Sony plots its way back

With nine new shows over the next 10 months, the general entertainment channel is going in for a programming overhaul like never before

It has been out of the top three in general entertainment channels (GEC) for a while now. But Multi Screen Media's Sony Entertainment Television (Sony) is making another attempt to break into the big league. With nine new shows, including megastar Amitabh Bachchan's first fiction show, Sony would see a programming overhaul like never before, over the next 10 months. Of this, six will be launched over the next three months.

The channel is looking to go beyond its traditional skew towards metros and a predominantly male audience in those cities. Sony, though, says it is very much a "family GEC but would want to broadbase the engagement through more involvement of the female audience".

The new management team of EVP and business head, Nachiket Pantvaidya, and programming head, Ajay Bhalwankar, along with network CEO, NP Singh, would not only like to retain the existing audience but also expand the viewership.

Singh explains, "Over the past year or so, there has been a problem in the execution of some of the shows. So now, the focus is on stability. We want to break into the top three again and consolidate our position there. Our existing shows like Crime Patrol and CID are our strengths and we want to build on them. In addition, we will be launching six new fiction shows, which will help fortify our weekday fiction programming."

Weekday fiction, the bread and butter segment of GECs, has been a pressure point for Sony. But its show Maharana Pratap and its success has demonstrated the need for more shows that resonate with the audience not just in metros, but also the LC1 markets (territories which have less than 100,000 population).

Pantvaidya says that the first step in turning around the channel is to retain the viewers that also sample its shows. As a result, the channel has extended the airing of Crime Patrol and CID to three days a week. "Through this, we have been able to plug the leaks, and over the past two-two and a half weeks, the channel's viewership has seen a jump of around 20 per cent. We are aiming at not only the four metros, but also 75 cities."

The debut of Amitabh Bachchan on small screen as a fiction show protagonist will lead the charge in Sony's weekday line-up.

Singh says, "Bachchan has been seen in advertisements and as an anchor on television, but this is the first ttime that he will be seen as an actor in a show. The serial is about the lead character, played by him, and his relationships with various people in his life, played by a strong ensemble cast."

Amounting to 20 hours of content, the show is slated for launch around the first week of June and the network is expected to launch the trailers by next week.

The channel is also developing a show where Jaya Bachhan will make her televison debut.

The other shows, which will go on floors over the next 30 days, have one thing in common - Sony's philosophy of offering content for the entire family with a contemporary story-line.

Reality shows which have given Sony seasonal spikes will play a role too. It will bring back the quiz show Kaun Banega Crorepati with Bachchan as the anchor in August. The singing talent show Indian Idol will follow.

Sony also plans disruptive programming in reality shows. "Gone are the days when the weekend started on a Friday. Now we have a TV-viewing audience that works on Saturdays. The programming needs to reflect that," Pantvaidya says.

For example, the channel premiered big-ticket movies like Ram Leela and Krrish 3 at 6.30 pm on Sunday which still managed to get very good ratings.

While reality shows and big-ticket fiction shows need higher investments, they are perception drivers which get the channel the eyeballs, says Singh. Other shows help retain the viewers at a lower cost of production.

But the team is not about to abandon Sony's loyalists. Advertisers targeting male viewers turn to Sony as their Hindi GEC choice, especially in metros, where the channel has managed to hover at the number two or three spot, says Pantvaidya.

"We do not want to overturn the market as such. We want to consolidate our position and stabilise it by adapting to what the viewers want," concludes a hopeful Singh.