The 1990s and 2000s were the golden age of Indian television in terms of nationwide reach and viewership. Even as purists argued about the supposed drop in quality of the shows, major TV serials regularly enjoyed double-digit TRPs. In contrast, shows today, across networks, struggle to even reach 3 in TRP ratings. Ravi Adhikari of Sri Adhikari Brothers chalks this decline to the emergence of streaming and the gradual shift of audience preferences. In a candid chat with Hindustan Times, the TV producer and studio head opens up on the evolution of TV in India.
‘TV is going now’
Sri Adhikari Brothers was at the forefront of the boom of Indian TV in the 90s with shows such as Shrimaan Shrimati, Yes Boss, and Suraag. Talking about the contrasting state of TV from the 90s and 2020s, Ravi, the Managing Director of SAB, says “TV is actually going now because there are no advertisers coming on. It is on a decline. (There is) 50 to 60% drop in advertising. Advertisers are moving because there are more opportunities or more reach on digital, which is much more economically viable. Nobody is putting in money here.”
Ravi adds that TV’s decline is related to the boom of smartphones and streaming. “Jitna smartphone aage jayega, jitna data aur consumable hoga, utna log uski taraf move karenge (The more the smartphone takes centre stage, data will be consumed and people will move to streaming). And lot of TV content is also being consumed on OTT now, on the platforms, not on the channels.”
The producer adds that the audience for TV has not gone anywhere. They have just shifted media. “Ek way mein TV audience nahi ja raha hai, TV ka audience OTT pe shift ho raha hai (TV is not going, but the TV audience is shifting to OTT). There, it is not an appointment view. TV is still there, but from the satellite cable operator se we are moving towards OTT where I am free to watch according to my time, or according to my comfort,” he explains.
‘TV has ruined its name’
Ravi adds that the quality of content on television in the last two decades has also turned off some of the viewers, who look at streaming as ‘superior’. He says, “TV ka ek way mein naam kharab hua hai (TV has ruined its name) for the kind of content it shows, but at end of the day, audience watches it. But what OTT has given us is, makers is a freedom of to tell your stories in the way you want to say, or say it in a different way. OTT has given a space in between cinema theater in a longer format of 8-10 episodes, where we can churn out a lot of things and tracks, with sound budgets.”