It once ruled over content on television. But UTV Television is now facing a stiff competition from a bunch of young entrants like Balaji, Director?s Kut and foreign production houses like Endemol and Fremantle. The newer production houses started providing varied content, fiction and non-fiction, and grabbed most TV hours. UTV, meanwhile, was concentrating on the lucrative south and even Marathi markets, and also looked closely at producing non-fiction shows, mostly in Hindi. Now, it?s striving for a balance in fiction and non-fiction, airing and planning shows for key Hindi general entertainment channels like Star Plus, Sony and Zee. Santosh Nair, CEO, UTV Television, admits it?s a big challenge to churn out good quality content, which will appeal to audiences. Talent, too, is a huge issue, with available talent less than the number of shows. Excerpts from an interview with FE:

There are many players in the content creation space now. What is your USP?

Over the past couple of years, we have grown our non-fiction content and cemented a place for ourselves in that space. Our USP is that we are, perhaps, the only content production house which can deliver both fiction and non-fiction. Last year, we increased our fiction space. Right now, we are working on two fiction shows, one is already airing on Star Plus (Dor) and the other will air on Sony soon. We are looking to strike a balance between fiction and non-fiction shows.

What are the genres you are concentrating on?

We tackle all genres and that?s the requirement of the times since broadcasters need varied content. And while international formats are working, home-grown concepts are doing well too, for instance, Emotional Atyachar.

Is the regional space a good hunting ground for stories now?

We have been working for a decade in the south and we are bringing some of the successful serials to the Hindi GEC space.

Are saas-bahu serials on their way out, with the audience demanding new stories?

No, saas-bahu stories have not reached a saturation point, it?s just that stories need to be told differently. Saathiya was a saas-bahu saga told afresh. If you give the audience a good concept and if the story is believable, it will do well.

What are the non-fiction shows you are working on?

We are working on the next season of Emotional Atyachar; doing a show for Channel V, Pyar kiya to darna kya and a non-fiction show for Imagine. We are also in talks to adapt an international format for Zee.

In non-fiction, do home-grown shows do well?

There?s space for both international and home grown non-fiction, both can co-exist. We have seen that both Bigg Boss and Emotional Atyachar have done well.

What are some of the challenges you are facing? Will the advent of HD add to costs?

We welcome HD because it enhances quality so much. It?s a different viewing experience and adds more value to programming. Broadcasters, too, are absorbing the extra costs. Talent is a challenge, available talent is less, the number of shows more. Churning out good quality shows and ensuring it runs successfully is also a challenge.