Due to low success rate of comedy shows, advertisers tread with scepticism: Colors TV’s Alok Jain

The president of general entertainment, Viacom18, speaks about how the channel finally found the right recipe for a successful comedy show.

At a time when reality shows on television are grappling with low viewership and poor ratings, Colors TV seems to have found the recipe for success with its show Laughter Chefs. According to the Hindi General Entertainment Channel (GEC), the comedy show is among the highest-rated on television and is also a popular show on JioCinema. The channel claims that it currently draws 13.6 crore viewers on TV and digital platforms and achieved a rating of 1.8 in July. On social media it has a reach of 978 million, with 2.2 billion impressions and 966 million views on digital.

Hosted by Bharti Singh, along with celebrity chef Harpal Singh Sokhi, the show is set in a chaotic kitchen and features Krushna Abhishek and Sudesh Lehri, among others.

After Sony TV took The Kapil Sharma Show off the air in 2023, many channels have attempted to fill the void for a comedy reality show, but with little success.

Alok Jain, president of general entertainment, Viacom18, says comedy is a challenging genre to master, as it requires finding the right formula that resonates with audiences. However, channels continue to experiment with it, as it is an essential genre for consumers.

“From a consumer perspective, comedy holds significant value. Over the past decade, across networks, nine comedy shows have been attempted. This shows its importance to the consumer,” he says.

The scarcity of successful content in this space also makes it a preferred genre for advertisers. However, they tread with scepticism. Jain notes that, given the low success rate of comedy shows, advertisers are often hesitant to commit, preferring to wait until a show has proven its success.

“Despite this, comedy offers a unique opportunity for advertisers because it creates a positive and engaging environment, which is ideal for brand association. Family-friendly humour, in particular, is valuable as it fosters a safe and welcoming atmosphere for audiences. While advertisers recognise the potential, their excitement is often tempered by caution,” he says.

The channel encountered hesitation when it pitched this show to advertisers. Although this is fundamentally a comedy show with cooking only used as a prop, it primarily attracted cooking-related brands like Rajdhani Besan, Vim, Yippee Noodles, Kent RO, and Silver Coin Atta.

“We initially faced challenges due to the inherent risk of a comedy show. As a result, we found that cooking-related brands, like groceries and flours, were more comfortable coming on board, thinking that even if the comedy didn’t resonate, the cooking aspect might still attract viewers. But the brand categories that work well for major shows like Bigg Boss are also effective here,” he says.

However, the show does not create separate episodes for TV and digital or have distinct brand sponsorships for each. It offers an integrated package, ensuring that brands receive viewership across both platforms. Increasingly, the channel wants to move in this direction because the audience is present on both TV and digital platforms, and they’re often the same people.

Jain says the categorisation of viewers into separate buckets—TV audiences and digital audiences—is unnecessary. In reality, consumers don't live like that. They switch seamlessly between platforms, spending time on social media, OTT platforms, and TV. The idea that there's a strict divide between TV and digital viewers is outdated.

“Even in tier 2 and tier 3 towns, people are active on social media. So if 70% of the audience is using all these mediums, we should create content that spans across them. It's less about categorising by platform and more about understanding the nature of the content—some content is for individual viewing, while other content is for families. We need to evolve our approach to ensure that the same content crosses all platforms effectively,” he says.

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The show also enjoys immense popularity on social media, where its clips are widely circulated. This not only promotes the show but also the brands featured in it, as they are seamlessly integrated into the content. Jain jokes that for advertisers, it is a “Buy 2, Get 1 Free” offer as it reaches a much wider audience on social media.

While the 1.8 rating is a remarkable feat for Colors, as very few reality shows have managed to cross 1.5 in recent years, the numbers pale in comparison to pre-COVID-19 years. For example, media reports suggest that Bigg Boss 13 (2019) had an average TRP of 2.1-2.5 every week.

In the past, advertisers have also raised concerns about the declining viewership of these reality shows.

While Jain agrees that television viewership has declined, he says that when it comes to major shows, the network measures viewership across both TV and digital platforms.

“We look at the combined performance, which gives us a clear picture of how well the show is doing. While advertisers may have concerns, television remains the most efficient way to reach a mass audience. The cost per viewer and overall reach are still most effective on TV. Although there are challenges, viewing the platforms together helps us strategise better. For instance, when it comes to running non-fiction properties, which are typically more expensive, we're focused on how to effectively broadcast them across multiple platforms, not just one,” he says.

Initially, the show aired on Saturdays and Sundays at 9:30 pm. However, in August, it was moved to Thursdays and Fridays at 10 pm to accommodate Khatron Ke Khiladi. Jain says that although the shift was a significant gamble, it has not impacted viewership.

“We initially expected a dip. Indian viewers are traditionally more comfortable watching non-fiction on weekends. Moving a successful show to a weekday slot at a later time was risky, especially for a non-fiction comedy show. However, the results have exceeded our expectations. This success proves that if you create good content, consumers will follow. It’s a reminder that audiences are eager for quality content,” he says.