The idiot box gets real!

Most television channels are piggybacking reality shows for higher TRPs

A major part of reality television’s appeal is due to its ability to place ordinary people in extraordinary situations. Zee TV can be credited for bringing reality shows on the small screen almost 14 years ago with ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa’, but it is with KBC (Star Plus) that these shows gained a sizeable audience. And there has been no stopping since.

Endemol India MD Rajesh Kamat says, “Format shows provide a blueprint and succeed in reaching a larger audience only as long as it addresses universal emotions of love, hate, anger, jealousy, desire, etc.”

Stating that there are different categories of reality shows-documentary style, special living environment, celebrity reality, professional activities, game shows, dating based contests, job search, sports, self improvement  or makeover, dating shows, talk shows, hoaxes and hidden cameras — Kamat adds, “The percentage of reality shows to the programming mix is increasing and very soon may become 2-15 percent of the schedule as compared to soaps. Fiction is dal and rice whereas reality shows are the spice. But fiction being replaced by non-fiction genre is doubtful.”

‘Zee Cinestars’, ‘Boogie Woogie’, ‘Bigg Boss’, ‘Laughter Champion2’, ‘Nach Baliye2’, ‘Rin Mera Star Superstar’ and ‘MTV Roadies’ are some of the shows airing on the prime time slot right now. They are getting noticed by word of mouth, the superbly orchestrated marketing drama that supports them and the novelty factor it contains.

With ‘Indian Idol 1’ (Sony) reportedly recording 5.5 crores SMS’ for the entire series and ‘L’iL Champs’ (Zee) recieving over 1 crore 30 lakh SMS’ in the last three weeks, it’s no wonder then that channels are willing to spend anywhere between Rs 3 to Rs 25 crores on such format shows. Then there are ‘Advertiser Funded Programmes’ (AFP) which are of a different scale. “Rin Mera..” (Star Plus) is an AFP show as the brand funds it as an alternative to merely sponsoring ad breaks,” explains Kamat.

Sony’s chief creative director Sandiip Sikcand says, “We are planning to air soaps during weekdays and reality shows on weekends. With 11 of Sony’s top 20 shows being reality based, we have only just begun to get aggressive.” To this, Kamat says, “Audiences on Mondays to Thursdays are mostly loyal audiences and the weekend audience is a flirtatious one.”

With ‘Bigg Boss’ invading our screens seven days a week, it is a sign of things to come. But at the end of the day, these shows are going to be relevant to Indian audiences only if it is rooted in our own cultural idiom.

t_usha@dnaindia.net