Sony SAB is scaling new heights despite strong competition, 'threat' from OTTs

Television viewership rose by 7.2 percent to 836 million in 2018, according to a BARC India survey report released in July last year. These numbers are an indicator of the popularity of television programmes/ channels among viewers.

2018 turned out to be a strong year for Sony SAB as the channel registered strong growth numbers. In its effort to stay ahead of the curve, the general entertainment channel (GEC) is exploring new themes like a dramedy, horror comedy and fantasy. It is also launching a whole variety of new shows in 2019.

Neeraj Vyas, Business Head, Sony SAB and PAL speaks to Moneycontrol about viewership growth of Sony SAB in 2018, key television trends in 2018, and whether over the top (OTT) platforms pose a threat to television.

Q. How impactful has been Sony SAB's Haste Raho India campaign. How much has it benefited the channel?

A. From a brand standpoint, Haste Raho India has clearly defined the way forward for Sony SAB. It is the only channel in the space which offers entertainment that is emotionally gratifying for the audience and with the promise that we will always provide value based entertainment with ‘happiness’ at the heart of it.

In today’s television programming, where most of the shows have similar concepts, where you have one singing show followed by 10 others, one dance show followed by 10 others, one Naagin followed by millions of Dayans and Chudails, we completely stand apart in our content. We don’t look like anybody, we don’t pretend to copy anyone, we are unique in the way we operate, which has essentially been because of the fact that we look at content through the lens of positivity and happiness.

Q. How was the Haste Raho campaign perceived by the advertisers? Are more brands willing to be associated with the channel?

A. Since the time we embarked on the new journey of the new Sony SAB, we have clearly dispelled this thing about SAB being a brand for a slightly older audience.

Our campaign, at that point of time, was followed up with shows which were meticulously planned in terms of the kind of content we wanted to put out – be it Tenali Rama, Aladdin or even a Jijaji Chhat Per Hain. We had younger protagonists and we had stories viewers could relate to.

There has been a huge shift in the way that audiences have now started perceiving SAB, and I think this has been our single biggest achievement in the past year. We saw the brand count go up from 202 to almost 235 and a lot of youth brands which, at some point in time, stayed away from SAB have all come flocking back. Therefore, there has been a huge amount of confidence in the new Sony SAB.

Q. Will the channel's content offering go beyond comedy?

A. That is exactly what we have set out to do! ‘Comedy’ in itself is a very restrictive term and you end up being seen in a zone where you are essentially creating hit-and-miss sitcoms. You don’t really get to tell linear stories of linear characters with linear arcs.

All of this is something we have challenged and changed. Aladdin, for example, is a show that you would never have seen on SAB two years back. Similarly, Tenali Rama, which has a history associated with it, or Beechwale which showcases the world from the lens of a common man, were not popular on SAB earlier.

We want to move beyond the word ‘comedy’ and delve into the world of fun and happiness. We believe that with fun and happiness, there are a lot more stories that we can tell, a lot more characters that we can talk about, create a lot more shows which are identifiable with the lives of common people and create more gratification for the viewers.

Q. Tell us about the viewership growth in 2018?

A. Despite the fact that we are the ones with the least amount of programming hours, our time spent has always been in the top three channels. That lends a lot of credibility to the idea that SAB has a set of audience which has been extremely loyal, particularly in a year where a lot of fluctuations were recorded vis-a-vis ratings and we have stood firm.

We may not be right up there because we do not cater to all and sundry in terms of our content and we are not as massy as some of the other GECs. We are happy with that as it is entirely a part of the strategy, but we have been extremely consistent with our growth across markets and in the region that we planned.

Among NCCS AB 15+, Sony SAB was the highest audience coverage gainer. The audience coverage increased from 36 million to 38 million over the last year. During the same duration, Sony SAB saw a 10 percent increase in the time spent from 110 minutes to 121 minutes. Among young male audiences, between ages 15 to 21, SAB leads the charts with a viewership of 31 million.

Q. Talking about 2018, what were the key trends last year?

A. I think MRP and the new regime is clearly going to dictate a lot of reality. This means a lot of our business will go back to being B2C, i.e. we will have to keep talking to the consumer; we will have to know them better because it is the consumer who is now going to make the choice. Therefore, that’s almost like a reset button that’s being pressed as far as our industry is concerned.

Our distribution system has always been through various channels. We have not really spoken directly to the consumer beyond a certain point, but that is set to change in a very dramatic way.

Channels, which have a distinctive flavor of their own, will be the only ones to survive. Cloning shows is not the solution. Channels will have to create shows that stand for something and can be easily identified with the brand, more than anything else. Therefore, that is one reality which is here to stay, and SAB is brilliantly poised with this reality because we are the most distinct and unique channel in the entire mix.

I wanted to call ourselves a ‘GEC’ but I think we are a GHC- 'General Happiness Channel’. Secondly, I think content is increasingly going to be platform-agnostic, which means that your show could be viewed across not just television, but could be across any OTT app at any given point of the day. So, considering this, one will now have to create content, which fits happily across all possible platforms.

Q. Are OTTs a threat to television?

A. As of today, television is in a much bigger space considering its penetration of close to 66% of Indian homes, which is a massive number given the complexities of India.

However, having said that, do take into consideration the fact that internet and data is getting cheaper and more and more smartphones are being used and sold. You will definitely see the internet reaching out to more and more people and content is going to be consumed at your own time. Nevertheless, both the mediums will happily coexist.