The Hindu Business Line : World Cup cricket hits serials, films for a six

The World Cup is not only expected to bring this cricket crazy nation to a halt, but also keep both the television and film industry in a state of suspended animation. There aren't going to be any mega releases during that one-and-a-half month period.

Star Plus has decided to defer plans for launching a new series of Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) till after the World Cup. The channel is also not planning to start new serials.

"There will not be enough audience to sample our new programmes. We see no point in investing money at that time,'' said Star official. However, the channel is confident that the viewership for the top shows Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki and Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhie Bahu Thi would not be affected as the matches would be over by then.

Zee Telefilms is adopting a cautious approach by not making any announcements. Ms Apurva Purohit, President, Zee Tele, said, "Traditionally the marketing buzz cricket has always been higher than the actual shift in viewership pattern. Also cricket viewing is largely influenced by how the Indian team performs.''

Zee TV's target viewers are women and it would continue giving women-centric programming, she said.

The film industry is also not planning any big releases during the time, though multi-starrers such as Kaante, Jism, Khushi, Dhund-The Fog and others are in the pipeline before the World Cup.

However, the cricket build-up is expected much in advance. So cricket-centric movies and shows are going to be the mainstay. For instance, Raveena Tandon's Reel Life Entertainment is planning a movie called Stumped, with Kargil and cricket as background. The movie is believed to have cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid making guest appearances.

Sony Entertainment Television, which holds the rights for the World Cup, is expected to be on an overdrive. It has already started airing special shows around cricket.

And more is expected. Star Plus and the other sports channels are also planning cricket specials. "The ad spends for the World Cup this year could well be over Rs 300 crore and so everybody will be vying for a share of the pie,'' says a media planner.

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