FTA channels are the new beast: Raj Nayak

Colors is riding the reality wave, with its show ‘Fear Factor – Khatron Ke Khiladi: Pain in Spain’ doing well in both urban and rural markets. The channel is now ready to premiere its marquee show, ‘Bigg Boss Season 11’, on October 1, 2017. Appy Fizz returns as the presenting sponsor, with Oppo Camera Phones as the powered by sponsor. CP Plus has been roped in as the security partner. As informed by Raj Nayak, COO, Viacom18, Colors is in talks to get four more sponsors onboard for ‘Bigg Boss 11’. 

He further said that given the immense popularity of the show, ad rates for ‘Bigg Boss 11’ have been hiked by 12-15 per cent. Sixty per cent of the inventory for the show has already been sold, while the remaining 40 per cent has been kept for spot buys. 

Bullish about the festive season, Nayak said, “Post GST, there was a lull for some time, but August performed well, while September has been even better. We are expecting October to be a good month due to Diwali. Last year, the post-Diwali period saw a disastrous crisis due to demonetisation.” 

The reality play 

When asked about Colors strategy regarding non-fiction/ reality shows, Nayak said, “There have been several such shows that have not done well on the small screen, but we have been very lucky to have shows like ‘Jhalak Dikhla Jaa’, ‘India Got’s Talent’ and ‘Khatron Ke Khiladi’ that have done so well. As the broadcast space progresses and with more channels coming into existence, we will observe more fragmentation, which is a reality. In today’s scenario, viewers expect unique concepts all the time. ‘Bigg Boss’ caters to the urban audiences. The show is all about triggering reactions from the contestants and gives us a peek into human psychology.” 

On bold & edgy twist to the content 

Nayak called two recently launched shows – ‘Tu Aashiquii’ and ‘Ishq Mein Marjawan’ – as non-typical Colors shows because of their story plots. He affirmed, “At Colors, we are very clear that we are India’s premium Hindi channel catering to only the urban and LCN markets. We are very clear on our positioning.” 

When asked to comment on the strong show put up by the FTA channels, Nayak said, “FTA channels are the new beast.” Continuing further, he noted, “For the rural people, the content that runs on channels like Rishtey is original content. They are unable to distinguish between original content and re-runs. The rural sector is undoubtedly growing, but the major advertising revenues come more from the urban sector.”

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