South Indian channels see a sharp rise in revenue through regional reality TV shows

Reality shows are entering regional channels in local languages and becoming a major part of the programs being broadcast on many GECs across the world. The life cycle of such shows begins at creation and being presented to viewers through a channel and if successful in getting TRPs, get a season 2. Simultaneously, some other TV channel in different demographics would be customizing it into a suitable language for another set of audiences. 

 

A source from a major South Indian television channel said, “When new, these are a major part of the TRP channels get and the revenue channels make. Eventually, these numbers face a major change. But these shows are attractive as the viewers get to see their own people participating in it. Moreover, they are interactive as the viewer gets to vote for their favourite participant and also decide who gets to stay on the show. This helps in engaging the viewers and in turn helps in increasing the TRP.”

 

Big Boss

 

Recently, Kamal Hassan, a celebrated actor down south hopped on the Big Brother band wagon by hosting the first season of the Tamil version on Star Vijay. This show was first adopted by Sony in Hindi with actor Arshad Warsi as its first host. Later hosted by actor Salman Khan, this show has been running since 2006 on Sony and then Colors. The other languages which have or had versions of this show are Kannada (Bigg Boss,) Telugu (Bigg Boss,) and Malayalam (Malayalee House.)

 

A spokesperson from Star, which telecasts Big Boss Telugu said that Bigg Boss Telugu had a massive opening with week 29. “It is one of the biggest show launches in Telugu market and Bigg Boss debuted with 16.2 TVR’s (Source-BARC, wk 29, TG 15+ Urban, AP / TS.) As per the BARC rating, every second person must have tuned into the show. Approximately 5.2 crore viewers have watched the show,” the source said. 

 

Kaun Banega Crorepati

 

With its titular host Amitabh Bachchan hosting season 9 of Kaun Banega Crorepati on Sony, this show will be completing about 17 years on Indian television. KBC was adapted into a Hindi format from UK’s ‘Who Wants to be a Millionnaire?’  It has been produced by Big Synergy since 2010. This show was originally aired by Star Plus in India. It was customized into Malayalam on Asianet with the name ‘Ningalkum Akam Kodeeshvaran,’ ‘Kannadada Kotyadhipati’ in Kannada on Suvarna channel and in Tamil by Sun TV under the name ‘Ningalam Velalam Oru Koti.’ 

 

Speaking about the Malayalam version of ‘Who wants to be a Millionaire?’ Reghu Ramachandran, Sr. Vice President, Asianet Communications said, “While season 1 of the show was path-breaking, there was a slight drop in the viewership in season two. Season three and four were really bad. I think this format has become quite old. This show must go.”

 

Following this trail are a few shows from national formats like ‘Comedy Nights with Kapil’, ‘India’s Best Draamebaaz’ and ‘Saregamapa.’ Many other major South Indian channels refused to comment on this issue.

 

“The content is set in the same international format by 95 per cent with only minute customizations, as it is not allowed,” added Reghu when asked about the customization of the content.

 

A source from a major South Indian television channel shared, “Reality shows from international and national formats are being remade in local languages in the south to attract a the population here. Proximity helps in getting TRPs. This also helps in bringing onboard a lot of advertisers. Since the shows are owned by various companies, we are not allowed to customize them too much. Only minimal amount is permitted.”

 

Speaking of content in the Telugu Big Boss show, a spokesperson said, “As a channel, we looked at all the market insights and the audience tastes in mind and created what we believe is quality and family friendly television. We understand the Telugu cultural values and our brand focus and promise is content that entertains viewers. Star Maa means quality entertainment. If you also look at the positioning or peg for the format, it changes with every market. It derives from the local flavour and also from the persona of the host.”

 

“Bigg Boss Telugu, which is hosted by Jr. NTR has splendid brand associations,” he added when asked about the type of advertisers. “Bigg Boss Telugu has OPPO as the presenting sponsor and is co-presented by All Out. Airtel is the telecom partner and CERA and CEAT tyres are the ‘powered by’ sponsors,” he said.

 

When asked about the kind of advertisers Asianet got for this customized show, Reghu said, “We got a range of advertisers for this. These days, the Japanese mobile companies tend to advertise more.”