Dileep Kumar
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MUMBAI: With four of its fiction properties in the top 10 list, Hindi GEC Zee TV is chalking out a strong weekend programming strategy. The channel is particularly looking to build its 8 pm slot where it has been struggling for quite some time now.
In 2013, Zee TV had opened up its weekend 8 pm band with a comic fiction show titled ‘Bh Se Bhade’. But the show had to be taken off air within a few months as it failed to garner much attention. It was replaced by yet another comedy show called ‘Gangs of Hasseepur’ which attempted to give a hilarious take on the political situation in the country. But that, too, went off air a few months back only to be replaced by a light-hearted slice-of-life drama titled ‘Neeli Chhatri Wale’.
Zee TV programming head Namit Sharma said, “8 pm is a very difficult slot historically, but it’s a slot that we would like to address and build. It’s an important slot and if required, we will make an effort every three months to create content for the slot till the audiences say they like it.”
Airing at 8 pm on Saturday and Sunday, the fiction show attempts to break the cycle of non-fiction reality shows to bring in fresh content for the viewers to consume and connect with as a family.
Zee TV business head Pradeep Hejmadi said, “Every form of content has a different level of pay-off for the viewer. There is also the probability of a natural fatigue. Now you see every other celebrity dancing and people just want to wriggle as much as they can out of it. So now if you look at the second season or more of any such show, it becomes interestingly challenging to bring a large pool of audiences and keep the surprise element on and interest level going.”
He believes that at the end of the day a lot of viewers come to television, and a regular household lives within a small sub-universe. To them TV is like a window to the world, and that’s how they identify or get inspired by some characters.
The channel’s strategy is to build a different texture for the weekend content, and the new show is an early part of that journey. Although 9 pm on weekends will still be reserved for non-fiction properties, the channel might experiment with other slots through more such shows.
Sharma stated, “What we are proposing to the audiences is a mix of fiction and non-fiction because non-fiction also has its cycles and ups and downs. We are trying to create a very healthy mix that will allow viewers to sample a variety of family-friendly broad-based content with differentiated ideas in the weekend. You can expect a lot of weekend action from Zee in the next two to three months.”
Historically, the weekend 8 pm band has not attracted very high viewership for most GECs.
Zee TV chalks out weekend strategy | TelevisionPost.com
In 2013, Zee TV had opened up its weekend 8 pm band with a comic fiction show titled ‘Bh Se Bhade’. But the show had to be taken off air within a few months as it failed to garner much attention. It was replaced by yet another comedy show called ‘Gangs of Hasseepur’ which attempted to give a hilarious take on the political situation in the country. But that, too, went off air a few months back only to be replaced by a light-hearted slice-of-life drama titled ‘Neeli Chhatri Wale’.
Zee TV programming head Namit Sharma said, “8 pm is a very difficult slot historically, but it’s a slot that we would like to address and build. It’s an important slot and if required, we will make an effort every three months to create content for the slot till the audiences say they like it.”
Airing at 8 pm on Saturday and Sunday, the fiction show attempts to break the cycle of non-fiction reality shows to bring in fresh content for the viewers to consume and connect with as a family.
Zee TV business head Pradeep Hejmadi said, “Every form of content has a different level of pay-off for the viewer. There is also the probability of a natural fatigue. Now you see every other celebrity dancing and people just want to wriggle as much as they can out of it. So now if you look at the second season or more of any such show, it becomes interestingly challenging to bring a large pool of audiences and keep the surprise element on and interest level going.”
He believes that at the end of the day a lot of viewers come to television, and a regular household lives within a small sub-universe. To them TV is like a window to the world, and that’s how they identify or get inspired by some characters.
The channel’s strategy is to build a different texture for the weekend content, and the new show is an early part of that journey. Although 9 pm on weekends will still be reserved for non-fiction properties, the channel might experiment with other slots through more such shows.
Sharma stated, “What we are proposing to the audiences is a mix of fiction and non-fiction because non-fiction also has its cycles and ups and downs. We are trying to create a very healthy mix that will allow viewers to sample a variety of family-friendly broad-based content with differentiated ideas in the weekend. You can expect a lot of weekend action from Zee in the next two to three months.”
Historically, the weekend 8 pm band has not attracted very high viewership for most GECs.
Zee TV chalks out weekend strategy | TelevisionPost.com
