Sony’s rough patch continues

If the recent TAM figures are anything to go by, the ongoing rough patch that Sony is going through might just get rougher. As per TAM figures (C&S, 4+, HSM), the highest TVRs recorded by its two new shows in their first week were a meagre 1.19 for ‘Aisa Des Hai Mera’ and 1.98 for ‘Thodi Khushi Thode Gham’.

After bidding adieu to its popular soap, ‘Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin’, which had witnessed declining TVRs towards its end, Sony was fervently banking on the two new serials to revive its prime-time slot and its steadily dropping channel share.

When we asked Kunal Dasgupta, CEO, SET India, what had gone wrong, he maintained phlegmatically, “We knew what to expect in the first week. Soaps take time to build, so there’s nothing to be shocked about. As the storylines unfold, we will see a lot more audience and higher TVRs.” He brushes aside allegations about the content not being fresh and the promotions not being effective.

But industry experts have something else to say about Sony’s new entrants.

Debraj Tripathi, general manager, Maxus, says, “The beginning has definitely been bad for Sony’s new serials. But, frankly, it is too premature to comment on the future of the programmes. Even in the past, most of Sony’s programmes haven’t bagged great TVRs. Things would have been different had it been STAR because that is a different platform, where the TVRs start at 4 or 5.”

About the content of the serials, Kajal Malik, regional director, Optimum Media Solutions, says, “Sony needs to realise the pulse of the audience today. Soaps and joint family dramas have been done to death. We need to find novelty in content that will cut ice with the viewers.”

Malik goes on to say that the reason behind the success of Balaji’s serials on STAR is the big fan following it attracted right in the beginning; this factor will not work for channels such as Zee and Sony.

When asked about the future of the new programmes, she emphasises, “Sony is known to promote its programmes aggressively. It needs to find out which of these two serials was devoid of adequate promotion and use the right marketing and media mix for that serial.”

Manish Porwal, executive director, Starcom, denies that the content of the serials is clichéd; rather, he believes that the content’s in line with Sony and mixes two alternate genres. About the TVRs, he says, “I am not very surprised because it was expected. Since Sony is going through a rough phase, it does not have many lead-ins – hence, the low TVRs. A year ago, these serials might have got a much better response because Sony was doing well then.”

When asked what the road ahead will be like for Sony, he says, “They need to figure out where the problem lies. For instance, if the reach is good, but the time spent low, then the programming needs to be revised. But if it’s the other way round, then the marketing mix needs to be looked at.”

All said and done, we will just have to wait and watch if the twists and turns in the storylines of these shows will pave a smooth road for Sony!

© 2006 agencyfaqs!