Customised Programming to hook viewers during Lockdown

The recent outbreak of the COVID – 19 has caused a tectonic shift in our lives. The entire nation and industry machinery have channeled all their efforts towards ensuring the safety and wellbeing of one and all.

The pandemic outbreak has led to millions staying home and glued to their television screens and phones for entertainment, the viewing patterns have also changed. More viewers are now watching television as per the recent BARC data. Doordarshan also decided to bring back all their classics and the Mythological drama Ramayan saw a comeback, it certainly was nostalgic for many. The show saw the highest TRP’s since 2015.

News channels across genres i.e. English, Hindi and regional has also seen a spike in viewership. Now with serial shootings across the country has come to a standstill GEC’s both Hindi and the regional channels were at a fix on how they will retain their viewership. Channels strategized and customized their programming so as to not lose their viewers to the greatest competition the OTT platforms.

We at MediaNews4U decided to speak to the GEC broadcasters, on their strategies of re-scheduling their programs, re-runs of their popular shows and also airing finite shows from their OTT platforms.

Prathyusha Agarwal, Chief Consumer Officer, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd.

As the leading media & entertainment network, we at ZEE see it as our responsibility to keep our consumers positively engaged, entertained and well informed, helping them sail through these tough times. Our foremost priority at ZEE is to ensure that everyone follows the necessary hygiene and social distancing protocols and we are trying to communicate this message extensively to people through all our channels which reach the length, breadth and depth of this country in their bhasha and boli.

The latest BARC data for the week ending 20th March shows that the consumption of television content has increased by over 72 Bn viewing minutes, already leading to an 8% jump in total viewership over the last 3 weeks of January. There is a healthy growth in average daily reach (6%) as well as average time spent (2%). With people staying at home, more people are watching television and watching more television every day. Viewership has risen by 8% in males, 9% in females and 20% among kids, and the average time spent per viewer stands at 3 hours 51 minutes, showing a 2% rise. The growth is being driven by a 20% increase in daytime viewership at an all-India level. Compared to the pre-lockdown 4-week average, maximum growth in viewership can be seen in the afternoon band (12-2pm) and morning band (10am-12pm) at 29% and 31% respectively. Taking into consideration the explosion in TV consumption and the changing composition of audiences, there is a need to customise programming for this emerging trend.

At ZEE, we have geared up to serve these emerging trends with content for everyone in the family. For instance, starting 25th March, Zee TV introduced an exclusive band ‘Pyaar Vyaar Originals’ with three new finite series including Sakshi Tanwar and Ram Kapoor starrer ‘Karle Tu Bhi Mohabbat’, Sharman Joshi Starrer ‘Baarish’ and Ronit Roy Starrer ‘Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain’ for the first time on television between 9 pm and 11 pm every weeknight. Longer binge-worthy episodes of our popular fiction shows have also been lined up across most channels to provide an immersive experience to our viewers who are staying much longer in front of the television. &TV has also lined up curated specials of their comedy hits along with inspirational and devotional content to bring in positivity into our viewers’ living rooms. We are also bringing back the most loved shows from our library across our channels, like ‘Kasamh Se’ on Zee TV, ‘Sambhaji’ on Zee Marathi, and ‘GoyendaGinni’ on Zee Bangla amongst others.

Our non-fiction programming and award show based content is also being increased as it witnesses higher stickiness amongst families and has a higher affinity among the male audiences. As movies see higher affinities for males and with the rise in viewership on the Movies genre, our 4800+ strong Movie Library across languages is also being deployed to best engage audiences across the country. In addition to this, we have rolled out fresher content and film festivals across our channels to keep the audiences engaged. We have constantly believed and reiterated the strong connection that television brings to our lives and in bringing together family members from all age groups. With this increasing rise in consumption, we are determined to ensure our shows act as the primary glue to hold families and societies together during this period of social distancing.

Siju Prabhakaran, South Cluster Head, Zee Entertainment Enterprises, Pvt. Ltd. Says,

At Zee, we firmly believe that having a significant voice and a large audience mindshare affords us a unique position in society. This necessitates that we use our position to positively engage, entertain and keep our viewers well informed, helping them sail through these tough times.  At this point in time, we encourage all our viewers to abide by the advisory issued by the health officials, to take the necessary precautions to be safe and to not panic. We are working towards a high engagement content strategy basis audience preference and keeping in mind the inherent objective of uplifting the mood at home while we all battle with the dynamics of the lockdown. Each of our channels across the South Cluster have worked tirelessly to not only continue to entertain our audiences, but to lend their voice towards helping break the chain of this pandemic by practicing social distancing. While the efforts of the healthcare professionals and the government go ahead in full force, we believe that no act is too small in amplifying awareness among the masses. I am deeply appreciative and thankful to our artists and our crew who have so willingly supported our efforts during these trying times.”

Cinema has a very deep cultural and social play in the southern states and with male and kids’ audience at home our movie channels have geared up to offer some of the best titles for family viewing. The newly launched Kannada movie channel- Zee Picchar will captivate films in all hues and shades, replicating an ambience of the multiplex at the home for its viewers, showcasing Jogi, Diggajaru, BulBul, Bangarada Manushya, So that the festivities don’t dull down at home, Zee Thirai has planned a weeklong movie festival for the Tamil New Year in April with some of the finest films like Irumugan, 2.0, Mersal, Vikram Vedha & Vantha Rajavathan Varuven. Zee Cinemalu has geared its FPC with entertaining blockbuster movies like Devdas, Jersey, Srimanthadu, Spyder and A AA that are decked with cinematic splendor to provide premium experience to viewers.

GEC channels are working towards curating the best of their content and creating binge-worthy slots of some of the most top-rated shows in their respective genres. Zee Telugu viewers will witness re-runs of favourite episodes from popular shows. The channel also plans to telecast popular originals from Zee5. On Zee Tamil they will be telecasting a montage of the best moments from some of the most popular shows such as Sembaruthi, Yaaradi Nee Mohini, Sathya and Neethane Enthan Ponvasantham. The intent is to offer high octane content like Maha -Epsidoes of Fiction shows and Grand-Finales for Non-Fiction to ensure that the viewers are kept engaged with their favourite shows and their loyalties are fostered. Dedicated movie slots have been launched on all the channels. Zee Kannada will air original Fiction content for the audiences until the mid of April, while the channel will have re-runs of prominent Non-Fiction shows, movies and events, including award ceremonies and audio launches starting this weekend. Zee Keralam will capitalise its strong bank and ensure that weekend entertainment remains fresh with their top-performing non-fiction shows.

The ZEE network has implemented several measures to ensure that its crew and the artists remain safe during this time. Each of the channels have gone above and beyond as they have embarked on unique campaigns off air, by leveraging the Zee stars, to promote social distancing, hygiene practices and self-isolation on their respective social media platforms.

Manisha Sharma, Chief Content Officer, Hindi Mass Entertainment, Viacom18:

We are going through unprecedented times. However, as audience’s preferred channel, COLORS wants to make sure that in these social distancing times, we provide you with wholesome entertainment for the entire family ranging from original shows to seasoned shows across genres. To drive away your lockdown blues, we are presenting dedicated blocks for comedy, drama, romance to give you the best of the best content. As we all try to get ahead of the pandemic, we want to continue to be your companion for everything entertainment.

Ravish Kumar, Head – Regional TV Network, Viacom18

Since the lockdown, we have been working towards keeping our regional audiences entertained minus any interruption or disruption. We have reworked our programming to ensure that we cater to viewers across ages with content that is diverse and appealing, spread across genres. We have added some of our most popular and highly acclaimed shows across genres like family dramas, comedies and mythological series. We have introduced dedicated slots for movies and special events thus keeping our viewers entertained at all times. We have also added a variety of content specifically for kids to ensure that they aren’t missing out on their dose of entertainment while being at home.
We will continue to ensure that our regional viewers across all ages are kept entertained while being educated through the network’s PSA campaign #RahoSafeGharPe that creates awareness on the need to stay home, to regularly wash hands and most importantly to maintain social distance.

While millions across the country self-isolate and practice social distancing, COLORS is all set to present an eclectic mix of current and popular erstwhile shows that will take care of all your entertainment needs. Rightfully picked to cover a variety ranging from comedy, drama, slice of life, and reality shows, the channel will enable viewers to enjoy their time at home.