The Hindu Business Line : The TV gets some new Colors

Being disruptive is how Viacom 18 likes to describe the strategy behind its latest general entertainment channel (GEC) Colors. Using Bangkok as the backdrop and roping in action hero Akshay Kumar to launch its flagship show was a “disruptive” move in an attempt to put Viacom 18 firmly on the entertainment map of India.

The 50:50 joint venture forged last year between Viacom Inc and the Network 18 Group is now poised to expand its basket of offerings. However, entering the cluttered GEC space (Viacom is the 10th player), it is not going to be an easy ride.

Viacom 18 knows it has to be different and disruptive to make its presence felt. And programming is going to be the key to its success apart from ensuring extensive penetration. Says Rajesh Kamat, Chief Executive Officer, GEC, Viacom 18, “When we started off, we did realise there was going to be stiff competition. The key was to be differentiated and disruptive in our battle for eyeballs.” Completing its bouquet in the Indian market after its slew of niche channels such as MTV, Vh1 and Nick, Colors will reach out to a wider audience apart from helping to garner a larger share of ad revenues which normally comes from the GEC genre.

Colors has announced two of its initial flagship shows _ Fear Factor-Khatron Ke Khiladi, with Akshay Kumar and 13 Bollywood actresses, and Mohe Rang De, a love story set against the backdrop of the Quit India Movement.

Ashvini Yardi, Programming Head, Colors, says, “The programming mix endeavours to be relevant to today’s evolving viewers who have a deep-rooted desire to escape to their fantasy world, while still remaining within the realm of reality.”

The programming has been linked to the emotions of Indian people and the name of the channel ‘Colors’ is also reflective of the country’s myriad emotions.

“India is about emotions in different colours (Jasbat Ke Rang) and our channel name also suggests that it is full of emotion, be it through Azaadi Ke Rang or Bollywood ke Range,” says Kamat. Treating India and Bharat as two different entities, the channel has kept in mind the likes and dislikes of the smaller Indian towns as well.

Colors wants to venture deep into the GEC space. “GEC channels have just seen one-third of the iceberg. We would like to go below this surface with our disruptive content and differentiating strategy,” says Kamat.

With Akshay Kumar as its trump card, the channel expects its reality show Fear Factor – Khatron Ke Khiladi to build excitement among iviewers and capture the required eyeballs. Produced by Endemol India, the show will be shot in South Africa with high budgets. Its other show Mohe Rang De is an ‘emotional’ period drama produced by Deepti Bhatnagar Productions; this is also expected to connect with Indian audiences.

Competitors of Viacom 18 say this is the right time to make an entry into the GEC space. Prem Kamath, Vice-President (Marketing), Star India, says, “The GEC space is seeing a lot of action and there are macro-economic reasons behind it. At the same time, a GEC channel has the largest share in the advertising pie and Viacom would see a rise in its revenues as the size of its audience would increase.”

However, with increasing fragmentation, the success of any GEC channel will depend on how well it differentiates itself from the rest. With soaps and reality shows still dominating the GEC channels, differentiation will be tough.

As Anooj Kapoor, Business Head, SAB, says: “Soaps and reality shows are still the order of the day and all the new players will initially launch fancy shows. But whether they will be able to sustain the content and viewership is the question. India is going through a similar phase like what happened in America 20 years ago. There will be some players who will get ejected, some will stagnate and others will become stable. In India, we will see some amount of stability among GEC channels in the next two years.”

In fact, the stalwarts in the GEC space remain unruffled by the entry of new players. According to Sneha Rajani, Senior Vice-President & Business Head, MAX, “At the end of the day, the players who have been around, like Zee, Sony and Star, are the ones who will remain in the GEC space. The new entrants will be able to survive purely on the merit of their content. Viacom with its pedigree is a serious player and would like to expand faster in this market.”

Says Keertan Adyanthaya, Executive Vice-President and General Manager, Star Plus, “More channels means expansion of the category. We have already seen that in recent months, the Hindi GEC space has expanded to 1000 GRP space from the 900 GRPs that it was operating in. In spite of so many channels launching, STAR Plus is still No 1 and we are still larger than two of our nearest competitors combined. New players come with significant spends in content, marketing as well as channel placement, which means more people are coming in to sample the entire category.

“As far as competition within the category is concerned, earlier we had a single battle for supremacy, but now we have channels fighting to claim the No 4 spot, the No 6 spot. From a viewer’s standpoint, the number of channels is not an issue, the problem is none of the new entrants is attempting anything new, simply aping existing channels.”

Kamat says, “We believe GEC is not like a T-20 game where you get viewership from the first week itself. We plan to get to the bottom of the iceberg, and competition would begin once we cross 100 GRPs.”

Currently, GEC advertising revenues are estimated at Rs 2,000 crore with Star and Zee bagging the maximum share in this space. As for Colors, it is looking to garner a double-digit growth rate for its advertising revenues with its mass appeal.

Besides, distribution will also be critical for the TV channel as it reaches out to a wider audience. While Colors has its own team, the fight for placement to ensure penetration will be a tough one.

However, as Praveen Tripathi, Chief Executive, Hansa Consulting, says, “Viacom 18 already has a well established bouquet and equity of its other channels would ensure faster penetration for a general entertainment channel as well.” For now, both Viacom and its Indian partner, TV 18, are preparing to colour television entertainment with its new programming. “Both the partners are hungry for growth and we believe in having a serious edge over our competitors,” signs off Kamat, who has been with Star India in the past.

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