Entertainment channels begin airing re-runs

With no new television content being shot in Mumbai due to the ongoing strike by television industry workers, entertainment channels like Star Plus, Sony TV, Zee TV and others started airing the re-runs of old serials and shows from tonight.

At least 55-60 TV shows including serials and reality shows have suffered as a result of this strike and there are no new episodes of these shows, sources said.

In a joint press meet organised here by the leading entertainment channels, Punit Goenka, chief executive, Zee TV, said that all entertainment channels have been 'forced' to take this step as they are caught between the demands of the workers’ federation and the content producers. "...We were waiting for the workers and producers to resolve the issue by November 9. Unfortunately, that has not happened...," Goenka said.

Broadcasters present at the press meet included recently launched channels like Colors, NDTV Imagine, 9X, apart from Star TV, Zee TV and Sony TV.

While Sameer Nair, head of NDTV Imagine, termed the situation "unfair" and "arbitrary", Uday Shankar, CEO, Star TV, said that they were in touch with all their advertisers and the associations.

According to experts, this move is likely to help some of the new channels like 9X, Colors and NDTV Imagine gain new viewership as a number of existing loyal viewers of Star Plus, Zee TV and Sony TV may actually switch to these newer channels to sample their content.

"Re-runs of shows will not affect the advertisers as they never buy the airtime on shows. Ad-spots are related to cost-per-rating-points delivered by the channels’ viewership. Therefore, as long as these channels can guarantee healthy ratings, it does not matter whether new or re-runs of old serials are being aired," a senior media planner said.