Star Jalsha banks on non-fiction

The channel is looking at non-fiction programming to amp up its Sunday evening slots.

Star Jalsha, the Bengali GEC from Star India, has been gaining stride in the non-fiction space. The channel claims that three of its non-fiction shows, launched in May 2015, are now leading this category, based on the recent weekly ratings (BARC – WK 31- CS F 15+ NCCS A,B,C). 'Ebar Jalsha Rannaghare', a cookery show, has been rising up the charts among non-fiction shows in the Bengali entertainment genre, followed by celebrity game show 'Bhyabachaka' and the comedy-oriented 'I Laugh U 3'.

Of the three shows, one is adapted from an international format, while the other two are home-grown. The format of 'Bhyabachaka' is based on the game show 'Disturb' from UK, while the cookery show has Jalsha stars sharing recipes along with tips on latest fashion trends, breaking away from the set cookery show format. 'I Laugh U 3' is an old Star Jalsha format with a fresh revamp. Among competitors, Zee Bangla's 'Didi No. 1' has been doing well in this sub-category.

All the three shows air on Sundays in the 7 pm to 10 pm slot. According to the channel, Sunday was an underexploited segment. A spokesperson from Star India says, "It mostly had repeats of fiction shows and movies. We identified this need-gap, and studies showed us that non-fiction content fits this gap well. So, we aimed to create appointment viewing."

With the success of these properties, Star Jalsha will be launching an array of non-fiction shows catering to its Sunday audience. It has also decided to come with a Festive Special 'Ebar Jalsha Rannaghare', a 60-minute format, to get advertisers to tap into the festive spending in Bengal.

The channel will also be launching another format driven game show, 'Amra Na Ora', based on 'Push the Button', another game show from UK, which will be produced by Fremantle. It will feature Star Jalsha 'show families' fighting it out to win.

The spokesperson adds that the recent success in non-fiction has made Star Jalsha even more committed to this category, and several non-fiction shows are in the pipeline.