SATURDAY Special

Move over reality shows,viewers are lapping up 'Maha' episodes of their favourite daily soaps on weekends.

Move over reality shows,viewers are lapping up 8216;Maha8217; episodes of their favourite daily soaps on weekends.

Called the bread and butter of general entertainment channels,fiction is not only grabbing eyeballs but also giving reality shows a run for their huge money. If earlier,weekends were reserved only for reality shows and films,lately it is fiction thats drawing viewers in big numbers. Every Saturday,the top three channels air one-hour Maha episode of one of their popular weekday fiction shows. In the past one year,Balika Vadhu,Uttaran,Na Ana Is Des Laado,Pavitra Rishta,Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi Kijo,Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai,Choti Bahu,Sasural Genda Phool and Pratigya have had multiple Maha episodes. It started as a one-off experiment but has become a regular trend now. In fact,such is their popularity that the early prime-time is now exclusive reserved for these special episodes on Zee,Star Plus and Colors.

After watching fiction for five days,what draws viewers to special episodes on Saturday? One,there is huge hunger for fiction. Two,if there is a big revelation happening in the Maha episode then viewers are bound to lap it up, says Zees head of fiction Sukesh Motwani. Maha episodes are woven around a high point or major twist in the story that could be a revelation about a main characters secret or an engagement,marriage or mehndi ceremony accompanied by big celebration. The idea is to pack it with drama,action,song and dance to make it look like a big event, adds Sukesh.

Ratings prove that audiences response justifies why Saturday specials have become a trend. Many a time Maha episodes of Balika Vadhu,Pavitra Rishta,Laado,Bidaai,Uttaran,Yeh Rishta.. and Agle Janam.. have delivered more than 5 and 6-plus TVR,which is much higher than the ratings of reality shows of the past one year. Says Star Indias head of marketing Anupam Vasudev,Fiction on Saturdays gets higher ratings because apart from regular fiction viewers,lot of new viewers sample fiction on weekends which also helps drive weekday viewership for dailies. Apart from hunger for fiction and new viewers sampling it,there are other reasons too.

Since reality and non-fiction shows are not as hot as they were before,their numbers have come down. As a result,special episodes,which are executed like a big spectacle are being used by channels to hook viewers. Channels that dont have good weekend shows tend to bank on special episodes. For instance,Sony doesnt do too many Saturday specials because we have a good mix of fiction and non-fiction in Comedy Circus and CID, says the channels head of programming Ajay Bhalwankar.

Also,the advantage with fiction is that it comes cheap and doesnt require extra marketing and promotion. According to senior television professionals,while a one-hour non-fiction content costs about 40 to 50 lakh,a one-hour fiction episode costs Rs. 15 lakh. Thus,not only do channels save as much as Rs. 25 to 35 lakh per week,but Saturday specials also bring in a healthy mix of male and female viewers on weekends.