Net Gain

Written by PriyankaPereira

October 5, 2009 05:26 AM IST

4 min read

The glory days of Indian television in the late 80s and early 90s had streets deserted,cabinet meetings rescheduled and wedding venues with screens set up for guests so that no one would miss the popular soaps that were telecast without re-runs then. Cut to todaytelevision has undergone the biggest revolution. Next time you miss an episode of your favourite show there is no need to fret. You can catch it on the official website of the channel just a few hours after the broadcast. Moreover,you can also record it and watch it at your convenience.

Channels,which earlier guarded their content carefully,also seem to be enjoying the benefits of this newfound medium which allows them to cater to more audiences. Gaurav Gandhi,EVP business operations and content sales,NDTV Imagine,states the main reason for introducing this trend was to counter piracy. There is rampant piracy on the net. Footages of our shows are available on various websites. So it was a far better option to stream content and gives our viewers a chance to watch it on our websites legitimately.

Shows like Bandini,Palkon Ko Chaaon Main and Basera are currently online as are older shows like Radhaa Ki Betiyaan and Rakhi Ka Swayamvar which can be downloaded. Sunil Bohra,producer of Seeta aur Geeta,one of the shows available online,agrees that there is an ever-increasing online video consumption among viewers looking for quality content and hence online content gets noticed easily. This way we can be at the forefront and provide viewers with whatever content and whenever they require it.

While popular Hindi channels like Star Plus,Colors and NDTV Imagine stream shows to cater to more audiences,for MTV,it is not a matter of choice,after all. Anuj Poddar,senior vice president,strategy and business development,Viacom 18,states,When people log on to our website to watch shows,they would definitely look for interactivity and other such forums. Along with streaming shows we have introduced chats with contestants of shows like Roadies and Splitsvilla and related games. Poddar also informs us about the upcoming Bigg Boss season 3,which will also be streamed online along with all the behind-the-scenes action,uncut videos and a virtual tour of the house.

But viewers arent a happy lot currently,what with the difficulty they are facing with downloading the shows. Ritu Das,who regularly uses the Internet,feels the broadband connections in India do not suit the trend. It takes ages to download a particular episode of Meera or Bidaai because of the slow connections. Re-runs on television are a better option, she says.

But Gandhi puts forth his point of view. While it is also for audiences in India,streaming shows online is mainly for Indians settled abroad in countries like UK,USA,Australia and South Africa where there is a very high demand for Indian shows.

But doesnt this mean that by streaming free shows one loses out on revenues,especially when the production houses arent generating major businesses? The content available on the net is free for the consumers but it is ad-supported for us. When one starts viewing content,advertisements are rolled at regular intervals. The consumer can only watch the entire episode for free only if he sits through the ads. The net provides alternate revenue and in turn helps the channel increase its revenue and profits, says Gandhi.