New Delhi: The general entertainment channel (GEC) category is up for a slow climb to recovery post the covid-19 pandemic. The Hindi category hasn’t seen any new launches in the past few months with broadcasters deferring plans, first because of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and then the second covid wave.
While the suspension of the tournament led to a minor surge in ratings, not all shows were able to capitalise with fresh content and had to air reruns. Broadcasters see normalcy setting in only by end of July or early August even as the discovery of OTT (over-the-top) streaming content looms as a big challenge with creators and writers compelled to innovate for a loyal audience base that has several options now.
“With the IPL, most GECs had anyway not scheduled any new launch during April and May, which coincidentally was the peak of the second covid wave. Some of them had one or two launches lined up for June or July, but decided against them due to the pandemic, wanting to wait for the restrictions to get over before they go on air, just to have a good episode bank available,” said Srinivas Rao, national buying head for GroupM-owned media agency Mediacom.
A senior executive at a broadcast network, who did not wish to be named, said it didn’t make sense to go on air with only 20-30 fresh episodes for new shows they had planned and then lose traction or fail to form a loyal fan base for characters. “Shooting with restrictions, even outside of Maharashtra impacts the storyline and production values. Plus, we didn’t want to risk the lives of our cast and crew for a few episodes,” said the person, adding that the network chose to not shoot at all during the latest lockdown and will wait even now for more clarity from the government on restrictions in Maharashtra. “The absence of tent-pole properties and hit prime-time shows is the biggest challenge GECs are facing right now,” the person said.
Mansi Datta, chief…