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Subhankar Padhi | IIM S
KBC will live up to the expectations:
“Kaun banega crorepati” unveiled a new era in the history of Indian television with its launch in the year 2000.The prospect of earning one crore, generated a euphoric response among the Indian audience, who had never dreamt that such recognition could be achieved through 15 questions. Even a person who got a chance to share the hot seat with superstar Amitabh Bacchan was catapulted to a new level of fame. The first edition of KBC ran into 270 episodes and generated a skyrocketing TRP of 14.1.The subsequent series did not perform that well and Sharukh Khan in KBC 3 could not match upto the standards set by Big B. But things are looking for a turnaround this year. Multi Screen Media has bought the telecast rights of KBC and is quite confident of the TRPs. With over 50 lakh applications within a month and more than half of advertising slots of MSM sold out at a higher premium, KBC 4 has already got the Indian viewers hooked.
Further there have been certain changes in the format of the show. The numbers of questions have been reduced to 12 with the first 7 having a time limit of 30 seconds. There will be the option of videoconferencing with experts in place of “phone a friend”. But the number of channels has increased three times in the last 10 years. After IPL, vanilla talent shows peppered with celebrity judges have captured significant hours on prime time. Hence KBC has to have a differential advantage with improved program quality and should choose a telecast slot wisely. However with a launch amidst Diwali and Dussehera, KBC 4 will create an impact and an education obsessed India will help it sustain the same. Can’t wait for the charismatic showman to begin the show.
Counter-View
Aswin Sambamurthy | IIM B
Five crore rupees await the genius gene who is lucky enough to participate in and talented enough to win the fourth season of Kaun Banega Crorepati. As the game begins, many wonder if this can replicate the magic of the seasons of yore.
KBC3, despite having SRK, was a letdown according to not just me, but also the TRP ratings. The fourth season of KBC, I suspect, will join the league of TV shows that tried too much and failed.
Agreed that quizzing is always good... It is, to some people, an addiction. But KBC, over the 3 seasons, have become more star-centric than quiz-centric, with SRK’s version topping it all; add to it the seven sets of celebrity participants in the three month season. Season 4 is expected to be no different, with the show organizers reportedly planning to throw in SRK, Abhishek, Ash and many more celebrities to make it a heady cocktail - with which they expect to keep TV viewers on a perennial high.
My personal view is that the show’s success and TRPs in the first two seasons were not because of SRK, Amitabh or the celebrities. It was because people saw the chance for a common man to become rich overnight. While that is still the USP of the show, the ability to relate to the guy on screen somehow went down, particularly in the third season – and with it, the TRPs. Coming back to Season 4, judging by the fifty lakh SMS registrations so far, there is still hope for Sony Television... but unless they realise who the star of the show actually is, they’re not getting anywhere.
I am not saying that this season will be a flop (financially or otherwise). I am only saying that KBC4 has a good chance to fail in its attempt.
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