KBC clones cause a clutter

When Star had launched KBC they had obviously expected positive results. But even in their wildest dreams, they could not have hoped for such a metamorphosis in the viewers preferences. The verdict was so clear that like the Raktabeej Demon, whose one drop of blood generated one lakh similar demons, one KBC has brought forth a flood of several such game shows where the prize money is simply mind-boggling for Indian tele-viewers. So is the investment of the channels in such programmes.

Besides the prize money, these channels are paying the moon to rope in the film stars like Amitabh Bachchan and Madhuri Dixit and spending hefty amounts to promote the shows. Are the remunerations of the stars enough to really justify such expense, specially when a normal soap at prime time never gets a budget of more than Rs. 5 lakhs per episode?

Today, Star Plus is commanding Rs. 3 lakhs for a 10-second spot that is exclusively for KBC without giving any added benefit in terms of repeat exposure of the same ad on any other program. This is the highest ever money paid for any program on any Indian satellite channel. But then KBC has managed to garner TRPs upto 15 and even 17 to justify such demand by the channel.

As for Zee, today, their most expensive spot is going for Rs. 2.5 lakhs for 10-seconds. But then, Zee is in the position to offer the lure of a bouquet of channels to the advertiser. So to meet the expense of Sawal Dus Crore Ka, which may cost them a cool Rs. 18 to 20 crore per month, Zee will have to charge minimum of Rs. 1.75 lakhs for a 10-second spot, that is if they use 20 minutes of FCG in one-hour time slot which will convert into 120 such spots. "Zee has the power and penetration to demand and raise such rates. There is enough space in the market for two major players," says Sandeep Singh, former research director, INTAM, and currently heading the sales and marketing of ETC Networks Limited.

However, Zee and Star are not only ones to be in the fray for such game shows that offer hefty prize money to lure the audience share, Sony too has such shows in the pipeline though in terms of ad rates, the highest SET is asking for is Rs. 1 lakh for 10 seconds. The ad rates for their game show will depend on the amount they give away as the prize. However, the biggest disadvantage Sony faces is that it is neither the pioneer in game shows, nor does it have a big bouquet to attract the advertiser. Hence, the ad rates on that channel may be much lower than on Star or Zee.

Adhikari Brothers’ SABe TV too has jumped in the fray with a game show with Rs. 1.25 crore in prize money. The show will be hosted by Shekhar Suman. Slated for the afternoon slot, the channel is positive that this show will garner enough revenue to generate profits.

Their plan may work considering the fact that women are more prone to such shows, and manufacturers of products targeted at women will be more than willing to pay the price if SABe can produce enough TRPs to impress them. The Adhikaris don’t have such figures to flaunt now but they are expecting to reap in the TRPs with the help of Shekhar Suman who is believed to be popular among female viewers.

Antakshari and Maalamal contests are a few more of such players that are solely for the purpose of promoting already high profile programs. Channels like MTV, ETC and Set Max too have been enticing viewers with contests having smaller benefits like return tickets, VCD players, a date with the artiste and so on. But the clones of KBC, with their huge prizes have driven these pioneers to the backseat. "Today, the market trend is such and one has to go along with it. In any case, Zee had a program like this in the pipeline since a long time, but it has taken longer than expected. We are not copying anybody," argues Deepak Ranjan.

Well, going along with the market trend, even if it is cloning, is considered intelligent business strategy. Today, 80 per cent of the adspend by companies is on television. The longevity of each game show will depend on how these channels are going to distribute the existing ad revenue among various programs and how far they succeed in luring more adspend.

As for the viewers’ preference, "Viewers will always have special liking for any program that turns them into a celebrity for some time and gives them unimaginable cash awards. The success of the show will depend on the reach of the program, its packaging and the last but not the least, the charisma of the host," observes a trade analyst.

Neelam Gupta

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