Monday 14 March 2016

Rise and rise of Colors TV!


Colors TV went on air in July 2010 competing with major players such as Star and Zee who were borderline indifferent with the new kid on the block. So, what is it that the Viacom18 brainchild did right to disrupt the kingship established by Tarun Katial and Samir Nair ever since the launch of Kyunki Saans Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi…
Going beyond Saans – Bahu
With a new flavor beyond the saas-bahu saga, Colors came up with content catering to vivid issues that Indian target audience could relate to. The channel introduced programs such as Balika Vadhu, Mere Ghar Aayi Ek Nanhi Pari, Na Aana Iss Desh Laado, and Uttaran which took the channel to lasting heights.
Absence of an established parent seeded doubts in the entire industry, clearly underestimating the channel’s potential. However, the Indian GEC industry was in for a big surprise.
Colors managed to garner 81 gross rating points in its debut week, a number too high for new channels in those days. Within eight months of launch, Colors held a foothold in more than 60 million homes, with a 24% market share.
The newly launched GEC soon substantiated its programming lineup with reality shows of international formats. The channel gained victory repeatedly with consecutive success at various seasons of adapted shows such as Khatron Ke Khiladi, Big Boss, India’s Got Talent, and Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa.
It now waits to air a fresh season of Anil Kapoor starrer 24 and Khatron Ke Khiladi which is hosted by Arjun Kapoor this season.
Larger than life budgets
The will to invest amounts that major GECs shied away from in those days paid off for Colors. A media report suggests that the cost of one episode of a big ticket show was upto INR 20 crore to INR 30 crore those days. An amount that Colors invested with quality shows such as Balika Vadhu and Uttaran.
Further, the channel spent a fortune in gaining the rights of international shows such as Big Brother and America’s Got Talent.
Colors TV additionally invested a sum as large as INR 100 Crores as carriage fee for good placement of its channel across the bands, to get a larger market to sample the channel.
On the marketing front, Colors literally painted the town red announcing its arrival. The channel booked 65,00 spots for television advertising, 3000 taxis in Mumbai and 2000 auto rickshaws in small towns along with local trains and school buses were branded with Colors logo, and more than 1300 road shows were organized across the country.
The Kapil Sharma Phenomenon
Colors launched Comedy Nights With Kapil in June 2013, a move that practically changed the fate of the channel and comedian forever.
The show went on air with certain apprehensions, but all doubts were put to rest as the first episode of the show starring superstar Dharmendra with the Sharma family fetched a 6.9 million viewership across HSM, C&S, 4+ markets.
Kapil’s blockbuster success also became one of the biggest and consistent income sources of Colors. The ad inventory was booked at INR 70, 000 to INR 90, 000 at the time of its launch for a 10 second spot. In 2014 the cost had escalated to INR 2 lakhs to INR 2.5 lakhs. Brands as big as Audi, Etihad Airways, and WeChat started advertising during the show.
On the weekends, the channel witnessed grand success for over four years with popular comedy show ‘Comedy Nights with Kapil’ which is now replaced with Comedy nights live. ‘Comedy Nights with Kapil’ was seen beating other shows on competing channels and other digital platforms.
Miscellaneous Success
The giant called Colors has now come off age and refuses to be captured in a cage again. The channel achieved milestone with ‘Balika Vadhu’ breaking the records of longest-running daily drama on Indian television with 1,834 episodes and still running.
Colors was also seen wining over the rights of IIFA Awards from Star Plus which was aired. Colors also picked up Box Cricket League rights for airing it for over 6 months.
Active social media presence further enhanced Colors’ reach and engagement. The channel has over 38 lakh subscribers on YouTube with an active viewership. Media reports pegged a viewership (number of views) of 1 to 1.5 million on every online episode of Comedy Nights with Kapil.
Colors recently got embroiled in a controversy with the exit of Kapil Sharma and crew from the channel. Nonetheless, the GEC superstar has managed to thread consistently with 72 GVTs in the previous week. However, the channel slipped on the second position in spite of hike in viewership.
Going Overseas
With presence in more than 135 countries the channel recently extended its presence to New Zealand, US and several South African regions such as Bostwana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Namibia, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Angola, Lesotho, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia and Zanzibar.
While Colors is now a tiger, it needs to be tamed to flourish with the changing trends of the space. For instance, the channel anticipated the multi-channel trend and flourished with a timely launch of Rishtey in 2012 which airs re-runs of iconic programmes aired by the channel.
However, if a feud with Kapil Sharma can afford now, we shall know with time.