SAB continues experiment with 8 pm slot

SAB launches its fourth show in the past eight months on the 8 pm slot. If considered since the launch of I Love My India in February 2012, SAB has also already invested in shows like Bhai Bhaiya Brother and Golmaal Hai Bhai Sab Golmaal Hai.

Multi Screen Media's second general entertainment channel, SAB TV has launched a new character, a child superhero called Baal Veer, in an attempt to pull the younger audience. The channel has also announced the launch of two new shows in the coming quarter, one of them being the second season of the popular silent comedy, Gutar Gu.

The channel recently launched two new shows, Jeanie aur Juju (remake of an international format) and Waah Waah kya Baat Hai (first non-fiction show of the channel).

Earlier, SAB had two magic-based shows, Gilli Gilli Gappa and Ring Wrong Ring, which were launched together. Both garnered TVRs in the range of 1.

Baal Veer, to be launched on October 8, is the story of a child with supernatural powers bestowed on him by 13 fairies from fairyland. It narrates the tale of the fight between two fantasy worlds, a negative (bhayankar-stan) and a positive (pari-stan). Baal Veer, however, stays on earth in a joint family.

The show uses a lot of graphics with a combination of animation and real action. Anooj Kapoor, executive vice-president and business head, SAB TV says that the production cost of the show is similar to that of other shows as most of the 3D show sets are shot in chroma and the editing is done later. Thus, the cost is not recurring.

Kapoor adds that even amidst all the launches and shut downs of the shows, where the total GRPs for the channel stays at 131 for the current week (4+ HSM), the GRP for the kids' segment stays at 186 points (4-14 years, HSM). This segment, he says, will be tapped through this show.

Also, he states that the audiences generally watch the channel 8:30 pm onwards, as all the other time slots garner better ratings. He adds, "With Ball Veer on-board, we expect kids to behave as engines to drag the families to tune in to SAB TV, right from 8 pm."

It may be noted that the channel has been trying new shows and plots on the 8 pm time band for quite some time. To consider the current year, SAB unexpectedly axed four of its shows to give way to this, the fifth show on the time slot. The shows that have been cut include Chintu Chinki aur Ek Badi Si Love Story (August, 2011 to February, 2012), I Love My India (February 2012 to May 2012), Bhai Bhaiya Brother (May, 2012 to August, 2012) and Golmaal Hai Bhai Sab Golmaal Hai (August 2012 to October 8, 2012).

The channel has launched a marketing campaign extended across various media platforms. For the next two weeks, the promos will run on 15 channels with 8-10 spots each. The OOH will be extended across 65 cities in the country.

Interestingly, the channel has launched a game on Facebook, named SABurbia. The game features the characters from different shows on the channel. Baal Veer, too, will find a place in this game soon.

Apart from this, the channel has confirmed the launch of the second season of Gutar Gu, the first popular silent comedy fiction show on Indian television. The show is expected to hit the screens tentatively in November, 2012. It will reportedly feature the same star cast.