By Anil Merani: Is Sony TV shortchanging its broadcast viewers by not giving them a logical end to their recently ending properties?
The channel has just shifted Kavya – Ek Jazbaa, Ek Junoon, Jubilee Talkies and Pukaar – Dil Se Dil Tak in its fag end to only its OTT arm Sony Liv.
Agreed, none of the above properties rated, yet shifting them only to OTT will deprive some of the existing few viewers of a closure. Not everyone likes to check out OTT.
None of the above shows were helping Sony TV’s financial cause
The channel wants to test if TV content can work on standalone OTT. But ideally, they should drop an entire TV-type series online to see if it clicks. Sony had first shifted Masterchef India to only online.
They should check whether the cash-rich gen z and youth crowd will check out traditional TV-style content online. There is enormous optimism for the same as catch up tv is a significant number grabber online.
It’s important to note that online series, despite their popularity, don’t generate as much revenue as TV. With fewer episodes, their financial model is quite different. TV content, on the other hand, is a robust money maker with its numerous episodes to amortize. Plus, its universal appeal can attract all demographics, unlike many standalone web shows that cater to a limited audience due to their excessive use of sex and violence.
OTT players are already working on longer format hybrid models, which are more TV-type.
As Sony prepares to launch re-runs of Srmrid Ramayan, Meri Sai and Vighnaharta Ganesh on its prime slot until new content is ready, it’s a fascinating experiment to see how it will fare in terms of TRP. After all, mythological shows had dominated the airwaves during the first Covid lockdown. Sony’s new boss, Gaurav Bannerjee, has his work cut out; he needs to make its fiction slate fire, which has not happened till now.
He might be planning to bring back old channel warhorses like Aahat and CID.
We unsuccessfully tried to reach out to Miskhat Verma (Kavya), Abhishek Bajaj (Jubilee Talkies)and, Sayali Salunkhe (Pukaar) and Sony spokesperson for comment.