An overwhelming nine out of 10 viewers are looking for a change from the soaps being offered by most channels — this is among the findings of a research commissioned by Starcom.
MUMBAI: An overwhelming nine out of 10 viewers are looking for a change from the soaps being offered by most channels — this is among the findings of a research commissioned by Starcom and conducted by Hansa Research.
TV companies seem to have sensed this already and are intent on leaving no stones unturned. Bindass from UTV and the soon to be launched Firangi from Sahara are among these new breed of channels trying to satisfy this craving for a change with international programming dubbed in Hindi.
The programme mix includes the usual but with the twist being that they are sourced from content providers around the world. Dubbed international content is nothing new in Indian television, especially in genres like kids programmes and movies.
But what is certainly new is an attempt to create a 24 hour channels with only international content dubbed in local languages. For Firangi content is coming from hitherto unexplored places like Brazil.
Rajeev Chakrabarti, business head, Firangi, said, “One interesting point which came out of an internal research was that dubbed content is viewed as content which was successful elsewhere. If it’s dubbed, it has to be good - this was the observation of a lot of people. This might have to do with the success in India of dubbed versions of blockbusters like Titanic, Spiderman and the Incredibles.”
On the other hand, Bindass carries both original content from India and dubbed global content.
Manasi Sapre, GM, acquisitions, Bindass, said “Our dubbed content is almost as popular as original content. Bindass movies are exclusively dubbed content and are popular.”
To illustrate the point, TAM data indicates that the Hindi version of the 10-year old movie Titanic, which was telecast in December in SET MAX, had an impressive rating of 2.23 in Hindi speaking markets. An industry observer, who didn’t want to be named, said, “In a country like India, language is the basic entry point. The acceptance of your product increases when it is localised.”
As with the boom in travel, keenness to experience other cultures is driving viewership. Nikhil Rangnekar, ED, India-West, Starcom Worldwide, said, “In the research we conducted people said that they liked watching dubbed programmes because they got to see other cultures. They also liked watching new kinds of stories and new actors.”
So are these programmes being tailored for Indian sensibilities?
Rajeev Chakrabarti says that while the programming on his channel would push the envelope, it would be done keeping relevance in the Indian context. Manasi Sapre said, “We always focus on the soul, mood and style of programme; and use local references, dialects, lingo which enhances it Indian sensibilities. This is very tough with comedy- since it required lot of skill in re-scripting.”
As the trend gathers momentum, these channels may explore the possibilities of launching similar channels in regional languages as well.
n_john@dnaindia.net
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