STAR Plus to launch game show against Sony’s ‘Kaisa Yeh Pyar Hai’

STAR Plus is all set to launch a new game show, ‘Mum Tum Aur Hum’, involving mother and child interactions, on September 19, in the Monday to Thursday 8 pm slot. The new show will replace ‘Dekho Magar Pyaar Se’, which hasn’t been delivering the channel a satisfactory TVR.

As Shailja Kejriwal, senior creative director, STAR Plus, says, “We’re strong in the 8:30 pm to 11:30 pm slot. The reason we are launching a game show in the 8 pm slot, where we are currently a bit weak, is because we wanted to experiment with our programming. We didn’t want to put another soap in this time slot.

“In fact, we have always experimented with our 8 pm slot, be it ‘Krishna Arjun’ or ‘Kyun Hota Hai Pyar’. What is so unique about ‘Mum Tum Aur Hum’ is that, unlike other game shows, which run on a strict format, this one allows a lot of room for innovation. Also, nothing in this show is fabricated and I’m sure the mother-kid bonding will appeal to all kids and parents,” she explains.

The show will be hosted by television actress Shruti Seth and Rajendra Sharma, popularly known as ‘Nanu’.

“We may even bring in celebrity stars later on in the show,” adds Kejriwal.

‘Mum Tum Aur Hum’ involves mother-child teams pitted against each other in various rounds. The winner of the last ‘Jackpot’ round gets an all-expenses-paid trip to a foreign location such as Mauritius or Sydney.

Incidentally, the game show will be competing directly with Sony’s ‘Kaisa Yeh Pyar Hai’, which has been delivering a steady TVR over a period of time. However, when agencyfaqs! spoke to a few media planners, they seemed to be quite optimistic about the success of the new game show.

As Arpita Menon, general manager, Lodestar Media, says, “The way I see it, as a concept, ‘Mum Tum Aur Hum’ seems to be very promising. I think it will encourage co-viewing – mothers and kids watching the show together.”

But Menon puts in a word of caution: “The time slot may be a bit of a problem because I’m not so sure how many kids are allowed to watch television at 8 pm because of homework or other reasons. But on the flip side, this is the same STAR Plus that managed to extend prime-time viewing till 11:30 pm with ‘Kahin Kisi Roz’. ‘Mum Tum Aur Hum’ is such an interesting concept, people might change their viewership habits around it.”

Kajal Malik, regional director OMS, however, seems more positive about the show's time slot. She remarks, “I personally think this is a novel concept, which should work. The show may prove interesting, especially for mothers who will probably enjoy watching the mother-child bonding and identify with it. I don’t think the time slot is wrong, as the shows on the other channels, which are slotted at 8 pm, are primarily soap operas. In fact, if ‘Mum Tum Aur Hum’ does well, it may even propel female viewers to shift from regular soaps to such shows.”

Malik also gives some sound advice, saying that the show can be made even more interesting by bringing in celebrities, be it television stars or Bollywood actors. “For instance,” she points out, “I feel people would love to see how the television icon, Tulsi, relates with her kid in real life.”

Prashant Kumar, investment director, Central Trading Group, Bangalore, agrees that the show could become popular, especially since it has been marketed rather well, with the initial promos of the game show being promoted in prime-time serials such as ‘Kyunki...’ and ‘Kahaani...’. Kumar also doesn’t feel that the 8 pm slot should be much of a problem, even though Sony’s ‘Kaisa Yeh Pyar Hai’ is already well entrenched there.

He remarks, “It is difficult to capture kids after 8:30 pm, so I think it is a wise decision to slot it at 8 pm. I think this programme will offer a good fight to Sony’s ‘Kaisa Yeh Pyar Hai’ because the latter’s viewership base doesn’t seem to be so strong, with an average TVR of 4.”

Game shows are generally a one-day watch (the exception being ‘KBC 2’, which extends over three days). This is one of the few game shows being slotted in the Monday to Thursday time band, which may be a cause for concern for STAR Plus, as it can lead to the fatigue factor.

Kejriwal of STAR Plus clarifies: “Soap operas on weekday prime-time television work because they make an emotional connect. That is what we will be doing with ‘Mum Tum Aur Hum’. After all, the show will leverage on the mother-child bonding, so in that sense, it’s not strictly a game show. It is more of an emotional route that we will be adopting.”

Malik of OMS agrees, saying, “I think that the Monday to Thursday feature is an advantage rather than a disadvantage, as it will probably be easier to hook viewers from the beginning, rather than have them wait an entire week.”

As a part of its marketing programme, STAR Plus is approaching 50 schools in Delhi and another 50 in Mumbai, and using print and outdoor media as well, in order to create a buzz around the show.

Kumar of CTG, Group M, feels that below-the-line promotions are what will work in the programme’s favour. “However,” he cautions, “the programme might take off initially, but it will be a challenge to maintain a steady viewership. This is because a game show, in a Monday to Thursday band, will have to constantly innovate itself and keep surprising its viewers. It must never reach a stage where people are too used to watching the same format.”

© 2005 agencyfaqs!