The Hindu Business Line : Big B, cricket & new content big draw for broadcasters

Unlike 2004 when the broadcast industry grew like a colossus, in 2005 it was the turn of the print media to capture much of the attention and growth.

Farah Khan (3rd from left) with five top finalists of the `Indian Idol' Gala round in the Capital. The Indian Idol show was a big success for Sony.

Mumbai, Dec. 28

NEW format of programmes, Amitabh Bachchan and cricket were the three elements that lent colour to the country's broadcast industry during 2005.

If superstar Bachchan made a comeback to the small screen, bringing with him an array of game shows across channels, new format of programmes emerged as the winner.

Cricket dominated some mindspace with the 2004 battle for cricket rights going on in 2005 but India's television audience - elite or otherwise - were busy comparing notes on some of the TV shows that captured much of the attention.

"In 2005, the broadcast industry focused on how to break away from the clutter. New kinds of programming came to the fore and some of the new shows met with good success,'' says Mr Anil Wanvari, Founder and CEO, Indiantelevision. com.

"Television content was due for a change and a number of shows such as the Great Indian Laughter Challenge proved that,'' said Mr Purnendu Bose, Chief Operating Officer, Sahara One Television.

The broadcast industry maintained its growth, spurring the entry of many more channels in a much broader cable and satellite home market.

The National Readership Survey (NRS) had pegged the market at around 60 million homes. This number alone helped many of the broadcasters to up their advertisement rates on prime-time television.

But unlike 2004 when the broadcast industry grew like a colossus, in 2005 it was the turn of the print media to capture much of the attention and growth. Media underwent a shift as newspaper launches became the order of the day.

Programming strategy

In the mainstream broadcast space, Sahara One and Star One were the big gainers. A shift in the programming strategy for Sahara One and new kinds of shows on Star One did the trick for these two channels.

Zee Network came into the limelight as it was able to reposition itself with a slew of shows, the most attractive being Hero Honda Sa Re Ga Ma Pa.

"Zee could arrest a decline in its ratings but whether it was able to convert its programmes into revenue opportunities is anybody's guess,'' said an analyst tracking the sector.

Fragmented market

Sony also managed to get more viewers with its shows - Indian Idol and Fame Gurukul. Star Plus, on the other hand, failed to enthuse even as it remained the leader. No doubt that Amitabh Bachchan's Kaun Banega Crorepati 2 was a winner to some extent but broadcast industry observers are not sure if a single property could see a pan-Indian success that the first edition of Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) or Ramayan saw a few years ago.

"I don't think we would see a success like KBC or Ramayan or Mahabharat. The market has no doubt widened but it has also fragmented," Mr Bose said.

The predicament over distribution persisted, though there was a marginal improvement. Leading multi-system operators digitalised their infrastructure facilitating an addition of a few more channels.

But Direct-to-Home (DTH) went a step further with the Tata Group-Star TV combine getting the licence for its DTH operation, Tata Sky.

The big acquisitions

The year also witnessed big acquisition stories within the entertainment industry. Mr Anil Ambani made a foray into the entertainment industry with Reliance Capital's 51 per cent acquisition in Adlabs Films Ltd.

His group also expressed interest in other facets of the media and entertainment industry such as DTH and FM radio. The other big acquisition was that of Sony buying out Sri Adhikari Brothers' SAB TV.

In the regional space, Sun TV remained a firm number one but many other broadcasters retained their strong share in the minds of its dedicated audience.

All factors remaining the same, distribution will be a critical issue going forward.