Cheering the underdog

So what if elections are over and politicians have taken a backseat, issues concerning the ordinary citizen are still the most viable brand-building options.

Post-elections, Telugu news channels are changing track just a bit to cheer the underdog, highlight social issues and tell everyday stories of simple people to zoom ahead on the TRP block.
Fast changing equations

The equations are fast changing not just in the entertainment industry on the small screen but also for the scores of news men and women, who constantly ‘change the game plan to engage the viewer.’ “With 12 news channels, the heat is felt by all. Holding the audience attention is the only mantra to stay ahead of the rival channel,” admits a media head.

The channel ‘Zee 24 Gantalu’ born recently had to put on hold its programmes, thanks to the election fever.

“The shows were set aside as we had to do only election-based programmes and also on results. Now, we will get back to beaming those episodes,” says Sailesh Reddy of the channel. Even the entertainment content will have some element of news to strike a chord with the masses, he says. N TV is planning to liberally pepper its shows with people-oriented issues and ask the government a few tough questions if it does not perform.

However, K. Suresh Kumar, head of sales and marketing is tight-lipped when asked about the kind of content being planned. “With so many channels, why should I reveal the themes of my new programmes? They can be easily copied,” he retorts.

Post-elections, he says, the channel has not undergone a major change in terms of its schedule. But, when it comes to the revenue incurred due to advertisements broadcast by various political parties, all the channels feel the squeeze.
Stress on local issues

In the television lingo, the channels call it a ‘dry season’, wherein they have to ‘bake their own product’ to bring in the novelty factor.

“We launched just before the elections. We are new to the market and are slowly picking up,” says Shekhar Reddy, editor (output) of Mahaa TV and adds, “We are planning to have more news bulletins with stress on local issues rather than highlighting one issue to garner the TRPs.”

To swing right in the election tide, some channels like TV9 even discontinued its regular programmes to catch people’s pulse.

“At a recent exam, among the 150 questions, 45 questions were wrong. We want to take up such issues which concern the students,” says Arunsagar, editor (output) of the channel. Participatory journalism is the new mantra as the channel is planning to involve people and let them report about the issues concerning them.
Info-based programmes

Celebrating the youth and concentrating on info-based programmes is a safe bet and TV5 hopes to continue doing it.

“For another six months, education is our top priority,” says B. Ravindranath, MD of the channel.

Even as the channels get ready with shows to lure the viewer, there are some not-so-good reports of the financial status of two channels.

The future is going to be more competitive and gruelling and one needs to be really different to stay ahead and not fade into oblivion.