Is India finally ready for a ‘season’al shift?
The fist seeds of India’s television industry were sown way back in the early 1980s, when the country only had the sole terrestrial broadcast channel Doordarshan at its disposal. There are probably only two historical shows that children of the 80s still have vivid memories of, namely Ramayan and Mahabharat; though there were other trailblazers at the time that deserve equal credit for setting the tone for India’s television production industry.
The eighties was the era of Doordarshan with shows like Hum Log (1984), Wagle Ki Duniya (1988), Buniyaad (1986-87) and comedy shows like Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi (1984) glued millions to Doordarshan. Later on, shows such as - Bharat Ek Khoj, The Sword of Tipu Sultan and Chandrakanta, along with thrillers like Karamchand, Byomkesh Bakshi was a very promising time. There were also shows targeted at children with, Dada Dadi ki Kahaniyan, Vikram Betal, Malgudi Days, Tenali Rama. The content consumption pattern of the audience has been evolving ever since.
Daily Soaps have been ruling the television space in the country for eons now, but over the last decade there has been a significant quench for quality content from the maturing audience, which has been exposed to western sitcoms and drama. This has also led to content creators and broadcast networks to think out of the box. Take the case of ABC Network’s Shark Tank for example. They say there are few experiences more terrifying for an entrepreneur than appearing on Shark Tank.
The ABC show that pairs a panel of investors with business owners has become nothing short of a cultural phenomenon. With 6 million viewers tuning in for every episode, entrepreneurs enter wide-eyed with the hope of getting mass exposure for their fledgling products. In many cases, they leave with public ridicule from the sharks as well. The show is a pretty darn amazing platform. It has done incredible things for a lot of companies. When people go on there, America listens. The show manages to give young start-ups the exposure that they can only dream of through a Facebook Ad or normal PR.
Indian content creators now need to think on these lines; while guys like All India Bakchod (AIB), The Viral Fever (TVF), Being Indian (BI), East India Comedy (EIC) among many others have been experimenting with short format content on digital platforms, its time General Entertainment Channels take a leaf from their book and begin investing in creating content which is more contemporary in nature and fits the bill of the content needs of young India.
The current crop of leading GECs include: Star Plus, Colors, Zee TV, Sony and Life OK. But, among them only Star Plus and Colors have kind of led the way in introducing differentiated offering to the millennial audience. While Colors got on board the official remake of 24 with Anil Kapoor in the lead role and also an original format like Mission Sapne, Star Plus continues to experiment with different formats in connecting with people across the country with shows like Satyamev Jayte and Aaj Ki Raat Hai Zindagi.
What’s also worth taking note is the fact that most of the shows mentioned above are finite in nature, and more so are run as seasons much like how it works in the West. But, apart from 24 the rest are all non-fiction formats. What the Indian diaspora now needs is a similar treatment to fictional stories, and mind you there is a huge difference between drama and sitcoms.
Creators must also be aware of curating their content based on the nature of the audience that they are catering to as well as be mindful of the platforms on which their creations can/will be shown. The various platforms available at the disposal of content creators are on the rise and there are no bounds to their imagination if they understand their audience just right.
Come 1 February, Star Plus once again looks to break the clutter with yet another finite series titled Tamanna, which seeks to break the myth that cricket is a male-dominated sport. Tamanna is the story about Dharaa’s passion for cricket and her journey through the different phases of her life. The show will encompass relationships at home and work with cricket as a powerful backdrop.
With Netflix also making its foray into the Indian sub-continent and most of the leading GECs working on creating niche content offerings for their digital platforms, this can very well be coined as the honeymoon period for content creators, that’s only if they can keep their eyes and ears open to find the right partners.