The much-anticipated annual cricketing extravaganza, the Indian Premier League (IPL), has commenced, igniting a wave of excitement and fervour among fans! As the IPL season unfolds, a significant challenge arises for television shows competing for viewers’ attention during the summer months. The broadcasting networks take considerable measures to avoid launching major new shows while the cricketing frenzy is at its peak.
However, it’s important to note that the IPL and other high-profile cricket events can indeed coexist with a flourishing lineup of TV programming. The ongoing debate suggests that the audiences for cricket and television entertainment often differ. In addition, the rise of streaming platforms and the widespread accessibility of smartphones means that viewers have the freedom to choose their viewing preferences more than ever.
It’s obvious that the creators and broadcasters within the television industry are acutely aware of the need to capture their audience’s attention through high-stakes drama and captivating plot twists. These elements are essential to keep viewers engaged with their favourite shows, even in the face of the intense allure of cricket matches, which have a dedicated following. The creative minds behind television programming firmly believe that well-crafted, high-quality content will always find its audience, resonating deeply and maintaining viewer loyalty. The ongoing challenge lies in balancing this captivating content with the competing interests of sports enthusiasts, highlighting the dynamic landscape of modern entertainment.
At IWMBuzz.com, we firmly believe that the competition between the excitement of cricket and the captivating storylines in television shows is significant. However, we are confident that high-quality content will ultimately rise to the top. Simultaneously, cricket will continue to hold its own value and allure in the entertainment landscape.
With this thought in mind, we reached out to a few top players in the Hindi TV industry to know what they have to say about IPL and its impact on Hindi TV.
An interesting thought on cricket and TV show’s coexistence comes from Writer Jayesh Patil, who says, “They can co-exist as they both are battling against short format content from social media platforms, like reels, shorts, forwards etc. Both have similar mathematics of storytelling. Both work on characters, twists and climax, the only difference is, one is live action and another is in recorded format.”
Senior Writer and Producer Zama Habib drops a hint at the need for better TV programming by saying, “GEC is losing and will lose its impact further and deeper because of the bad programming and not IPL or anything else.”
Having said this, Zama Habib does say that co-existence is possible. “Sports and entertainment are different things. It is how you are placed with your story narrative. The audience that cricket caters to is not the audience of TV shows. They are a totally different set of audiences.”
Producer Rajan Shahi of Director’s Kut, talks about the strategies he usually deploys in his shows during the cricketing time. “TV storytelling, these days, is a lot more based on strategy, search-based, on how to combat with extra length, turning points etc. At the same time, we have always believed that in Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai and Anupamaa, we should not let the organic storytelling suffer. Sometimes, when you add too much of gimmicks to counter something, you lose out on the audience. You have to keep in mind that during the whole cricketing phase, we are on our toes, and it is a challenge.”
Kanwar Dhillon, the popular actor who plays the lead in Star Plus’ Udne Ki Aasha says, “India’s matches are when viewership takes an absolute hit. With IPL, it depends on which team is playing, the phase of the tournament etc. During IPL, ratings do take a slight drop, but viewership remains constant. The Champions Trophy Final and the impact that it had on every prime-time show, is an example when there is a huge drop. IPL is something which we should comfortably sail through as a lot of people will watch it on OTT platforms.”
From a Writer’s viewpoint, Jayesh Patil quips about the challenges on hand, “The problem is that both IPL and daily soaps are fighting for a limited pool of revenues coming from prime time viewing. TV bosses and talents are under stress when IPL begins, as they want to fight it out with faster and more engaging content, which is challenging for writers. But some of the seasoned writers in TV today are already more than a decade old in the business and know certain tricks to counterattack IPL extravaganza.”
Putting forward her thoughts on the co-existence of cricket and TV shows, Sonnal A Kakar, acclaimed Writer and Producer says, “Yes, they can co-exist and they have always co-existed. TV is a medium where the stories and characters carry a huge relatability factor. If you enjoy watching a certain track/ show, the audience is very loyal to the story and twists, despite other programmes. Cricket is of course, very big, and so is TV.”
Kanwar Dhillon also duly agrees with this possibility of coexistence, saying, “Television shows can co-exist with IPL or any other cricketing extravaganza. Viewers who watch their favourite shows every day on television are stuck to their patterns. It’s very difficult to undo their pattern when shows are doing well and audiences are hooked to it. There is a little fluctuation in ratings but eventually, the shows that are doing well will continue to do well.”
Talking about the deliberate ploy to not launch big shows on TV during the cricketing season, Zama Habib states, “IPL comes in a big way with so much of promotions. A new launch of any show cannot match up to that kind of blitz of promotion, hence, it is better to wait for a month or two.”
IPL comes with a huge visibility, and thus, the competition factor is high. Rajan Shahi sheds light on it, saying, “IPL has grown in stature and visibility over the years. It poses a big competition to TV shows. Obviously, we rely on our regular audience not to miss it. But now, with the shows available on OTT platforms, they tend to watch it at their convenience. This further dents the viewership of shows in primetime.”
As an actor, Kanwar opines he does not have much of a say but to perform well. ” We can just offer the audience good drama and a good story so that they can keep hooked on to their show. Udne Ki Aasha is very much on track to do that. Apart from that, cricket has a huge place in the hearts of people and will have a good viewership. The same goes for TV. People who watch TV will continue to do that. So I think if the content is rich, TV and cricket can go hand in hand.”
On the discussions about IPL that happen in story meetings, Sonnal A Kakar avers, “We at times, do discuss cricket and map our story highpoint dates with the dates of big-ticket matches. If this is not done, there are chances of our highpoint episodes getting affected if there is a big-stake match on that particular day. On such occasions, ratings do get affected, but not every time.”
The combat strategies have to be effective for TV shows to maintain strong viewership during this time. Zama Habib states, “Any business will have a competition. It should be dealt through strong storytelling by us writers. Good content with the right kind of promotion will always attract the viewers.”
The Writer in Jayesh Patil speaks about the varied options available before them when it comes to strategizing on story high points. “Building characters and situations to the peak just before IPL begins and sustaining the drama for the first two weeks is a proven strategy for writers as the viewer is compelled not to miss out on his favourite daily soap. Mahasangam and integrations are a few more ideas which give decent time spent during IPL. But the key is the ‘low cost high content’ strategy.”
Kanwar is very clear when it comes to his efficiency as a performer. “My only intent as an actor and performer is to give my best irrespective of whatever hurdle we face. Thankfully, in the recent past few months, there have been many occasions, like festivals, matches etc, but touchwood, our ratings have not taken any major hit and we hope it stays that way.”
Sonnal A Kakar talks about putting her best foot forward during such times. “I have always worked with the thought that whenever a cricket event is happening, I believe in telling the best story. If the characters are loved and you are taking their journeys forward, it attracts new eyeballs from the audience.”
Rajan Shahi further talks about his strategies in narratives, saying, “Counter strategies and more interesting storytelling are always the norm. It does prove to be a very big challenge, and the challenge has grown over the years. But we will stick to good organic storytelling and mark our high points intelligently. It is a day-to-day strategy-based work, to meet the growing competition. Hopefully, the loyal audience of Yeh Rishta and Anupamaa finds the story interesting.”
Jayesh Patil looks at the positives that this challenge brings in. “Daily soap writing continues to reinvent itself during the IPL challenge, and that’s one positive side I always look upon.”
Well, certainly, looking at the way the talk goes on and on, it seems that the best way for cricket and TV shows to thrive lies in putting up a good balancing act!! All said and done, it is time for viewers to have ‘double’ the fun!!
