Chapter 1 Indian Television: Reading Its History

Chapter 1

Indian Television: Reading its History

1.1 Television Industry in India- Today

The Indian Media and Entertainment Industry Report for 2014, jointly published by the federation of Indian chambers of commerce and industry (FICCI) and KPMG, indicates the estimated Indian television industry, worth 370 billion rupee (Dh21.79bn) in 2013 year, is expected to grow at 18 per cent over the five years through 2017, to reach 88 billion rupees.

India has the third largest TV households globally, second to only China and the US. However, the digital TV penetration in India is very low at 36% as compared to more than 90% in countries such as Finland, Spain, UK, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia.

Regional GECs (General Entertainment Channels) have emerged as key focus areas for most of the players. This is because of it’s connect with Non-Hindi Speaking Market audiences. The number of operational regional GECs is four times of national GECs. Regional channels are attractive for advertisers due to lower cost of connect with the right audience.

Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali and Marathi are the key languages in the regional GEC space. Sun TV Networks has been a leading TV broadcaster in the South Indian television market. Infotainment channels like National Geographic and discovery launched Telugu and Tamil feeds National broadcasters are increasing their presence in the regional market while the regional players are increasing their penetration through niche channels.

1.2 SWOT analysis for the TV Industry in India

Strength

. Media and Entertainment is one of the most booming sectors in India due to its vast viewership reach. . The industry like television has a large customer base. . Change in the lifestyle and spending patterns of the Indian masses on entertainment.

. Technological innovations like online distribution channels, web-stores, and multi and mega-plexes are complementing the ongoing revolution and the growth of the sector. . The low cost of production and high revenues ensure a good return on investment for Indian Television Industry. . The growing middle class with higher disposable income has become the strength of the Media and Entertainment Industry.

Weaknesses

. Among the weakness in the industry, a current weakness maybe the inability to adhere to ethical standards in the industry which has led to the lawsuits filed against some media industries. . The industry also has been slow in its growth only picking up in the recent past, thus its innovation and marketing strategies maybe not competitive on the global arena. . The lack of efforts for media penetration in lower socio-economic classes where the media penetration is low. . Highly fragmented. . Lack of cohesive production and distribution infrastructure.

Opportunities

. The industry still has room to expand within India as the market is wide and can increase its market share. . The high technological innovation which is happening everyday also presents a good opportunity for the television industry to utilize the latest technology in expanding its production mix or improving the existing ones hence increasing the market. . The increasing interest of the global investors in the sector. . Rapid de-regulation in the industry. . Rise in the viewership and the advertising expenditure. . Creating new distribution channels.

Threats

. Though India can be said to be stable politically, the country is known for frequent changes in government administration and instability in some regions or states, this issue negatively affects the television industry and the threat to media.

. Piracy, violation of intellectual property rights poses a major threat to the media and the television industry or any other media industries for that matter. . Lack of quality content has emerged as a major concern because of the 'quick-buck' route being followed in the industry. . With technological innovations taking place so rapidly, the television industry is facing considerably uncertainty about success in the market place.

Television industry in India is on a transformation path. Multiple channels in each genre competing with each other for TRP, increasing pay TV penetration, expanding yet fragmented local as well as overseas viewership of Indian channels, demand for more specific content – clearly set the stage for the next level of growth and transition for players across the television value chain. Content creators and broadcasters need to be cognizant of the ever increasing demand for differentiated content. While on one hand, new digital content distribution platforms are emerging; on the other hand, new formats of entertainment - computers, mobiles and other handheld devices are gaining importance. Monetization of content through these new opportunities in existing platforms and new media platforms are going to be key focus areas for the content owners.

1.3 Some key trends and challenges that lie ahead

. Digitalization of the TV distribution: DTH is leading the race for digitalization of the distribution system. Digitalization is not only expected to help the players in the value chain to realize the true potential of their content, but also to cater to the unique and diverse needs of the viewer when it comes to entertainment. . HD and 3D TV: LED and LCD Televisions are outselling the conventional televisions. . Technology led new opportunities: New platforms for reaching consumers and new technologies in content management are providing unique opportunities to increase the shelf life of the content . Consolidation in TV distribution

. Need for improved measurement tools: An effective measurement system is the backbone of advertising dependent industry . Evolving viewer interests: The viewer today is not only looking for new-fangled content but is also very quality conscious. From new movie broadcasts to reality shows with more and more celebrity appearances, from IPL to EPL – the need for differentiated and fresh content is on an all-time high.

1.4 Rural India and Indian Television

Close to 344 million Indians have been watching television in rural areas for the last few years but no one had an idea what exactly they were watching. This changed in 2013, when Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), an industry body to design, commission, supervise and own an accurate reliable and timely television audience measurement system for India was set up. From the day the first rural data from BARC came out in October 2015 till today, with close to 16 months of measurement, the data from 76 million TV households is robust enough to initiate a strategy change for all the stakeholders. Take the advertising industry. A number of things changed.

We have seen a 13% rise in the number of advertisers on rural focused channels. The biggest spike was seen in Hindi Speaking Markets (HSM) channels. A huge spike was also observed across the Free to Air (FTA) channels. From a 31% share of total advertising, FTA share rose to 39%.Some of the larger beneficiaries were Sony Pal, Star Utsav, Zee Anmol, DD Rajasthan, DD Madhya Pradesh among others. The top three categories which have significantly increased advertising on TV were auto tyres (81% growth), DTH service providers (44%) and detergent cakes / bars (34%). Some of the top brands which increased their Free Commercial Time (FCT) on the top four FTA GECs were Ponds India, Reckitt Benkiser, and Dabur, Godrej Consumer products Ltd, ITC and Nestle.

The above data gave a deep insight into an area which is critically important to the advertising community, especially the FMCG sector who are heavily dependent on rural consumption. One of the new factors that BARC brought in was the NCCS (New consumer classification system) as a basis of measurement. And as much as 38 million of the 76 million households of the rural population form the affluent base (NCCS A & B

individuals). So any premium / high end product, targeting need not be limited to urban anymore.

The stupendous numbers that sports like the Pro-Kabaddi League (PKL), Pro Wrestling League (PEL) and even the Indian Soccer League (ISL) have been enjoying is because of the eyeballs that come from rural India. The PKL and PWL get as much as 65% and 64% of total viewership from rural India. Even soccer ISL gets nearly half (49%) of its viewership from rural India. For those investing in growing these leagues and sports as well as broadcasters and advertisers, this data came as quite a shocker. No one had expected these numbers because no one had been measuring rural India viewership so far.

While sports has been the game changer, the GEC's viewership perspective is also different from urban viewing. While rural viewers love their daily dose of soaps the only show that goes as a hit across rural and urban is Naagin from the Colors stable while the romance of Jodha and Akbar from Zee also woos the eyeballs, the family value centric Saath Nibhana Saathia from Star Utsav has hit a home run. Even the children's program Bal Veer from Sony Pal has attracted some good numbers from children News watching is pretty active in rural India giving a spike in numbers for the news channels. For example, news viewership spiked by 54% during demonetisation week. In terms of daily TV viewing, rural India, in fact spends around close to three hours and 10 minutes watching TV daily. Rural South tops the list with audiences in Andhra Pradesh watching about 4 hours 4 minutes of daily TV viewing the highest so far.

If there is one thing that binds both urban and rural it is cinema. So a Salman Khan or Shahrukh Khan film, be it Prem Ratan Dhan Payo or Dilwale, or the magnum opus Bahubali, each was viewed by as many as 24 million in rural India making the three the biggest hits across rural markets.

More people watch one TV set in rural India as compared to urban India where there could be more than one TV set in a single house. Around 98% of the homes in rural are single TV HHS still where the entire family watches content together.

Yet, there is still a lot of headroom for growth. In the coming years, rural data will play a more significant role for the entire ecosystem. As per the latest Broadcast study conducted by BARC, TV individuals in rural have increased by 23% from 344 million to close to 422 million. What's more interesting is that the young 'Bharat' (15-40 years)

forms the mainstay of the rural viewership with as much as 47% of the total rural population watching TV. With urban TV penetration slowing down, the next phase of exponential growth is set to come from rural India. This is because in spite of the fast growth, TV penetration in rural still stands at 54% of the total rural HHs.In a nutshell, rural India has made inroads into the Total TV viewership and is slated to make a significant impact in the coming years.

Television is the single biggest source of entertainment across all age groups and social strata in India today. It is affordable, convenient, can be watched by the whole family and in the comfort of your home. In a country like India, where a majority of the population lives in rural areas with few entertainment hubs and many families cannot afford to go to a movie theatre, television is sometimes the sole source of entertainment. Since there is only one television set in the household, children in rural areas often end up watching programming that is meant for adults. On an average an Indian child spends two hours a day watching television. Very often, the woman of the house chooses the programme to be watched, and since her preferred choice is one or more of the various soap operas, these become staples for the children as well.

1.5 Rural children as audiences

Indian soap operas usually feature large, affluent families who live in ornate mansions. Everyone is dressed in expensive clothes and the women in particular are invariably over- dressed and wear heavy, glittering jewellery even in the kitchen. These families celebrate festivals through the year with a grand display of wealth and colour and conspicuous consumption. The fact that many of these soap operas are sponsored by FMCG companies compounds the problem. Most of the advertisements for foods and household goods are aimed at women and very often, young children, since they are big influencers of family decisions when it comes to branded foods and consumer goods.

Though there are some soap operas and serials which deal with rural families and issues, they also provide a highly sanitised, sometimes glamorous version of rural India. The costumes, houses and families pictured are blatantly wealthy and their lives are luxurious. Thus the life portrayed in these soap operas is a far cry from the reality of life in rural India, especially for an underprivileged family. While adults are able to separate fiction

from reality, the lines are blurred for young children who grow up with skewed perceptions about life outside their world, leading to resentment and frustration about their own socio-economic situation. These conflicts surface later in adulthood, leading to problems in their own lives and society too.

Most of these advertisements and often the content itself are aimed at urban families and their privileged lifestyle since they have greater purchasing power. The rural audience is not the primary target but receives these cleverly marketed messages in advertisements or incidents inserted into the broadcast of these soap operas. What kind of impact will they have on young impressionable minds? The findings of this study were revealing and disturbing. It showed that rural children inevitably compared themselves and their lifestyle to the images they saw on the screen. It left them with a sense of inferiority at many levels. They felt both economically and socially disadvantaged, a situation that can only breed problems in their lives and those of their parents as well. The ensuing effects on society at large and the nation are obvious. Hence the need for this study.

Given that children are the future of our country and that India has the world’s largest young population (much of it in rural areas), the significance of this conflict cannot be underestimated. Further it is important that the media understands the severity of the problem and tries to amend their strategies. The government also needs to step in and take adequate remedial steps. The future of our children and our nation is at stake.

1.6 Birth of Indian Soap Opera

A soap opera is defined as “a serial drama performed originally on a daytime radio or television program and chiefly characterized by tangled interpersonal situations and melodramatic or sentimental treatment” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). These dramas were first developed for radio in the US in the 1930s. They were sponsored by soap and detergent companies like Proctor and Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, and Lever brothers and were hence nicknamed “soap operas” because they featured a number of soap commercials.

India’s first soap opera, Hum Log, was the brainchild of the then-Information and Broadcasting Minister, Vasant Sathe. Director P Kumar Vasudev, writer Manohar Shyam Joshi and their endearing cast of actors led the serial to great heights of popularity in

1984-85.Its success led to a programming revolution at the national network, Doordarshan, since it was the first time that a television serial set in the India cultural milieu and conceived, written and produced in India attracted the typically large and loyal soap opera audience. The audience brought with it good advertising revenues too. One of the new products very successful promoted during the broadcast of this serial was Maggi 2-minute noodles.

After Hum Log came a stream of serials on varied subjects. Buniyaad(1986), a family drama set against the backdrop of Partition of British India, and spread across generations, was a huge success, too. In 1988 came Tamas, another serial with a Partition theme. Before that was RamanandSagar’s Ramayana, a mythological that dramatized the Hindu religious epic, which attracted record audiences. Its success led to one of Indian television’s most iconic serials, Mahabharata, in 1988-89. Mahabharata, directed by film- maker B R Chopra, brought the nation to a halt every Sunday morning. As advertising revenues grew, so did the number and variety of serials and shows. Advertisers had begun to fully understand and exploit the power of television’s reach.

1.7 The Post-Liberalisation Boom

In the year 1991, the Indian economy was in a crisis. The balance of payments situation was acute and the country had foreign exchange reserves to last a mere three weeks. Quick fixes would not help anymore; the economy needed drastic remedies. These were forced on the government by the International Monetary Fund which bailed out India.

Among the key measures were devaluation of the rupee, dismantling of governmental controls, opening up of the private sector and increasing globalisation in all spheres of life. The government, headed by P V Narasimha Rao, also allowed foreign direct investments and the Indian media was quick to grab the opportunity. Television benefited the most as foreign channels and programming flooded the industry. As a result, Indian viewers were exposed to more than 50 international channels by 1996. As a natural offshoot, a host of Indian content producers and companies sprung up to cater to the growing demand for television content.

The production boom required new talent—directors, actors, technicians, writers and of course producers. Some talent came from the film industry, some advertising agencies and some from journalism. Among the first private networks to grab the opportunity

provided by liberalisation and the new direct broadcast satellite (DBS) technology was Star TV (Star stands for Satellite Television for the Asian Region), headquartered in Hong Kong. The channel brought in a number of US shows, including very popular soap operas.

When Rupert Murdoch, the owner of the Star Network, decided to enter the Indian market, he chose to collaborate with the Indian-owned Zee TV network, founded by Subhash Chandra. Their agreement stipulated that Star could not produce any Hindi shows. Network from producing Hindi-language programming. This allowed Indian channels to create shows that were of, by and for Indians. Thus the 1990s saw a flood of new channels and serials that brought in a number of genres to the small screen. The genres included old staples such as mythologicals like Jai Hanuman (1997), historicals such as The Sword ofTipu Sultan and soap operas like Tara (1993). But there were also sitcoms like Yeh Jo HaiZindagi (1984), dance shows like Boogie Woogie (1997), literary adaptations such as ByomkeshBakshi (1993), cultural programmes like Surabhi (1993), the superhero— Shaktimaan (1997) and serials on women’s empowerment such as Udaan (1989).

The success of fully home-grown shows with the audience was so remarkable that Star began to ‘Indianise’ its content with its channel Star Plus. By the late 1990s, more than 40 private television channels were available to Indian audiences. In 2000 India had the world`s largest cable and satellite markets and offered cable connectivity to 35 million homes, comprising some 150 million cable viewers. One offshoot of the explosion of television networks, channels, cable and satellite markets and their audiences was a proliferation of soap operas and women-centric shows. Since women make many of the key purchasing decisions in the home, this was a market that advertisers were waiting to capture.

With the gradual Indianisation of content in non-news programming, it was inevitable that soap operas would fall in line quickly, since they appealed to a largely traditional section of the audience, which included urban, semi-urban and rural segments. The storylines often picked up contemporary social issues, even if they dealt with them in a rather glamorised manner. Serials like Udaan (1989), based on the real-life story of a young woman who dreams of becoming a police officer; or Rajni (1985), about a fiery

crusader; had shown the way in the late 1980s. In the 1990s came the next generation of shows like Tara (1993), billed as the first Indian soap opera on contemporary urban women; Astitva(2002), about a gynaecologist who marries a man ten years younger than her; Saaya (1998), a serial about two college-going girls fighting orthodoxy; Koshish (2000), the story of a young woman who’s tricked into marrying a mentally challenged man; Hasratein (mid-1990s), a serial about a married woman who has an affair with a married man and continues it even though both their spouses know about it.

Whether the shows showed women as housewives or professionals, urbanised or more traditional, they were usually women who knew their mind and were ready to fight for their rights. The very popular BanegiApniBaat (1993), for instance, dealt with the differing perspectives between housewives and working women. Most of the themes of the programme were based on either true incidence/story or novels. The true soap-opera which was popular all over the country was Shanti aired by Doordarshan, in the year 1994. Latter on the programme was aired on Star Plus channel also. The show was one of India’s first full-fledged drama serial. It was directed by Adi Pocha and produced by UTV Software Communications. The show very popular during its times and still remembered as a classic. It tells the story of Shanti, a journalist, and her journey and fight for truth. She wants to right a story, more like a biography on Bollywood’s biggest production house owned by Kamesh Mahadevan and Raj Singh. She later on discovers that they have raped he mother. The lead actor Mandira Bedi became very popular across India.

Another successful programme was Swabhiman, aired by Doordarshan in the year 1995. The direction part of this series was performed by Mahesh Bhatt. The script for this serial was written by Shobha De along with Vinod Ranganath. The story revolved around a business tycoon 'Keshav Malhotra' and 'His Family'. After the death of Keshav Malhotra,the owner of ‘Malhotra company’ members had to face many challenges and disputes. The lead actress Kitu Gidwani became very popular. As can be seen, the themes explored were varied and aimed at appealing to the widest cross-section of the female audience. This growth of woman-centric shows reflected the increasing empowerment, employment opportunities and financial independence available to Indian women.

1.8 The Era of the K-series

As India ushered in the 21st century, the world of Indian television was about to enter a new era in fiction programming as well. It was going to be the decade of EktaKapoor and Balaji Telefilms. This production company, headed by actor Jeetendra Kapoor’s wife Shobha and their daughter EktaKapoor, changed the definition, scope and commercial parameters of the Indian soap opera.Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi (2000), which ran for over eight years, catapulted everyone involved with it – its actors, writers, directors, production executives and, of course, the mother-daughter Kapoor duo – to unprecedented heights of popularity. This show made such household names of its actors that even Bollywood superstars admitted that the small screen offered a far wider audience reach than the movies.

Till then most soaps were telecast weekly, but after Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi (KSBKBT), soaps began to be aired five days a week. KSBKBT created a new genre of Indian soaps called the K-series since the superstitious Kapoors used the letter K in the titles of all their soaps, taking their penchant to illogical heights. Others did the same too. Thus we had showntitled KahaniGhar Ghar Ki, (2000),KausatiiZindagii Kay (2000), Kkusum (2001), Kutumb (2001), KumkumEkPyara Sa Bandhan (2002), KahinTohHoga (2003), Kasam Se (2006) and KitniMohabbatHai (2009) to name just a few.

Illogical as their K obsession and many of their storylines were, the K soaps delivered lucrative TRPs (Television Rating Points, used to measure the popularity of television shows). The biggest hit of them all, KyunkiSaasBhiKabhiBahuThi, ran as long as eight years. Not surprisingly, other production houses also started coming up with similar shows, thus entrenching the formula in the industry. A telling fact is that the actors playing characters in these shows become so popular that they are still known by their characters’ names. For instance, SmritiIrani of KyunkiSaasBhiKabhiBahuThi is often referred to as Tulsi by viewers and even by journalists writing in tongue-in-cheek fashion. Likewise, ShwetaTiwari is still known as Prerna of KausatiiZindagii Kayand JuhiParmar as Kumkum.

The audience aspired to dress like their favourite stars too. Everything from their elaborate sarees and makeup, hairstyles and bling jewellery became talking points. Many stores in Mumbai and elsewhere stock designs that are imitations of the sarees and other

outfits worn by the actresses in soaps, thus sparking off small scale fashion industries based on these soaps.But it was on the emotional level that the resonance with the viewers was the greatest. With these television families playing out their problems in millions of homes, the line between reality and screen life began to blur and the audience started considering these screen characters part of their own extended families. As a result, their daily woes and tribulations were the subject of much analysis and discussion across India.

The classic example was the screen demise of Kyunki SaasBhiKabhiBahuThi’s MihirVirani, Tulsi’s much-loved husband. The reaction to what viewers saw as his untimely death, just one year after the show began, was beyond anyone’s imagination. Disturbed at the prospect of Mihir’s absence from their daily lives, viewers made their opinions and demand known in no uncertain terms: Mihir had to be brought back. The Balaji Telefilms office was inundated with phone calls, letters, emails and protests, demanding that Mihir return from the dead through any kind of screenplay twist. Monisha Singh, assistant creative director, Balaji Telefilms, said then of the experience, "We have been flooded with so many phone calls. We didn't expect such a response.

Amar Upadhyay, the actor who played the role of MihirVirani, said in the same article, "The response has been fantastic. The love they have shown for my character is amazing. Mihir's death has made me realise how cherished my character is but I would like to tell my viewers not to mix up real life with television and films. Viewers should take things lightly and enjoy the serial as it happens”. However, Indian viewers tend to get emotionally involved with the on-screen and off-screen lives of their favourite characters in films and television. When a character gets popular, they become part of the audience’s life. SmritiIrani, who played the role of Tulsi in KSBKBT, and was nicknamed “Bahu (daughter-in-law) of the nation, said in similar vein, “I am overwhelmed by the audience reaction. It is as if a member of their family is dead. They have taken it very personally. I have never seen such a reaction to a television series.” (It's as if a family member has died!, 2001)

When the women in the family got involved so deeply, it was but natural that their children got drawn into the discussions too. Thus the identification of the children with the characters and their life and lifestyles grew deeper. The impact of these shows was not restricted to India since they had a wide following in the UAE, USA and England. The

impact of these shows also went beyond the world of Balaji Telefilms. Their success was so phenomenal that they served as a formula of sorts for many other soaps produced by other companies. As a result, Indian television saw a string of soap operas, all of which seemed to be remarkably alike in their visual presentation, broad theme and treatment, regardless of which production company was responsible for them. Here are some of those striking similarities that any regular viewers of Indian soaps will recognise.

. The central character is invariably a woman who holds and lives by strong moral values. She sets the standard for the entire family and always puts the family’s welfare and happiness above her personal happiness. The message is that the family comes before all else and is paramount. . The paragon of virtue that is the protagonist, is always paired for maximum dramatic effect with the villain of the piece – usually the mother-in-law or sister-in-law – who is always scheming and machinating against the heroine. The villain is painted deep black to emphasise the contrast, making both women at either end of the moral spectrum equally unrealistic in their portrayal. . The women in these shows are dressed to the nines at all times. Even while cooking in the kitchen, they wear fancy sarees or salwarkameez, loads of jewellery and of course have elaborate makeup on as well. . The families represented are usually wealthy, with landed property and business interests. The interiors of the homes are opulent, even garish. . Every small festival is celebrated with great fervour and conspicuous consumption. The episodes featuring festivals are usually timed to coincide with their timing in real life. . Few of these soaps feature nuclear families. The household is usually that of a large joint family, with more than one married couple, along with their in-laws, and assorted relatives. This situation allows the writers to work in multiple streams of conflicted relationships and lots of family politics. The women are shown constantly spying on each other and plotting against each other, hoping to gain power and control over the household. Battles are fought all the time over the keys to the household, both literally and figuratively. . Not only do women take centre stage in these serials, the men are very often colourless, confused or weak characters whose behaviour creates problems for their

long-suffering wives. Though the characters are affluent and business interests are spoken of, the men are rarely shown at work. . ‘Traditional Indian values’ are constantly celebrated in these serials with family members exhorted to follow them at all costs. ‘Family honour’ has to be protected under all circumstances. . In contrast, however, the storylines are full of mayhem and crimes. In addition to the family politics and wars, extramarital affairs, conspiracies, kidnappings and even murder are common. . Standardised camera angles highlight or exaggerate confrontations by zooming in and panning to the faces of the warring sides, thus heightening the screen reality. . Most dramatic confrontations include long monologues, usually on the importance of family values and keeping the family together. Loud background music adds to the overall effect.

When a storyline has run its natural course and should logically be wound up, TRPs usually begin to fall. To inject longevity and ad revenues, the storyline will take a generational leap, thus bringing in new characters while retaining old favourites who are now suitably graying and imparting the same values to the next generation. And so the story goes on.

This was the broad formula that ruled Indian soaps for over a decade and still holds good for many shows. Of course there have been shows that went against the formula and were big successes too. Among them were the record breaking BalikaVadhu (2008) about a child bride; JassiJaisi Koi Nahin (2003) about the ugly duckling who comes into her own and finds true love; Baa Bahuaur Baby(2005;) Sarabhai VS Sarabhai (2004), a sitcom; Sanjeevani – A Medical Boon, about the challenges of the medical profession. But the formulaic soap was still the show that was most guaranteed to bring in the mass audience and hence, advertisements, so that was what channel heads played safe with.

1.9 Growth of Marathi channels

Regional channels were part of the growth in the television industry. Since regional channels could connect with their audience in the local language, major TV channel companies like Zee and Star started channels in various regional languages. They largely followed the programming and scheduling of the national or Hindi channels. Such TV

were started in different languages like Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, Tamil, Kannada, Odia, Telugu, and Malayalam.In the year 1999 Doordarshan started a Marathi regional channel called as DD Sahyadri. Its mission is 'To inform, Educate and Entertain Marathi knowing people in their language, idiom & Culture' and 'To showcase the Real Maharashtra Culture, its values, traditions, modernization, diversity and its unity through programmes of high quality in the highest tradition of Public Service Broadcasting with true Indian National Spirit'. Some of the programmes became popular likeDamini, Hello inspector, Balchitrwani, Amchi mati amchi manase and Mahacharcha,became very popular.

ETV Marathi was started in 2000 by Hyderabad based media magnate RamojiRao. The channel came up with the immensely popular soapopera Char Divas Sasuche, whichran uninterrupted for eight years on ETV Marathi. It even bagged a place in the Limca Book of World Records for completing 2,000 episodes on May 6, 2011, making it the longest- running series on Indian television across all languages(Parayall, 2011).Other programmes on Star Marathi like HyaGojirwanyaGharat and Abhalmaya also became popular. Like Hindi channels regional channels gave main preference to soap operas. The storylines of Marathi soapoperas were dominated by family conflict, just like their Hindi counterparts. Hence the impact of Marathi soap operas was the same as those in Hindi.

1.10 Why Soap-operas are popular content even today?

The opening of the Indian markets in the 1990s led to the entry of many MNCs (Multi- National Companies) and manufacturers of FMCGs (Fast Moving Consumer goods) into the Indian market. These companies were looking for suitable platforms for placing their advertisements since they needed to make a splash to establish themselves in the Indian market. Most of these advertisements were targeted at women since they are the direct or indirect purchasers and consumers of most such products. On the other hand, the television channels needed large amounts of advertising income to survive. It was a match made in commercial heaven.

The channels, like those in the United States where the soap opera was born, set about developing content that would attract advertisements form MNCs, since they had large ad spends at their disposal. Indian soaps were the perfect vehicle for this strategy, dealing as they did with women-based storylines, filled with domestic settings and themes. As they mopped up the ads, the soap operas got even more popular with producers and content

developers. And that is how they came to rule the world of Indian television programming.

The Indian woman’s growing economic independence and decision-making power, whether she was single or married, further attracted advertising since she had a say in purchasing goods for her personal needs or those of her family. Advertisers tried to reach out to women and strike an emotional connect between the product/brand and them. Since women make up two third of the adult viewing audiences on weekdays(http://www.themanagementor.com, n.d.), the afternoon soap opera was tailor- made for advertisements peddling products for the hone, women and children. One common trend seen in contemporary advertising is the liberal use of children for promoting their products. Children are easy targets for advertisers these days, and their “pester power” (the ability to influence their parents’ decision) have made the ‘New Age Mom’ and her children the focus of much of Indian advertising on television.

1.11 Programing of TV Channels

With MNCs and corporates spending crores of rupees on the marketing of their products on television, they are able to influence the choice of content because television channels subtly or overtly angle their storylines to attract advertising. Since the advertisers’ chief targets are women and home-makers, the result is a proliferation of shows that glorify home-making and domesticity and therefore have a home-maker as the main protagonist.

At the same time, MNCs also want modern, financially independent women with spending power. So the soaps often portray women who combine modern thinking with a traditional approach, who are worldly wise and often manipulative but talk of upholding moral values for themselves and the family. Thus, in effect, much of what the audience is offered is dictated by the sponsors’ interests rather than that of viewers’ andadvertisers get the content designed according to their requirements.

This is in contrast to the situation in the West, where channels make a big chunk of their revenues from subscription charges. Hence their programming keeps audience likes and dislikes on top of their priorities.

1.12 Rating system influencing the content of the programs

As with so many other areas of licensing in India, the entertainment industry, too, faces the twin problems of red tape and corruption. Getting a broadcast license comes at a steep cost – there are licensing fees, bank guarantees to be provided and higher downlinking charges if the channel has been uplinked overseas. Add to this salary, overheads, production and other costs of running a channel and churning out programming plus any money paid under the table and it is clear why a channel is so dependent on advertising.

Media buyers make their decisions based on a show’s TRPs (or Television Rating Points). These TRP figures measure a show’s popularity and obviously, the higher the figure, the higher the advertising rates the channel is able to charge. It is not surprising that most the shows with the highest TRP ratings are Indian soap operas, and that the K series of soaps dominate this list. KahaaniGharGharKii holds the record for Indian television’s highest TRPs ever - 40.6 in 2006. KasautiiZindagii Kay holds the record for the 2nd and 3rd highest TRPs – 35.31 in 2005 and 32.5 in 2004. KyunkiSaasBhiKabhiBahuThi was close behind with impressive ratings of 32 in 2003 and 22.1 in 2001. Though other shows may not have reached such heights, soap operas as a genre continue to be the biggest money-spinners in Indian television.

The TRP ratings are provided by a media research company named TAM (short for Audience Measurement). TAM not only provides overall statistical data but detailed breakups on the basis of geography, gender, age as well as qualitative parameters such as viewers’ Television watching habits and preferences. Thus the makers of a show can figure out in which state of India their show is most popular, whether it works in rural or urban areas, what percentage of viewers are female, how many young viewers they have, socio-economic profiles of viewer segments, which character is the most popular, which issue or story development has worked and so on. This allows channels to tweak their programming accordingly.

This kind of detailed analysis is especially important in India which is a highly diverse and fragmented market with several languages, and religions along with a wide range of geographical areas and socio-economic groups. Targeting a particular segment of the audience is thus needs a great amount of fine-tuning. Ratings therefore assume increased importance for advertisers and corporate media planners when they set about selecting the

right media vehicle for their advertisements. At present, TAM India and AMAP (Audience Measurement and Analytics) are the only electronic rating agencies functioning in India. Of the two, TAM is the most popular among channels, with over 200 of them getting their data from TAM.

There are two important aspects of this scenario that need to be discussed in order to understand the importance and relevance of this research topic in the context of the impact of on rural India. The first is that India’s terrestrial network covers almost 90% of the country, making it the largest in Asia. The backbone of the Indian economy is rural India, with almost two-thirds of the population living in rural India, with agriculture being the main occupation. It is therefore important to study the above two aspects together, and most importantly, to delve further to find out what influence TELEVISION has on rural children, who are often deprived of basic necessities. The next section will help in understanding the background of the research topic more clearly.

1.13 The audience is not homogenous

In India today, the television set is not just an entertainment device, it has become an integral part of family life in which watching is a daily ritual for millions of Indians. Research is largely ignored by the industry. If at all it is done, it is largely limited to urban areas. Despite the fact that the majority of the population lives in rural India, it is often ignored by the industry. In the case of corporates, a great deal of research is undertaken to understand their target consumers so as to develop their products and design their marketing strategies accordingly. The fundamental idea here is that their product or offering should aim to fulfil the requirements of their consumers. This research thus leads to the improvement of their products and services, which in turn helps increase the company’s sales and profits.

But with the television industry, the product, i.e. the content developed by the channels, is geared more towards advertisers and sponsors rather than the audience. And media research is limited to TRPs. Even this research is done by an external agency, with the television channels merely subscribing to the data feed. Some channels have recently set up their own research units. But the sample segment is often taken from the urban pockets. However, even city–based samples are hardly homogenous, for in the city slums and skyscrapers live cheek by jowl. The parameters of development, quality of life and

consumption of entertainment are very different. The divide is not just between rich and poor; caste and community create their own differences with each having their own preferences. Given these conditions audience research is a complex task in India. (www.livemint.com, n.d.)

1.14 Children’s entertainment – then and now

Some decades ago books were a child’s best friend. They have now been replaced by cartoon channels and video games as the reading habit faded away gradually because of television. When television first came to India, programming was limited, with a handful of channels and for quite some years we had only four hours of airtime each day. In contrast, viewers today have access to hundreds of channels and 24 hours of television viewing time, taking up a big chunk of time in family life. FICCI’s annual reports about the media growth in India have highlighted the increasing numbers of hours spent in watching television by the average Indian. The website indiantelevision.com reported that at a seminar in March 2015, FICCI’s Eric Luntulo said Indian children had an average daily time of 2:32 minutes of television viewing. (team, 2015)There was a time when mealtimes saw all the members of the family gathering around the dining area and eating together. But nowadays, mealtimes are adjusted according to television programmes and, especially in middle-class homes, the family gathers in front of the television to eat, a practice that is unhealthy for both body and mind. Moreover, in smaller households, the television set occupies a fair amount of space, usually in the living room, leaving little space for children to carry out their leisure activities. So television acts almost like a baby sitter that keeps the child engaged without parental supervision. As a result, children do not often get adequate space or time to develop their hobbies.

New trends also indicate that children increasingly prefer to watch television then to play games in the open air. So time that was once spent outdoors in games, with indoor hobbies that challenged young minds, or with the family is now spent with television. What is worse is that this practice begins very early, when children are at their most impressionable. As discussed earlier, soaps are primarily targeted at the women of the house and children inadvertently and unknowingly become part of the audience for these shows. Since the average India household has only one television set, children have no

option but to watch these soaps. Then may not relate to these storylines, yet they watch these shows because their mothers are doing so.

Children are intensely curious about the world around them and constantly struggle to make sense of, and understand, the reality around them. As their cognitive ability has yet to develop, the line between real and unreal is not as clear for them as it is for adults. So the impact of Indian television, and soap operas in particular, which are full of unreal, glamorous content, is clearly harmful. The content of these shows, with heightened, over- dramatized emotions and complicated family conflicts, which is meant for a mature audience, can have a tremendously negative impact on young minds.

1.15 Scope of the Study

How did soap operas come to dominate the world of Indian television? Three sets of figures will explain.

1. India’s rural population was pegged at an average of 68% of the total population in 2010 -2014 by the World Bank.

2. In the year ending 31 March 2013, close to 16.4 million television sets were sold in rural India. (Mint, Dec26, 2013).

3. The television industry, at Rs 417 billion, accounts for close to half the revenues of the Indian media and entertainment industry, estimated at Rs 918 billion. (FICCI-KPMG Report 2014).

This makes it clear why the television industry (like Bollywood films) simply cannot afford to ignore the rural masses. Indeed, for a film or television programme to become a hit, it has to have immense traction with the rural population. Soap operas are the single most popular genre in the bouquet of television offerings from Hindi and Regional GECs (General Entertainment Channels), which accounted for 48 per cent of the total viewership in 2013 (FICCI-KPMG Indian Media and Entertainment Industry Report 2014). “(Soap operas) are the top TRP getters, and so remain the lifeblood of the GEC (general entertainment channel) scheduling.” (Munshi, 2013).

With their heavily traditional themes and plotlines, bickering families and aspirational settings, soap operas have held the attention and loyalty of the Indian television viewer

for decades now. The digital revolution has further helped television to widen the scope of its impact. Indeed, it is one of the key factors that has helped push up sales of television sets in rural areas. In 2013, Dish TV India Ltd had 11 million connections, of which nearly half were in rural India. Similarly, half of Tata Sky’s 11.5 million subscribers were in rural India. (Mint, Dec 26, 2013).

Thus rural viewers are now exposed to a never-before variety of channels and programmes. However, infrastructure development is poor with less attention paid to growth and development in rural areas as compared to urban areas. Besides, the rate of literacy in rural India is less than 60%, and entertainment options are limited. All these factors have combined to make soap operas a key commercial and socio-cultural phenomenon in India.

Human beings understand the real world with the five senses – sight, touch, hearing, smell and taste. We use our eyes to see, skin to touch and feel, ears to listen, nose to smell and tongue to taste. The rapid rise of varied communication mediums in the 21st century led legendary media observer and Guru Marshall McLuhan to observe that the mass media are an extension of the human senses, which means that they are the additional tools we use to understand and make sense of the world around us. In other words we can say that the mass media teach us how to perceive the real world.

Newspapers are regarded as an extension of human eyes, because they help us read about the world and see people and events across the world in the form of images. Radio is regarded as an extension of human ears as we can listen to accounts of various events and hear stories that develop our perception of the world. Television is considered to combine the facilities of both the print medium and radio and can be considered an extension of both ears and sight.

In addition, television (like cinema) has several advantages over print and radio. While print offers us still images, television gives us a series of images or ‘moving images’ with sound which allow us to see and hear people conversing, just as they would in real life. This unique feature makes television and cinema far more effective in communicating their message to people. Further, television has some more added advantages over cinema. The first is that both mediums often converge in the television set. Secondly, television viewing is far cheaper and sometimes even free. Thirdly, watching television in

the comfort of one’s home gives the medium an intimacy and immediacy that no other medium offers. Therefore, it is popularly and rightly said that ‘Television is a window to the world.’ Little wonder that it has become an integral part of our lives today.

Thus, effective television programming can strike a deep chord with individuals. Besides, the sheer variety of its offerings – some 700 channels in India – leads people to believe that their perception of the world has been enhanced by viewing inputs form so many varied sources. With 90% of India’s population having access to television, it has become the most powerful medium today to communicate practically any message — political, commercial, social or cultural. People rely on television for news and entertainment, for sports and cultural coverage, for religious discourses, and much more.

The number of channels and news sources on television makes us believe that we choose the content that most appeals to our interests. But the truth is that it is often the content producers who control what we see by moulding the content in such a way that we are led to choose it. Sometimes, the lack of programming suited to our interests can lead us to alternative sources that we may not have watched had there been something more appealing to us. This is how the content producers control our viewing habits. It is important to note that Marshall McLuhan also said: “All media exist to invest our lives with artificial perceptions and arbitrary values. “If adults can be misled into thinking they are making their own choices, one can imagine what the impact on children would be. Since children are more gullible than adults, they are more likely to believe the artificial reality shown on television. This is the mediated perception imposed by television on children.

McLuhan’s most famous quote is of course, the saying, “The medium is the message.” Each medium shapes its content to suit its technology or structure, thus making the medium itself convey the message. In radio, for instance, because of the lack of visuals, the communication is purely auditory and hence the storytelling or news is shaped by that requirement, giving it its unique character. With television, especially in its early days, dim-lit or low-key visuals could not be seen too well properly on the small screen. Hence television visuals were brightly light, with colours that stood out in that kind of lighting.

And then, of course, there are the content developers themselves who have their agendas to fulfil. In a developing country like India where a majority of the population is poor and

literacy rates are not high, the audience accepts the content they are bombarded with. It would therefore be a unique and interesting research project to find out know how reality is perceived by the rural child under the influence of the mediated world of television which is larger than life and glossy. Moreover, the findings could be of crucial importance in the development of future television strategies and policies in the country.

Rural India was studied during the SITE television experiment in the 1970s, but not much after that. And, given the size of the market, very little research is done with respect to the media habits of the Indian audience. Even research companies like TAM India collect their research data largely from urban towns (tamindia.org, n.d.). In other words, a major section of the television audience is ignored.