Fast Forward

However,if Star World has its way,downloading or piracy would soon be a thing of the past. Its first major step in this direction is ‘Torrentz’. As part of this new initiative,the channel will air three brand new American shows — The Walking Dead,Detroit 1-8-7 and The Good Guys — from coming Saturday. The three shows,which premiered in the US less than six months ago,will fill the prime time weekend slots in India. Talking about the initiative,Saurabh Yagnik,the general manager and senior V-P of English channels of Star India Pvt Ltd,says,“With the growth of internet,the consumer is inevitably spoilt for choice. It is,therefore,imperative for us as broadcasters to satiate our viewers’ needs in order to discourage piracy.” This move would also help the channel beat the competition it is likely to face from Big CBS Prime — which promises to air American shows in Indian within 24 hours of its first telecast.

While it’s a fair attempt on the channel’s part to reduce piracy,few are willing to believe that it is an adequate measure. According to VJ Cyrus Sahukar,television audience downloads for three reasons: the convenience of watching shows at will; access to a wider variety and doing so free of charge. Personally,Sahukar does not have any moral reservations against downloading for the “convenience it offers”.

Media professional Deepak Rohatgi appreciates the move by Star World but isn’t convinced by it. He starts his day around noon but has no fixed time to return. After an exhausting day at work,the 33-year-old likes to unwind by watching his favourite shows. Only that My Name Is Earl,Fringe and Modern Family — currently his top three — do not air at a time convenient to Rohatgi. So he is a part of the billion-plus-strong Torrents community and prefers to download an entire series to watch it till he dozes off. “That way I don’t have to wait indefinitely to know what happens in the next season.”

Similarly,Ritu Sehgal,a third-year student at Mithibai College,feels that there are many other shows which are very popular abroad and should be shown in India. “These shows are getting good TRPs in the US,but there are numerous other,old ones such as Flight of the Conchords and Weeds,which people want to watch,” she quips. Though Zee Cafe,WB,AXN and FOX Crime show several old foreign series,they don’t take adequate steps to update their audience about latest seasons and shows.

Rohatgi and Sehgal may have a point. Most international shows don’t premiere on Indian television for at least a year after their American debut. Until recently,weekly American shows such as Lost,Heroes,Scrubs,Burn Notice and Two And A Half Men,were aired here only a couple of years later as dailies. Also,once a particular season of a show is over,there is no guarantee that the next season will be aired at all. For instance,NCIS season 1,2,and 3 were shown over a period of four years (instead of 3) whereas season 4 was never aired on Star World. Now,two years hence,it is being aired on AXN.

Despite these concerns,Yagnik is confident of the channel’s new programming plan,which will be a mix of both old but popular and fresh content. “We have strategic tie-ups with multiple studios in place. Our programming plan is to telecast the older,more familiar content on weekdays as dailies whereas the new shows will be reserved for weekend viewing when most of our audience can make time to accommodate them in their schedule,” he says,adding that the repeats of the shows will be accommodated across various time bands.

However,Sahukar feels that a channel alone cannot change the situation. “It makes sense to use a combination of strategies,such as also launching legal DVDs at a reasonable price. When the production house brought Lost into the Indian market,all my friends who followed the show picked up the set — it was a mere Rs 2,000.” Television host Rannvijay agrees. An ardent opposer of piracy,he adds,“To have an online channel where one can stream shows as per convenience at a monthly rent would be a great option too.”