SAB gets back to comedy at 10 pm

Before its reincarnation and shift to the Sony Entertainment Television stable, SAB was known for its comedy shows. After a series of experimentation with its programming since its rebirth as the second GEC of SET, the channel has now decided to have a daily 30 minute comedy show at 10 pm.

The new show, which will be called ‘Sab ka Bheja Fry’, will be a mix of sitcoms and gags, the two tried and tested formulae in this genre. The three sitcoms the show will feature are ‘SAB ka Boss’, which is the story of an office loser; ‘Oudhvasta’, the third Indian epic after ‘Ramayana’ and ‘Mahabharata’, never told before; and ‘Ustad Janab’, which is the story of two self obsessed, dim witted policemen. The gags will include characters such as Rakhi Sawant, a flirt; Muft ka Chandan, a miser; Feroze Faltu, a don in his dreams; and Tension Tambi, who is always worried about everything.

Ravi Kiran, CEO, Starcom MediaVest Group, Asia Pacific, is optimistic about the show’s prospects, as the channel’s experimentation with youth-skewed shows such as ‘Left Right Left’ has worked in the past. He agrees that comedy shows are a big turn on for the youth, besides the channel having a lineage of success with such shows.

Other senior media planners such as Kajal Malik, regional director, OMS, feels that comedy as a genre works well, and is expected to grow further, provided broadcasters and producers are more innovative. She feels that the me-too attitude is killing the genre, which today claims a revenue of Rs 350-400 crore (estimated Jan-Dec 2006). Interestingly, media experts predict that the share of comedy shows in the overall revenue pie, currently 10 per cent, is expected to expand.

Kunal Jamuar, vice-president, Media Directions, says the show won’t be a differentiator for the channel’s ratings if it isn’t completely refreshing and unique. Besides, it could be affected if competing channels have similar shows in the same time slot.