India is said to have a diverse palette, not only for food but also for content. While over-the-top platforms have emerged as a destination for consuming content for the Indian audience, watching television (TV) is not dead yet. Nine of the 10 leading television in terms of weekly viewership channels were Hindi and regional general entertainment channels (GEC) led by Dangal with 24.64 lakh views followed closely by Star Plus with 22.19 lakh views, Sun TV with 20.92 lakh views, and SONY SAB with 18.67 lakh views, among others, as per a report by market intelligence platform, Statista. There are faithful viewers of television content as TV viewership continues to grow in media-dark areas within India. TV shows like Taarak Mehta ka Oolta Chashmah, CID, Crime Patrol, Grey’s Anatomy, Big Bang Theory, and FRIENDS, among others have been running on linear TV for a decade or even more. “The success rate of television shows is very low, approximately 15%. The shows try to influence the mindset of the viewers. A show goes wrong for usually three to four reasons. One of which is the core insight of which one is making the show is not clear. Secondly, the life stage of viewers has changed. 10 years ago, the landscape was different. Making relevant content is important. Lastly, it depends on who the core audience base is. The story is important is initially important but the characters are the ones who truly drive the TV show. The characters have to be aspirational and relatable for the audience to follow them and relate to them,” Ashish Golwalkar, a senior media consultant, told BrandWagon Online.
India has approximately 323 million linear TV-watching households that are expected to grow to 345 million by 2030. Linear TV is expected to grow when TV dark homes come onboard and when free TV audiences upgrade to pay, according to a report by FICCI-EY. Moreover, distribution income reversed its falling trend in 2023 to grow 2%, despite pay TV homes reducing by 2 million to 118 million. Additionally, Pay TV’s average revenue per user (ARPU) increased by approximately four percent to reach Rs 274 per month (gross).
Decade-long TV shows
Industry experts believe that TV shows are divided into two major categories. Episodic shows are usually popular since the story arc starts within the episode and usually concludes by the end, or the next episode. However, a show which is majorly unveiling a story takes a long period and consists of cliffhangers and twists, making the story unpredictable. Moreover, TV shows like FRIENDS and Taarak Mehta ka Oolta Chashmah majorly consist of comedy and drama which generates value for each episode in the eyes of viewers. “Usually short arc stories of TV shows have their benefits as each episode has its value. Long arc stories while important require audiences to follow the story in order to stay updated on the show. Moreover, long arc stories have a dedicated audience that follows the show and its characters which would make the audience of the show small but the short arc stories are a good snacking option for viewers since each episode has its value,” Paritosh Joshi, a senior media analyst, said.
Moreover, characters play an important role in the relatability of the TV show because viewers often find similarities between protagonists, making the show more relatable to the audience. While the story is important to TV shows, audiences connect with the characters, creating stickiness, thereby making the show successful. However, experts highlight that the production cost has come down significantly by approximately 20-30% which has hurt the quality of the show. They added that the way competition is emerging has hurt the linear TV show production which has further mounted the pressure on producers. Script is the soul of the show. The proof is there for us to see as Taarak Mehta ka Oolta Chashmah wouldn’t be the same without Disha Vakani or Ye Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai wouldn’t be the same without Hina Khan but they have continued till now. The philosophy of the show has to resonate with the audience in order to be successful. A good script and a good cast will sustain the show for a long period of time,” Jamnadas ‘JD’ Majethia, director and producer, said.
More than meets the eye
Despite having a variety of content options, the attention span of consumers has significantly reduced. In order to grab the attention of the audience, the plot and storyline of the TV show is important. However, marketing the show is equally important to get audiences to watch the show. The promos for the show help in establishing the show to the audience. Industry experts opine that once the show is established, the promos are then based on the newer plots of the story or on the upcoming twists in the story of the TV show, making hype around the show and the episodes. With budgets and investments diving, experts highlight that there hasn’t been a clutter-breaking promotion in the industry for some time. Additionally, integrated marketing for TV shows has become an avenue for generating revenue. Advertisers putting brands into integration usually relate to the character of the protagonist of the show, making it appealing to the audiences. “There are innumerable format movies with serial killers producing multiple sequels. There is content which continues to succeed despite its numerous episodes and movies. Audiences enjoy a good story that has been well put and well told. If one creates a good character which possesses memorability and believability, the stories can often succeed for a long period,” Joshi added.
Industry experts highlighted that the marketing costs and promotion costs of a long-time-running TV show are minimal. A newly launched TV show requires attention and investment in terms of marketing and promotions. The cost of production for long-running shows is amortised throughout as many episodes, moderating the production cost or even reducing it. “With more content emerging and the viewer habits changing, I don’t see the future of long-running shows after a few years. Currently, most of these shows are running because there are a lot of new viewers joining. We are still a country where television penetration is less than 80% so people new to television viewing will watch these shows. The majority of shows nowadays have a shelf life of six to eight months while there are only a handful of shows that have been running over a year or two for all TV channels,” Golwalkar added.
The reason why TV channels are still running these shows is because audiences have attached themselves to the show, relating to it and it would be hard for the channels to replicate a similar consumer behaviour with other shows, according to experts. While long-time running TV shows have been successful in the past, the future of them running for more than a decade similar to a few shows like CID, FRIENDS, Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men, among others looks bleak.