"The entire English entertainment category has woken up": Ferzad Palia, Viacom18

Big budget international shows are emerging as channel drivers for the segment which is trying hard to attract viewers through fresh content.

Binge-watching of entire new seasons of new shows, 'simulcasts' with international airings, A-list movie stars on the small screen -- these are some measures being taken by the English entertainment genre to draw in viewers, many of whom are known to watch a lot of this content online. Farzad Palia, head of the English cluster at the Viacom18 Network, gives us his inputs on the goings-on in this segment. Edited Excerpts:

US-simulcasts and binge-watching -- how have these programming decisions worked out? What programming trends do you see shaping up in the next few months?

We launched with the concept of 'Essential Viewing' when we aired three back-to-back episodes of fresh content which matched the way viewers were consuming content across platforms. Next, we aired big and new shows just 12 hours after their US telecast -- a landmark move in programming for the English entertainment genre. We had our first-ever home-grown English music talent hunt 'The Stage', and in another industry first, we introduced the concept of a Live Binge, where we aired all 10 episodes of a season of Mad Dogs for the first time ever, along with its US digital airing. The response for all were phenomenal with viewers happily giving up the habit of downloading illegally as they could now watch these shows in High Definition (HD), with Dolby surround sound, on a large screen.

With international TV shows going big on scale of production, content, visual aesthetics and movie stars, how has the English entertainment viewership in India been affected?

India, which has the second largest English-speaking population, has young and restless viewers who are forever connected and demanding great content. There was a dearth of good content on English television in the Indian TV space. What was available to them were re-runs of old shows and outdated content. With Colors Infinity coming in, we've seen a much more involved viewer who can now watch the best and freshest content in real time. The entire category has woken up.

Will you increase local content?

Local programming in the English language, both in fiction and non-fiction, will definitely be the next big thing in the English GEC space as it is more relatable to a broader base of viewership. And, given the success of 'The Stage', the genre will be a focus area for us as well.

The growth of the genre is mostly attributed to the rise of the English-speaking population in smaller cities. Besides this, what else could propel growth for this segment?

While one of the biggest reasons is the growth in the English-speaking population, it is not the only reason. In addition to that, the kind of content available has seen a marked change. It has become bigger and better, to an extent to where one can say that 'TV is the new movies', thus appealing to and attracting a larger section of viewers.

How will completion of digitisation impact the genre?

There is a great appetite for this content in the smaller markets. Phase three of digitisation will help the English genre and it will see a whole new set of viewers being added to the category, since the dependence on analog is all set to be history.

How does censorship affect new shows for which you would've had reasonable acquisition costs?

It doesn't. Since inception we have been aware of what the regulations and laws are, and we abide by them. There are very few shows that require heavy censoring. There are markets which are regulated far more strictly.

The English entertainment viewer in India is likely to watch content both on Netflix and television. How would you address overlapping shows?

In India, television has a wider reach than most other platforms. It has penetrated to over 168 million households. And, with the advent of digitisation and syndication, it has become the most popular platform across the nation. The cost of a Netflix subscription is equal to or more than the premium HD pack of cable or DTH platform. Thus, while the digital players and television will co-exist, the latter is still the more accessible and easily available platform. Remember, India is a very price-sensitive market.

Industry experts views on the English entertainment genre:

Navin Khemka, managing partner, Maxus, says, "English content is gaining wider acceptability especially with sub-titles, on most channels. Overall viewerships have, however, fragmented with the entrance of many new channels in this space. Currently it is about individual shows, which have become channel drivers, such as Masterchef Australia, Quantico, and Pretty Little Liars. Bollywood actor Priyanka Chopra in Quantico has set the benchmark for bigger things to come for the Indian viewer. Also, international events like the Grammy Awards and the Oscars are able to generate good hype and tune-ins. While pricing is at a premium and will continue to be so for some time, HD is gaining a rapid share of wallet."

Khemka further adds that local content is a step in the right direction. "Stand-up comedy, theatre, debates, and reality are genres that will get sampled in local content," says Khemka.

On digitisation, he adds, "Digitisation helps in bucketing all channels together in a bouquet. But, once they are stacked up together it's really the content that will rule irrespective of the market."

Commenting on how the genre is doing in terms of advertising, Rahul Jadhav, national trading head, MEC, says, "The English entertainment genre, has always been chosen in media plans for affinity, relevance and at times, frequency (as the entry cost is lower) as opposed to GRPs. This genre is also an appropriate platform as it targets a specific set of audience which is of interest to certain brands. In the last couple of years, media owners have upped-the-ante in terms of content acquisition and simulcast of fresh content. Given the evolution of consumers, they are no longer keen to wait to see great content after some three-six months of its debut on international television."

On brand pull, Jadhav adds that English entertainment has found its space regularly in the plans of e-comm advertisers and app advertisers. "These categories are especially the driving growth of this genre, but the upgrade is seen mainly in some individual shows and not much in regular programming," he says.