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Long ignored,the afternoon slot once again enjoys attention from channels and viewers
It was the raw appeal of soaps like Shanti and Swabhimaan in the early 90s that forced the audiences to forego their afternoon nap and switch on their television sets. While the former narrated the story of a girl in search of her father,the latter focused on
extramarital affairs. The boom in the afternoon time band followed with the satellite television era,with shows like Junoon,Kumkum,Shagun,Kesar and Gharana.
The original content in this time band earned a sizeable viewership and revenue for quite some time. Then the afternoon slot became reserved for re-runs of popular serials from the primetime slot with shows that adhered to family feuds and kitchen politics. For a few years now,channels have been following the tried and tested formula of running re-runs,but times are finally changing.
As a part of Colors afternoon primetime band Saanjhi Dopahar,the channel has introduced Agnipareeksha Jeevan Ki…Ganga which is the story of a girl who is ostracised by society as she is believed to be cursed and Aise Karo Na Vidaa,which tells the story of Reva who is raped by the prince of the land.
There were a couple of reasons for launching the afternoon slot. We wanted to expand the time band for original programming and we also wanted to deliver new shows to our afternoon audience,especially the housewives, says Ashvini Yardi,programming head,Colors. This is a continuation of Colors strategy of experimenting and trying to draw new viewers. Jaya Bhattacharya from Aise Karo also believes that the afternoon slot is important for a channels fortune. If an afternoon show is appreciated,audiences will tune in to the channel at primetime as well, she says.
Taking a cue is Star Plus which has revamped its Star Dopahar segment by introducing a show called Hamari Devrani and also moving their popular primetime shows like Tere Mere Sapne and Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat to the afternoon slots. We wanted the programmes to gain popularity at primetime. Once they managed to do so we shifted them to the afternoon slot. We knew our audiences would continue to watch them, says Vivek Bahl,executive creative director,Star Plus. He confirmed that this is not going to be their long-term strategy. We are going to focus more on developing original content only for the afternoon slot. Re-runs of primetime shows are telecast late night and early mornings. The afternoon slot is for the women in the house who,when done with their household chores,can relax.
Despite the resurrection of the afternoon slot,audiences feel a lack of soul in these shows. Shanti and Swabhimaan had memorable characters. The current ones focus on the sad state of women,which gets monotonous, says Kaveri Rao,a viewer. Paying heed to such complaints,SaharaOne is launching shows which have a compelling storyline but arent over-the-top. Mushtaq Sheikh,creative director,SaharaOne,says,Post IPL we plan to launch new shows in the afternoon segment. This slot hasnt been faring well for a while. We plan to create shows that will focus less on melodrama and more on content. The segment targeted at the ladies of the house must be worth their nap time.
And to cater to the audiences who do not particularly enjoy the daily soaps,Sony has introduced Hindi feature films as part of its afternoon programming. From Yash Chopra classics to Amitabh Bachchan and Aamir Khan blockbusters,Sony dishes out an elaborate cinema menu.
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