KViz master KV is making quizzing cool again; will brands quiz along?

I thought my days of appointment viewing were behind me when I cut the cord in 2012. That’s until I discovered Kumar Varun and his eponymous quiz show KVizzing in 2020. Now, Sunday 11 am to noon is a sacred slot when I livestream the latest episode of KVizzing. 

Who is Kumar Varun, you ask? Kumar Varun, or KV as he is popularly known, began his career in comedy making sketches about corporate work culture. Almost ten years later, he is more popular as a quiz master.

The nation met this quiz master on the influencer special episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati, where KV came to the rescue of his friends Tanmay Bhat and Samay Raina as their friend on the phone. 

Millennials who grew up on Bournvita Quiz Contest (BQC) in the 90s, participated in the Landmark August 15 quiz, or college quizzes, have had to resort to scratching their quizzing itch with Jeopardy, and British comedy quiz shows such as Quite Interesting, and Big Fat Quiz of the Year. 

While Indians still have Kaun Banega Crorepati, it is not a traditional quiz show, and India’s entertainment landscape has not managed to create a successful quiz show since BQC. 

KV is trying to make quizzing great again, and this is his story. 

Why quizzing?

Quizzing had been a prominent part of KV’s extracurricular activities from school to college (engineering and MBA) and even at work during his corporate stints in his stand-up comedy life.

A peak millennial, KV has realised that quizzing was what he was meant to do. His initials, K and V, only go to prove the point! The wordplay just writes itself—KVizzing. 

KV discovered quizzing at Shastra University in Tamil Nadu, where he studied engineering. “I was exposed to a kind of quizzing I had never seen, and it was a humbling experience. I went there as a school champion from Delhi-NCR, and initially I could not figure out what was going on. The quizzing you see on my show is heavily influenced by that part of my life.” 

KV’s quizzes are not made of questions where one either knows the answer or does not. These are questions framed to lead the participant to guess the answer. Think cryptic crossword clues…  

The idea to turn his love for quizzing into something tangible struck him in 2019. KV was in the habit of sharing quiz questions with fellow stand-up comics on a WhatsApp group every morning for several years. 

In retrospect, the WhatsApp chat with comic friends became his testing ground for KVizzing. “They began craving it and would prompt me for a question if I missed a single day. That’s when I thought I would do a formal show with them.”

He wasn’t sure anyone would come to watch it. 

The first one, held in 2019, was a 30-seater show in Mumbai. To KV’s complete surprise, people not only came but also enjoyed themselves. 

“Quizzing is something where if you know it, you get a sense of validation; if you learn something, you enjoy that too.” 

KV wanted to do more of these offline quizzes. He had finally found an outlet for his love for quizzing. 

But God, as they say, had other plans. 

Pandemic struck.

Not all was lost, though. 

A global lockdown proved to be the perfect time to kickstart a daily video conference meet-up of friends who would quiz together. 

That is how KV launched KVizzing with the Comedians, a YouTube quiz show in the middle of the pandemic. Week after week, his friends would answer questions over a Zoom call. KV would edit these and upload them to YouTube.

Later on, he began ticketing the live Zoom calls. People paid to watch their favourite comedians crack questions and make jokes while they struggled with questions.  

The biggest misconception that KV is trying to break is that quizzing is only for nerds. “I have always believed that anyone can quiz. But growing up in India, quizzing was about memorising country capitals, currency names, or names of first prime ministers and presidents.” 

“In reality, one is preparing for quizzing all their life.” 

The YouTube show finally spawned an offline format. KVizzing on YouTube built a community that KV hoped would find takers offline. The KViz show has non-comedians quizzing together. 

A prelims written round decides the three finalists who will go up on stage to quiz. A recording of the offline show is uploaded to YouTube. As expected, the videos of offline shows get fewer views. KV, though, finds more satisfaction with these shows. 

Role of comedians 

His MBA in marketing and brand marketing experience from his days as a corporate employee come in handy for KV. “That we started with comedians helped with reach.” In the initial days, fans of comedians who were participating in the quiz tuned in, helping KV reach a wide audience base. He says this helped reach more people and filter the audience too. 

Referencing his brand marketing fundamentals, he says, “To reach a bullseye target audience is a dream for any brand manager.” When a lot of fans discovered KVizzing, they must have either found it to their liking or not, and those who did not dropped away quickly, leaving KV with this bullseye TG. 

Over time, KV moved his quiz content from his original Random Chikibum YouTube channel, which was made for comedy content. 

“Those who are in the community are the people I would perhaps be friends with beyond my stage persona…” 

On his new channel—Kumar Varun—he posts videos about the Mahabharata, and world history. He intends to innovate more quiz formats too. Eventually, all answers to KViz questions might just be on another video within the Kumar Varun channel.  

The Kumar Varun YouTube channel has around 60,000 subscribers. Episodes featuring popular comics rake in 40,000-60,000 views, whereas themed quizzes or those with non-comics garner half the views. But KV is not complaining. He is happy with this committed but niche community he has built.

His biggest audience base is in Bengaluru, followed by Delhi-NCR and Mumbai. People from cities such as Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, and Lucknow also follow KVizzing. 

Why no interest from brands?

Quoting the creator of Jeopardy, Merv Griffin, KV says, “A quiz show is something you want to be popular but not too popular.” 

While this is an enthusiastic and engaged community, KV is also cognisant of the fact that by sheer numbers, comedic content has greater pull than quizzing.

For instance, the Random Chikibum channel has 7,36,000 subscribers on YouTube, and KV’s recent stand-up videos on that channel earn more than 50,000 views on average. 

KV argues that his audience is a goldmine for brands. 

KV says this is a global audience with viewers from the US, Canada, and Europe. And it is one that pays. The KViz show is a set of six quizzes conducted over a weekend. People pay to attend a show where there is no guarantee that they will be on stage.

“I wouldn’t have imagined that people would pay and show up to a quiz.” A couple of months ago, KV sold out a KViz show in Bangalore that he never even advertised, he says. The per-show cost is Rs 500 and the ticket price for all six shows is Rs 1,500-2,000. 

Putting on his brand manager hat and distinguishing between consumers and customers, he says, “KVizzing has an audience that can be converted to a customer.” 

“If I were still doing my corporate job, this is what I would do on weekends.” 

Very few brands have seen value in associating with KV’s quizzes. Small Case and Flipkart sponsored a couple of shows two-three years ago. More recently, Google sponsored a quiz with KV nudging his audience to search for Google’s Googlies. 

Brands that don’t integrate with the quiz show invite KV to do corporate quizzes for employee engagement. KV has been a quiz master at McKinsey, Nestle, HUL, Tim Hortons, etc.

He bemoans the current parameters that brands use to measure success—views, engagement, and impressions. “Instead of understanding the power of the audience, brands come to us with questions like 'How many subscribers do you have?'” 

He understands that the math does not match for brand managers who are under pressure to demonstrate ROI. “Had I been a brand manager, I would have followed the same formula because that’s easier. You don’t have to explain much up your chain of command.” 

The benefit of quizzing is that the format is easily customisable for brands, says KV. He can make a quiz about food, technology, and business and smoothly slip in a brand name and story. 

In 2025, KV plans to take the KViz Show to an auditorium and even take the show to the US, UK, Dubai, and Singapore. Announcing his big dream for 2025-26, KV says, “I want to make a new BQC for colleges.” 

To realise his dream, he will need a brand like Bournvita to quiz along. 

Brands who are on the fence, remember, the quiz master is always right!