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Amar Deb says the channel spends substantially more than competitors on reality talent-hunt shows
Talent hunt has, of late, become quite a cliché in television circles. So, if a certain programme manages to break the clutter and strikes a chord with the audience, surely it must be doing something right. Right?
Channel [v]'s new reality programme 'Get Gorgeous' - which is a hunt for "India's hottest new faces" stirring the aspirations of thousands of modelling aspirants - seem to be consistently climbing up the popularity charts. Between week 27 and week 30 (June 27 to July 24), the programme has climbed up to an impressive TVR of 2.2 from 0.1 in Mumbai (CS ABC 15-34). To do well in the megapolis is important for music channels since Mumbai is the biggest market for music in India.
At an all-India level and during the corresponding period, the programme has been watched by 4.4 million viewers (source: TAM; cumulative research across all airings - both original & repeat. C&S 4+, all India). The success has prompted the channel to announce a sequel of Get Gorgeous.
Despite the success of the programme, the CHannel [v] headhonchos are strangely reticent and rather matter-of-fact about the programme's success. "After all the hard work, passion and investment that regularly goes in making such programmes, it's hardly surprising that Get Gorgeous has done well," says Amar Deb, head, CHannel [v].
Without naming competitors, Deb says some of the TV channels make programmes by spending as little as Rs 7-8 lakh per episode. In CHannel [v]'s case, the investment per episode works out to "easily more than seven times of this amount. Our quality sets us apart from the rest."
Whether its Popstars-I (which led to the birth of five member girl band Viva), Popstars - II (Aasma) and now, the quest for Super Singer, the channel puts in a lot of effort in ensuring that the programmes have quality.
"Our promotion of Viva, Aasma and now, the quest for Super Singer have all been driven by one objective - to promote brand CHannel [v] among the people of this country. And, the response has been fantastic," Deb says.
While Viva's (till the point, the band existed) and now Aasma is doing very well. The boy-girl band's cassettes have already sold two lakh copies, and the group is now playing in Middle-east and South-east Asian countries.
"We are really interested in brand intensification and concentrate on our core business , which is promoting music," Deb added.
Reality programming is a key element of CHannel [v]'s content strategy, and the channel, over the last two years, has exploited the genre effectively with Popstars I and II. This year too, the channel will dabble in the reality music talent hunt through Samsung Super Singer.
The programme kick-starts in September with auditions across 10 cities - Mumbai, New Delhi, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Kolkata, Indore, Hyderabad, Cochin, Bangalore and Ahmedabad.
This is the fourth major talent hunt to come from the [V] think-tank after Popstars I and II, and Get Gorgeous. Leading the quest for Samsung [V] Super Singer is musician Adnan Sami of 'Kabhie toh nazar milao...' fame.
Deb says, "We created the genre (of reality-cum-talent hunt shows), we made it a success, and now, we are taking it to a new level. It really can't get any bigger than this."
The channel is simultaneously working out the mechanics of another reality talent hunt titled Discostar, which will be kicked off soon across India, Dubai and the UK.
The hunt, organised in association with Subhash Ghai's Mukta Arts, will be for a "glamour girl", who will be cast in a song in an upcoming Mukta Arts movie. © 2004 agencyfaqs!