MUMBAI: Hindi general entertainment channels, which have a 25% genre share in total television viewership, faced several challenges in 2016 as they experimented with new topics and strands of content, some of which fared well while others missed the mark.
The year witnessed the launch of around 75 Hindi shows on top Hindi GECs like Colors, Star Plus, Sony Entertainment Television, Zee TV, Life Ok and Zindagi. Among the newly launched shows, 48 were fiction shows and 27 were non-fiction shows.
Seventeen shows went off the air within a span of six months. Some of the long-running shows such as Colors’ ‘Balika Vadhu’, which ran for eight years, and Star Plus’ ‘Diya Aur Baati Hum’, which ran for six years, also ended their course.
A total of 35 shows went off the air in 2016, which included some popular shows such as ‘Siya Ke Ram’ (Star Plus), ‘Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat’ (Colors), ‘Meri Aashiqui Tumse Hi’ (Colors), ‘Swaragini’ (Colors), ‘Comedy Nights Live’ (Colors), ‘Suryaputra Karna’ (Sony), ‘Aadalat 2’ (Sony) and ‘Ishq Ka Rang Safed’ (Colors).
As per BARC data, the shows that fared well in urban + rural combine in Hindi-speaking market (HSM) were ‘Naagin 1 & 2’ (Colors), ‘Saath Nibhana Saathiya’ (Star Plus), ‘Saasural Simar Ka’ (Colors), ‘The Kapil Sharma Show’ (SET), ‘Super Dancer’ (SET), ‘Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai’ (Star Plus), ‘Yeh Hai Mohabbatein’ (Star Plus), ‘Kumkum Bhagya’ (Zee TV), ‘Kavach’ (Colors), ‘Udaan’ (Colors), ‘Shakti – Astitva Ke Ehsaas Ki’ (Colors) and ‘Brahmarakshas: Jaag Utha Shaitan’ (Zee TV).
Source: BARC TG: All India, 4+ Individuals
Content trends
The weekday slot witnessed shows spanning various genres such as kitchen politics, mythology and fantasy, whereas weekends were dedicated to reality shows and international format.
2016 saw producers play with some experimental topics and include daily events in their narratives. One such trended topic was demonetisation, as many of the shows such as ‘Tarak Mehta Ka Oolta Chasma’, ‘Jamai Raja’, ‘Devanshi’ and ‘Chidiya Ghar’ created plots revolving around it.
Straying away from the regular saas-bahu drama, Colors experimented with new topic with the launch of ‘Shakti: Astitva Ke Ehsaas Ki’, a show based on the life of a transgender. The show succeeded in attracting viewers, becoming one of the most-viewed programmes on the channel.
Also, the ban imposed on Pakistani shows by Hindi GEC Zindagi following the Uri attacks opened doors for adaptations of Turkish and Middle-Eastern shows. Shows like ‘Fatamagul’, ‘Feriha’ and ‘Little Lord’ were adapted for Indian audiences.
Channels like Colors and Star Plus inked international deals with Keshet International to make localised versions of their reality format ‘Rising Star’ and war drama ‘Prisoners of War’, respectively. Colors also aired the second season of the Indian adaptation of the American espionage thriller ‘24’ starring Anil Kapoor.
Mythology and supernatural content remained a major theme. Every channel featured at least one show revolving around mythology or supernatural/fantasy.
Airing shows with high production value and larger-than-life depiction became a common trend on TV. While Colors aired ‘Naagin’ and ‘Shaani’, Sony TV had ‘Sankatmochan Mahabali Hanuman’, Star Plus featured ‘Chandra Nandini’, Zee TV aired ‘Brahmarakshas: Jaag Utha Shaitan’ and ‘Jodha Akhbar’, Life OK featured ‘Naagarjuna: Ek Yoddha’ and Sab TV had ‘Icchapyari Naagin’.
Not just new shows but elements of supernaturalism were also added to the ongoing family drama, creating a lot of buzz among viewers. On ‘Sasural Simar Ka’, the protagonist turned into a fly; &TV’s ‘Yeh Kahan Aa Gaye Hum’ featured a lead character who is a rockstar by day but a tiger by night; and a Gorilla falling in love with the lead character in Colors ‘Thapki Pyar Ki’.
While most of these plotlines failed, Colors struck a home run with ‘Naagin’ as the compelling VFX and plotline attracted a lot of eyeballs. It went on to become the channel’s most-favoured show, bagging the top spot on BARC India’s rating chart.
Sab TV also made noise on television with the completion of 2,000 episodes of their longest-running show ‘Tarak Mehta Ka Oolta Chasma’. The show also secured a place in the Limca Book of Records as the ‘Longest-Running Comedy Show’.
After ‘Udaan’ on Colors, Mahesh Bhatt launched his second show ‘Naamkaran’ on Star Plus. The Hindi romantic drama is inspired by the 1998 movie ‘Zakhm’ and revolves around a woman’s fight to raise her little ‘illegitimate’ child.
Channel revamp and new positioning
Sony Entertainment Television (SET), which revamped its primetime slot, launched shows focusing on some bold and innovative topics. While some shows such as ‘Bade Bhaiyya Ki Dulhania’ and ‘Ek Duje Ke Vaaste’ did not do too well, shows like ‘Kuch Rang Pyar Ke Aise’ and ‘Beyhadh’ performed better.
SET also witnessed a shift in BARC ranking and moved up the hierarchy. The change was mainly due to the new programming, especially the weekends featuring non-fiction properties such as ‘The Kapil Sharma Show’ and kids dance reality show ‘Super Dancer’. Both the shows fared well for the channel and garnered strong viewership.
The biggest advantage for SET was ‘The Kapil Sharma Show’ as it managed to gain viewership on weekly basis. Towards the end of the year, the channel changed its positioning with the introduction of new programmes like ‘Indian Idol’ and a new channel logo.
Besides Sony, Star Plus also changed its positioning to ‘Nayi Soch’. The channel focused on women-centric programming and introduced shows such as ‘Naamkaran’. The brand also launched a campaign in which India’s cricket icons, MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane, were seen wearing their mothers’ names on their jerseys instead of their own names or father’s surnames.
Year of reality shows
2016 saw the launch of several reality shows that spanned singing and dancing genres. SET opened its 8 pm slot by launching its original kids format ‘Super Dancer’, which was followed by ‘Indian Idol 9’. The channel brought back the singing reality show after four years, featuring Sonu Nigam, Anu Malik and Farah Khan on the judges’ panel.
Colors launched the 10th season of ‘Bigg Boss’ with a new format. For the first time, the show opened its gates to the public. The channel also launched the ninth season of ‘Jhalak Dhikhhla Jaa’ with a celebrity panel of judges—Jacqueline Fernandez, Karan Johar, Farah Khan and Ganesh Hegde.
Star Plus launched the second season of its home-grown dance format ‘Dance Plus 2’, where Remo D’souza took the seat of the super judge. The channel also launched the fifth season of ‘MasterChef India’.
Zee TV launched the 2016 edition of one of its longest-running shows, ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa’. The 2016 edition was presented by Aditya Narayan. &TV launched its kids singing reality show ‘The Voice India Kids’, which featured Shekhar Ravjiani, Neeti Mohan and Shaan as mentors.
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