|
|
|
THE FAILURE OF ZEE'S SAWAAL DUS CRORE KA
Case Code- BSTR004
Publication Date -2001
FLOP SHOW
THE STAR OFFENSIVE-KBC
THE ZEE DEFENSIVE - SDCK
KBC's success changed the ground rules in the TRP race between the television
channels. Zee TV had to pool all its resources to combat the effect of KBC. Zee
even changed the timings of its popular prime time soaps.
|
|
To lure back the audience lost due to the KBC effect, Zee launched its Malamaal9 interactive contest. However, the promotion did not do the trick for
Zee, and the KBC menace continued to eat into its TRP ratings and ad revenues.
It was at this time that Zee TV decided that it had to come out with a
program, which could match KBC. Thus was born Sawal Dus Crore Ka (SDCK).
Zee seemed to have hit the wrong note from the very beginning, when it decided
to make SDCK a replica of KBC with Anupam Kher and Manisha Koirala as anchors.
To lure away KBC viewers, Zee decided to feed on their greed by offering prize
money of Rs 100 million to the winner, as against KBC's Rs 10 million, giving
the show a tremendous response initially.
SDCK had inaugural TRP ratings of 7.9 when it was launched in October 2000.
However, it slipped down to 3.7 within 3 weeks. During the same period, KBC
moved up from 9.3 to 10.5. SDCK was never able to reach the rating of its
inaugural show in its short lifespan.
|
|
SDCK failed to sustain the viewer's interest in the show from the very
beginning. Also, its anchors could not match the charisma and screen presence of
Amitabh Bachchan. SDCK was aired on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 8:30 to
9:30 p.m. putting it in direct competition with KBC, which was aired on all
weekdays, except on Friday10 , between 9:00 and 10:00 p.m.
Media analysts commented that SDCK had failed to capture the imagination of the
audience. The me-too image of the show was seen as a major hindrance to its
popularity. SDCK sets looked similar to KBC's with the same seating arrangement
and similar blue lighting. But there were undefined arches under which the
contestants seemed to disappear. Even the audience section was badly lit.
On the program content front, SDCK's elimination rounds were confusing - making
things long and dull for the viewers. The language of the questions seemed to be
complicated to the viewers. It seemed as if even simple questions were
complicated, and this seemed to create confusion in the minds of the audience.
Instead of the 'three lifelines' of KBC, SDCK had three trumps; instead of 'lock
kiya jaye,' it was 'freeze kiya jaye.' 11
There seemed to be no spontaneity in the show as the anchors failed to strike a
comfortable relationship with the participants. Lack of a healthy working
relationship between the two anchors also marred the show. Some analysts felt
that the presence of two anchors created confusion. Viewers seemed to be
irritated when both anchors spoke at the same time. Gajendra Singh, Director,
SDCK commented, "They had massive ego clashes and I think it showed on screen."
The anchors failed to win over the audience, whereas KBC's anchor, with his
immense popularity, had completely won over the viewers. There was an also lot
of audience interaction in KBC, which seemed to be missing in SDCK.
Before launching KBC, Star Plus had spent months preparing Amitabh Bachchan for
the show. However, according to Anupam Kher, they could not rehearse for even
three weeks before the shooting of the show commenced.
Meanwhile, KBC gave SDCK a tough time by airing 'special' shows with Bollywood
celebrities on the occasion of Diwali and New Year.
Considering the show's miserable TRP ratings, and the fact that it was drawing
flak from all quarters, Zee TV announced the termination of its contracts with
both Anupam Kher and Manisha Koirala after 26 shows were aired. It said it was
doing this because the poor working relationship between the two had affected
the show badly. The channel also announced that it was discontinuing the present
format of SDCK. It said it planned to re-launch the show with new anchors after
re-conceptualising and re-formatting it. Media reports indicated that Zee TV had
actually worked out on an altogether new format12 with a mega-appeal
interface between anchor and the contestant.
However, the rising popularity of another game show, this time on Sony, named 'Jeeto
Chappar Phad Ke,' (JCPK)13 forced Zee to scrap SDCK permanently.
More>>
REALITY BITES
[9] Malamaal involved two questions a day based on two prime time
serials. The first question, put out at
8.15 p.m., was about the serial being aired at 9
p.m., while the second one, at 8.55 p.m., was on the 9.30
p.m. soap. Viewers could leave their answers at
the designated call center numbers till midnight. Two
winners were announced the next day and each one
won one lakh rupees.
[10] Recently KBC had been aired only on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
[11] Lifelines/Trumps were given to contestants to help them answer
questions with external help. Locking/
Freezing were terms used to
register the final answer with the computer.
[12] The new format was to have five contestants, instead of the earlier
twenty-one and the concept of
lifelines was also changed. Contestants
were to be given a chance to select a subject of their choice from
six categories, namely, history, mythology,
films, music, science and general knowledge as subject of
their choice.
[13] JCPK was launched in January 2001, with popular Bollywood actor
Govinda as anchor. It was aired only on
weekends to avoid direct competition with
KBC. The anchor's immense popularity and the interesting
modifications in the original KBC format
were largely responsible for JCPK's success.
2001, ICMR (IBS Center for Management Research).All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted
in any form or by any means - electronic or mechanical, without permission.
To order copies, call +91- 8417- 236667 or write to ICMR,
Survey No. 156/157, Dontanapalli Village, Shankerpalli Mandal,
Ranga Reddy District,
Hyderabad-501504.
Andhra Pradesh, INDIA.
Ph: +91- 8417- 236667,
Fax: +91- 8417- 236668
E-mail: info@icmrindia.org
Website: www.icmrindia.org
This case study is intended to be used as a basis for class discussion rather
than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a management
situation. This case was compiled from published sources.
|
More Classifications...