New show launches on hold for Zee, other broadcasters as COVID-19 disrupts shoots

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26 Aug, 2025 12:21

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Severe restrictions imposed by many states to combat the pandemic has disrupted shooting schedules of TV serials, prompting some broadcasters to defer new programmes and beam old comedy or mythological shows, like they did last year after the strict, countrywide lockdown.

Broadcasters activated contingency plan when the lockdown in Maharashtra halted shooting of TV serials, web series and films, but there are mounting concerns about content production, particularly when restrictions are being imposed in alternative locations also, and members of the production team or the cast are getting infected.

While discussing the FY21 fourth-quarter results, Rohit Gupta, Chief Financial Officer, Zee, said the company had contingency plans in place for shooting in case lockdowns were implemented.

“We were able to execute those (plans) in Hindi and Marathi markets. These channels have been able to continue with original programming since the lockdown was announced in Maharashtra. However, such mitigation strategy might not work now in some markets as more states have announced lockdowns and there might not be feasible locations where shoots can be shifted,” he said.

Other broadcasters are also facing similar challenges.

Shooting has been disrupted even of shows which moved location from Maharashtra to other places like Goa, Tamil Nadu due to lockdown.

For a large non-fiction regional show, shooting came to a halt when few people in the cast and crew tested positive for COVID-19. Another regional non-fiction show has pulled the plug as a precautionary measure.

These uncertainties forced broadcasters review plans for launching new shows.

Punit Goenka, CEO of Zee Entertainment, told analysts after March-quarter results that while the company was planning to get more programming in, the pandemic had posed challenges. "The mitigation plan was only for what's on air. Therefore, new show plans have taken a little bit of a hit."

Talking to Moneycontrol, Mautik Tolia, Managing Director, Bodhi Tree Multimedia, a production house that has produced over 30 shows, said, "New show launches are being planned but they may take more time to launch considering the restricted shooting environments."

Bijal Shah, Head, Corporate Strategy, FPA and Investor Relations, Zee, said that in the current situation, it would be difficult to broadcast original content beyond a point.

"Whole of south there is kind of lockdown so taking whole of cast and crew is not possible at this point of time as there is no nearby location. We do have original content from 20th to 30th (May) depending on the market and till then we will continue to telecast original episodes. And when we go to Bengali market we have original till 25th (May). So, if lockdown extends beyond 25th (May) in some of the markets we might have to pull back original programming for a while.

Other broadcasters like Sony and Star Plus are seeing disruptions too.

According to a report, Star Plus has postponed two of its shows which may launch in July this year. As for Sony, while most of the work is done for its upcoming show Kuch Pyaar Ke Rang Aise Bhi Season 3, the wait is to begin shooting in Mumbai which currently is on halt.

Due to the uncertainties around content production, some of the channels have already started offering old mythological and comedy shows. TV audiences may have to see a repeat of last year when shows like Mahabharat and Ramayan kept viewers entertained.

And then there's also animated content which has seen little to no disruption in production.

"With the second wave, we don’t see too much disruption in the animation space owing to the lack of a live set, and ease of working with social distancing," said Anish Mehta, CEO, Cosmos Maya.

The studio recently released new show LambuG TinguG on Pogo and another show called Dabangg.

While the kids genre may not be facing disruption thanks to animated content, GECs have challenges ahead of them due to the second wave of COVID-19.