV Bindass is not just boasting with its tag about providing a “360 degrees viewing experience.” The channel has carefully integrated a digitally convergent platform that starts from TV shows and moves on to connect with its audiences over the Internet, through mobile phones and even gaming. The channel recently launched a reality show called Commando Force: Dadagiri Against Terrorism, that uses real weapons, tactics and military discipline. UTV Bindass, also credited with popular reality shows like Emotional Atyachaar and Big Switch, will launch the first ever horror-based reality show in India, titled The Chair. “Our creative team, which has young as well as senior hands, has conceptualised shows across a range of subjects that we believe will be received well by our target audience,” says Shalini Sethi, programming head of UTV Bindass.
UTV Bindass has announced a new dance show titled Street Dance that will be mentored by choreographer Shiamak Davar. “Street Dance is a novel concept and will bring dance styles that today’s youth swear by. The show will line up dance forms such as Krumping, B-boying, hip-hop, tap dance, contemporary and Bollywood,” says Sethi.
Thinking hats are on heads at Channel V, too. Kamath’s in-house creative team has several fresh shows lined up for the next few months. Betting on a second season of reality shows like Dare2Date and a new reality show that will have youngsters competing to get fired from their jobs, Kamath seems to have a reason to be confident about TRPs. “Our target audience does not consider TV as the primary source of music, hence we had to evolve from being just another music channel,” explains Kamath. Yet another popular show, Get Gorgeous, will reappear on Channel V, only this time the show will also have guys trying to be ‘handsome’.
Acknowledging that competition is represented by all channels that have content created for young people, MTV has plans of its own to lead the TRP race. Swamy says, “We are bringing back the popular show StuntMania, where the participants (having conquered the machines in last season) will now set out to conquer nature.” The show, which was shot in Himalayas for this season, promises viewers unbelievable stunts. By August-end, the channel will have another new show called Male Fantasy 101, or MF 101. Swamy asserts, “We are not following any one channel but creating our own formats. We did that with Splitsvilla and Roadies and we are doing it again with movies created just for TV.”
