Starved for Content, Flooded with Junk Food - Indian Television

Content Marketing is on its peak in India and with the influx of Tv channels – it looks like the marketer is suffering with a lack of content. Look at the kind of daily soaps which are running these days and riding the TRP bull, you will find a remarkable repetition of once hit bollywood movies.  Since it is a tried & tested formula the idea hits and makes initial points with great TRPs and reviews. As the story reaches its peak and the characters get into a routine life of heroes, victims, friends etc in the serial – an average viewer takes the remote in hand and is ready to flip channels.

Unlike few most popular ones, several daily soaps are taken out of a popular hindi movie. On one hand the recently popular ‘Saubhagyavati bhava’ on Like OK reminds of the movie Agneesakhi and on the other hand – the tele-serial ‘Kya Hua Tera Vada’ looks like a replica of the Salman-Karisma starrer Biwi No.1, the serials do pick up instantly because of the tried and tested formula but few more episodes and we lose the charm completely. Even the sequences and situations are found to be copied.

At times I wonder, is it because of Consumerism and the Brand Endorsements making the channel owners mad to win advertising business? Certainly a point to ponder!!

Considering the case of news channels – it is no different. Shockingly, each of them have on an average 6-10 breaking news a day. All kinds of content – be it political, social, economic, defense related, crime, a tv program or its artists, a God men – almost everything is served as a Breaking News. Gosh! How many breaking news a country can tolerate in a day.  

Leaving a bunch of reporters and journalists, you can find many on news channel who are inacting emotions while anchoring the show. Celebs and Bollywood stars are pulled in to anchor, because for TRPs they need a face – whether or not they have the Content/ Experience or Purpose to do it.

Advertising Slots are increasing multi-folds. You watch a movie on tv, it will take at least 4 hours and post that you wonder, you would have it rather watched in cinema or a DVD – not only it takes hell lot of time but also it didn’t offered any relevant advertisement in between. Even this issue needs to be addressed. A half an hour tv serial offers 3 to 4 advertisement slots of minimum 2 minutes during prime time.

A lot is been said and discussed about the Censorship on TV. The content is obscene and so is the depiction. The tele-serials are getting bolder without a notification of U/A but why shall they – you have a look at the reality shows, even if they introduce beeps and blur for certain scenes – you cannot just change the way – people dress, their basic mannerism etc. Is it all because there is a lack of content or it is because, this sells.  Vodafone sponsors Splits-villa, Roadies is trying its best to be what it intended to be, whereas it was the contenders who wanted Instant shot to fame and hence got into what wasn’t required.

Coming back to the news channel, why are they becoming Offending and even funny at times? Is it again the lack of content or the race of TRPs. Do they have a moral responsibility? Why cannot we still create wonderful memories of Jungle Book – there wasn’t anything obscene. Even the cartoons today are becoming hotter & bolder.

Is is the LACK of Content or attempt to oversell with whatever clicks to the audience. Or it is simply because the content on television is too much to monitor? Or it is the pressure to get more business from consumer brands who will only advertise in the show with maximum TRPs.

It is certainly sad to see Indian Television struggling for Brand Loyalty amidst the battle of content marketing.