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Tag: Prashaant Bhatt

  • When the IPL begins, it takes centre stage and other programming has to hustle for eyeballs and ratings. What are channels doing to match the IPL's popularity and also stay ahead of one another?

    IPL vs Drama: Who will win this match?

     

    By Meghna Sharma

     

    Since its inception, the cricket Indian Premiere League (IPL) has been in the news – sometimes in the best of ways but often for all the bad reasons, but this hasn’t made any difference to the cricket-crazy country. When the almost-two-month-long tournament starts, there is very little else that occupies top of mind for the Indian public.

     

    For television channels, it is an extra busy time. In addition to their own one-upmanship battles, they also have to step up programming to beat the IPL’s popularity.

     

    Most channels, especially English entertainment, try to woo audiences with special packages. For instance, Zee Studio started it early with its package – Powerplay 2.0, which aimed at its male TG through action movies and lasts till the end of the month. “Cricket being a religion in this country, the idea is not to counter IPL but to create a property that viewers can move on to post the matches,” says the channel spokesperson.

     

    Prashaant Bhatt

    According to the recent data, IPL has impacted ratings, especially that of GECs. And with around 10 days left of the extravaganza, what can or should a channel do to boost its ratings during the yearly event? “IPL is one of the biggest events on television. And it does have an impact on all entertainment channels but beyond a point, since because both have different sets of audiences, the impact varies,” says Prashaant Bhatt, Weekday Programming Head, Colors.

     

    The channel, however, says that their launches and highpoints are thought through months in advance, keeping in mind the audience viewing preferences and content requirements of the channel. “This year as well, we planned our strategy accordingly and now we have four of our shows in the top 10, which is a testament to the fact that we are going about it the right way with our plans. We reckon that there is a loyal audience for cricket just as GECs, and don’t see a huge overlap of the two. Moreover, if the content and concept of the show is strong, the audiences will continue to watch their favourite shows over IPL.”

     

    Having said that, one can easily see that most of them do make certain efforts to make sure that they don’t lose out viewers by showing either maha-episodes or blockbuster movies. Many GECs even wait till the event to finish before they can launch their shows. Jhalak Dikhla Ja, Indian Idol Junior and Dance India Dance are some.

     

    On the other hand, for youth entertainment channels like Comedy Centeral or MTV, UTV Bindaas, the IPL doesn’t matter as most show re-runs of their popular shows during that time slots. Indrajit Ray, Director, Content, DisneyUTV says, “Despite IPL, our channel’s ratings have grown. The genre usually doesn’t get affected by IPL because of the content it showcases. Youth will consume it irrespective of whether IPL is there or not.”

     

    And since cricket cuts through age, are children’s channels wary too? “April, May and June are very important months for the entire category thanks to the kids being on vacations. Over the years we have noticed that IPL has a minimal impact on the category with 5-10 percent deviation. Since it is summer vacation time, we at Nick have a content and marketing strategy that will ensure that kids stick continuously on the channel with the least amount of outage. We will put our best foot forward with our frontrunners Ninja Hattori, Motu Patlu, Keymon Ache and Pakdam Pakdai. Apart from the new shows/seasons there will also be a lot of interactivity through contests like ‘Party with Ninja’ to keep the kids engaged beyond TV,” says Mr Ray.

     

  • While viewers don't seem to mind popular actors appearing on primetime shows, does it help TV with ratings and filmwallahs with ticket sales?

    Do pre-release star appearances work?

     

    By Meghna Sharma

     

    What is common between Kareena Kapoor and Bipasha Basu? The answer is: CID. Yes, both the actors were rescued by none other than our very own team of ACP Pradyuman and his agents.

     

    Today, seeing actors on television is not a surprise. Most of them can be seen on the small screen as hosts or judges on reality shows. However, in the recent past one has seen them play a character or themselves in fictional shows where the plot of an episode is scripted around them. And the two actors are the latest to join the bandwagon of various other actors who have made a “special appearance” on the small screen to promote their upcoming film.

     

    Dinesh Rathore

    According to Dinesh Rathore, COO, Madison Media Omega, the difference between the big screen and the small screen faded away in the last decade as superstars entered the medium. “Actors making an appearance on television is a win-win situation for both. Television has vast reach so actors get to promote their films, and a channel can save money if the actor appears on their shows to promote his/her film.”

     

    He’s not alone, even broadcasters which are competing with each other to get the stars to their channel before others do also feel the same. Vivek Bahl, Chief Creative Director, Sony Entertainment Television says, “Big fiction shows with a dedicated & measurable viewer base is a great platform for an actor to promote his / her upcoming film with the show. And, for the show itself, one can always create buzz and sampling with the

    Vivek Bahl

    anticipation of a star appearance.”

     

    On the same note, Ajay Bhalwankar, ZEEL’s Content Head (Hindi GECs) feels that fiction shows are the staple diet of any General Entertainment Channel and the presence of a Bollywood celebrity is woven into the existing storyline of the fiction show, hence increasing the chances of a better recall. “As a medium TV cannot be ignored by marketers.”

     

    Prashaant Bhatt

    “Be it with a Jhalak Dikhhala Jaa or Madhubala, the audience for each show is varied and this is what works in favour of the movie that is promoted on the show,” explains Prashaant Bhatt, Weekday Programming Head of Colors, who believes that the trend is only going to move forward. “It is vital for any promotional activity to be present on all the mediums that helps them connect with the viewer. So, in the future, the trend could possibly be digital with the introduction of various apps etc, anywhere the audience/moviegoer is.”

     

     

    Shailesh Kapoor

    However, Shailesh Kapoor, CEO of Ormax Media feels that film star presence on fiction shows helps the films more than the channels. But the channels can use the stars in the promos and create buzz around it. It can give a viewership spike only if the star does something really interesting in the show. “In a recent study conducted by us, television emerged as the driver of both reach and appeal for film campaigns, way ahead of print and outdoor. I believe that channels should start charging film producers for such integrations, the way they charge advertisers.”

     

     

    Priti Murthy

    If both stars and broadcasters are winners here, Priti Murthy, National Director – Insights at Maxus India adds that viewers too don’t have much to lose out on. “I think even viewers win here as they get to see new faces or a new plot in their regular shows. Also, stars appearing on shows is a global phenomenon; in the west, stars appear on shows like Saturday Night Live.”

     

    It appears no one has anything to lose here!

     

  • In a recent development at Colors, Mr Prashaant Bhatt has been appointed as the head of fiction programming, responsible for driving the fiction properties on the channel and taking key decisions on new shows and concepts.

    Prashaant Bhatt to head Fiction at Colors

    By Rishi Vora

     

    In a recent development at Colors, Mr Prashaant Bhatt has been appointed as the head of fiction programming. He will be responsible for driving the fiction properties on the channel Colors and will take key decisions on new shows and concepts. Mr Bhatt will start his new role on December 1, 2011, reporting to the CEO Mr Raj Nayak.

    Announcing the appointment, Mr Nayak said, “Given Prashaant’s extensive experience in delivering compelling content for multiple successful fiction properties over the years, we are confident that he will take the Colors’ Fiction shows to a new peak. I am proud to have him on the team, and look forward to co-creating new frontiers in fiction programming on the channel.”

    On his new assignment, Mr Bhatt said, “I have tremendous appreciation for Colors’ constant attempts towards providing new and innovative content to viewers. I am looking forward to working with this incredibly talented group of people and to applying my knowledge and experience to fiction programming”.

    Mr Bhatt joins Colors from Balaji Telefilms, where he was the Creative Head for various successful shows. He has over 16 years of experience as a writer and creative director of various successful fiction properties. In the last few years, he has also been involved in conceptualising shows and creatively heading them for various production houses which include not only Balaji Telefilms, but also Rajshri Productions, Cinevistas, Creative Eye, AK Films, UTV and Shreya Creations among others.