India Dances to a Format Beat

Indian entertainment channels are putting their own spin on international concepts to give themselves a competitive edge.

In a year when dwindling local-production budgets put a question mark over the health of the format business, India has emerged as one of the world’s most voracious buyers of international concepts. Indeed, over a period this summer it seemed as if all of the major players in India’s general-entertainment landscape were rushing to get their own versions of high-profile international formats on the air, from FremantleMedia’s Got Talent to ITV Studios Global Entertainment’s I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!

“The receptiveness of viewers towards new fares and formats is at an all-time high,” says Sunil Lulla, the director of Real Global Broadcasting, which operates the unscripted entertainment channel Real. A joint venture of Turner International India and Alva Brothers Entertainment, Real launched into the already crowded Indian channel space earlier this year with Poker Face, based on a FremantleMedia game-show format and produced by the local outfit Miditech. “It is a power-packed, fun-filled show that makes ordinary people real heroes,” Lulla says. “The show was adapted by Real to the extent that we used Indian contestants, an Indian anchor (Sharman Joshi) and the questions were relevant to the Indian consumer—no other significant change has been made.”

Lulla notes that the format is perfect for family viewing, and the series premiered with more than 6.5 million viewers. “Viewers liked the concept as for the first time ever on Indian television, one Indian won Rs 1 crore ($212,000) in just a week. The concept of bluffing and keeping a poker face is unique and has never been seen before in India. Also, the contestants were from diverse backgrounds that represent the viewing audience. Last but not the least, the show’s short schedule format (each season runs for only seven days) was a fresh concept for the viewers.”

Lulla says that the channel is actively reviewing a host of other international formats, primarily in the adventure, makeover, reality and light-entertainment genres.

Colors is another upstart channel that launched with format-based shows: “We went in with a strategy that nonfiction shows, [Endemol’s] Fear Factor and Big Brother, would get us the kind of buzz that we wanted,” says Rajesh Kamat, Colors’ CEO. “We had to get noticed and talked about first, and fiction typically takes you two to three months” to build a loyal following. “India is still predominantly a fiction market,” Kamat continues. “They are the staple diet. You can spruce [up your schedule] with some spicy elements, which are nonfiction or reality [shows]. Reality is something which you can really experiment with.”

SPICE FACTOR
Kamat, who established Endemol’s operations in India prior to taking the helm at Colors, notes that when bringing in an international format, it is crucial to “add the Indian curry flavor to it.” For Fear Factor, Colors lured a high-profile host—Bollywood star Akshay Kumar—and lined up models as the contestants. For Big Brother, meanwhile, which aired locally as Bigg Boss, “we went in with what we called newsmakers—a lot of them famous, a lot of them infamous—as [compared with the] international versions, which predominantly focus on common men. It gave our viewers a safety net—faces who were known, for both good and bad reasons.”

Colors’ more recent format buy was FremantleMedia’s Got Talent, and the channel has also rolled out 100 Percent, based on an Argentine wrestling format. “We’re open to acquiring more formats,” Kamat says. “There are some we’re already in talks for.”

More established channels have also been turning to international formats. Star Plus, for example—which is not new to the format market, having imported Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? more than a decade ago—has been refreshing its soap-heavy grid with unscripted fare like Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? and, more recently, Moment of Truth, a Shine International format in which contestants are asked revealing questions about their personal lives while attached to a lie detector. “We acquired Moment of Truth because it’s a very interesting format and fits in well with a founding principle of our country, ‘Satyamev Jayate,’ which means ‘Truth Alone Triumphs,’” says Keertan Adyanthaya, the general manager and executive VP of STAR India.

Sach Ka Saamna (Face the Truth), opened with a 4.6 television rating point (TVR). “This is the best opening that any nonfiction show has had in India in the last two years,” Adyanthaya asserts.

The show also caused a bit of a stir in India, as it has done elsewhere, with lawmakers questioning its effect on the country’s moral values. Another show that made quite a few headlines this year was I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! Broadcast on Sony Entertainment Television (SET), the ITV Studios Global Entertainment series placed a host of Indian cele­brities in Malaysia’s Taman Negara rain forest, where they endured a range of physical challenges. In a country that tends to revere its celebs with an almost religious fervor, the series certainly caught the attention of audiences.

SET knows a fair bit about luring viewers with international formats. Among its successes has been its adaptation of BBC Worldwide’s Strictly Come Dancing—the channel has aired three seasons of the show, called Jhalak Dikhla Jaa, delivering audiences of more than 20 million, and has ordered a fourth season.

It’s not just the entertainment channels that are seeking out formats; Turner’s Indian kids’ channel Pogo has had tremendous success with its own versions of Hole in the Wall and All Star Athletic Games. The channel has been steadily increasing its original production output over the years, from 50 half hours in 2004 to more than 300 half hours this year. “To keep the momentum going and infuse variety, Pogo is always looking for great ideas from global formats that can be created for Indian children to view and enjoy,” says Krishna Desai, the director of programming for Cartoon Network and Pogo in India and South Asia. “The biggest advantage a successful format brings to the table is the reduction of development time as well as ensuring a higher probability of a successful show.”

When asked what he’s looking for, Desai responds, “Anything of global standards, off-center in attitude, safe and funny. Importantly, we look out for content that is engaging and entertaining without the overload of drama and tears that generally rule the reality shows on Indian air. This differentiation allows us to offer Pogo’s over 40 percent adult viewers true entertainment value with fun and happy content for our kid viewers.”

This appetite for formats from Indian channels is creating numerous new opportunities for distributors. FremantleMedia, for example, set up its production base in India earlier this year, following the success of Indian Idol, Got Talent and other local adaptations.

“India is a very exciting market for TV formats, and we’ve recently launched on-ground production operations in the country so that we can bring quality content to our Indian audiences,” says Patrick Schult, the CEO of FremantleMedia Asia. “We are establishing a strong, high caliber team there and are focused on growing the business into the future.”

Schult continues: “There is a keen appetite from the local broadcasters for the kind of quality content that is going to set them apart from the competition, help them draw in audiences and stand out to the advertisers in the market. Many of the Indian TV networks are very in tune with worldwide television trends. They have seen the success of international TV brands in markets around the world, they appreciate the value of high-quality productions, and so they’ve looked to bring localized versions of these tried-and-tested formats to their audiences.”

Schult expects to see a continued demand from Indian networks for concepts that are “edgy and different, like relationship and dating shows, for example. Given the confidence Indian broadcasters display in launching international formats, we see the trend towards localization and innovation continuing. The TV networks also value production quality. They’re willing to invest in programs they believe in, and are also examining their scheduling strategy to draw in viewers.”

POWER PLAY
Sony Pictures Television’s 2waytraffic has seen gains in its Indian business since the rollout of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? on Star Plus. One of its more recent hits has been 10 Ka Dum, based on Power of 10, for SET. “We’re definitely seeing more demand,” says Ed Louwerse, the managing director of 2waytraffic International. “Broadcasters are trying to find dynamic new ideas and economical solutions to attract advertisers to their screens, and formats are great options. The arrival of new broadcasters such as Real and the particular success of Colors has energized the market.”

Louwerse adds, however, that to be successful in India, a format needs to be cost effective, have an international track record and be “adaptable and versatile, with significant ancillary and interactive exploitation. Thankfully, our catalogue satisfies all these criteria.”

James Ross, ITV Studios Global Entertainment’s regional director for Asia, is similarly upbeat about prospects for the Indian market. Ross notes that India was the first Asian territory to take a chance on I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!, and he sees that broadcasters are willing to take risks on innovative new concepts. “People are starting to look at doing different things because everybody is a bit worn out with the singing and dancing shows. There’s also so many more networks in the market now that you have to have a point of differentiation. The great thing about the Indian market is that it’s very vibrant at the moment. After a long period in the doldrums in a way, where nobody was doing anything particularly exciting, you’ve got a few new channels coming along which have poked everyone else into having a bit of a rethink about what they’re doing. That’s good for the industry. There’s a huge audience, the commercial television organizations are all vying with each other. All of that is good for the format business in India.”