The decision by Hindi general entertainment channels (GECs) - Star Plus and Zee TV - to extend fiction programming to all seven days of the week is aimed at filling the Sunday prime-time slot with tried and tested shows. The move is expected to help Star Plus and Zee TV to fend off competition from Colors and Sony Entertainment Television (SET), which traditionally had strong non-fiction line-ups, particularly during the weekends.

Industry observers note non-fiction has not been an area of core strength for Star Plus and Zee TV, unlike Colors and SET, which have strong non-fiction franchises like 'Bigg Boss', 'Khatron Ke Khiladi', 'Kaun Banega Crorepati' and 'Indian Idol' among others. Since Star Plus and Zee TV are considered to have a strong footing in the fiction space, both channels were airing fiction shows six days a week.

Since 2nd October, Star Plus has been airing all its eight fiction shows - 'Anupama', 'Imlie', 'Ghum Hai Kisikey Pyaar Meiin', 'Yeh Hai Chahatein', 'Banni Chow Home Delivery', 'Pandya Store', 'Rajjo', and 'Anandibaa Aur Emily' - from Monday to Sunday. The channel's recently launched non-fiction show 'Ravivaar With Star Parivaar' has concluded after a successful inaugural season.

Zee TV has now followed suit by deciding to air its popular fiction shows - 'Meet', 'Main Hoon Aparajita', 'Pyaar Ka Pehla Naam Radha Mohan' and 'Bhagya Lakshmi' - seven days a week, starting October 16. The channel will air SaReGaMaPa Li'L Champs from October 15 during the weekend at 9pm.

Ormax Media Partner Keerat Grewal, who closely tracks the Hindi GEC space, noted that Star Plus has tried the seven-days-a-week fiction programming earlier too as weekend non-fiction has always been a challenge for the channel.

"This is a tactical move and it makes sense because it will help them to retain audiences. It's more so because they don't have anything in the pipeline with 'Ravivaar with Star Parivaar' getting over. The days of premiering films during the weekend are also long gone. Therefore, this was the natural step," she noted.

Grewal further stated that both channels don't want the competition to rule the rating charts during the weekend space. She believes that extending fiction shows to all seven days of the week is a more cost-effective strategy than investing in a high-cost non-fiction property at this stage.

"It's competitive right now and Star Plus did manage to have an edge over other channels and that's the reason they didn't want to allow other channels to gain the upper hand. I think they will get this going for the next three months till they get some new property for the weekend."

According to a top executive with a leading production house, the 7-days-a-week strategy is not a permanent one and should be looked at from the prism of revenue maximisation during the festive season. "This looks like a short-term strategy to pump up viewership. Both Star Plus and Zee TV are looking to get incremental reach during the weekend. Even if they manage to add 10-15 GRPs on Sundays it will help them to maximise their ad revenue," the executive said.

While stating that the seven-days-a-week programming is a common practice in regional markets, the executive said that this strategy was, however, not sustainable in the long run from a production point of view since the production crew and the star cast will have to work non-stop to deliver episodes on all 30 days of the month.

A veteran media executive noted that the strategy adopted by Star Plus and Zee TV will help them to stabilise the GRPs and improve profitability. "Having a healthy mix of fiction and non-fiction shows during the weekdays and weekends is an ideal strategy. However, if you are strong in the fiction space then having fiction programming from Monday to Sunday will help in retaining loyal viewers who would otherwise explore non-fiction content elsewhere," the media executive said.

He also stated that the move will be beneficial in the long run if the shows do well on the viewership front. "The ad revenue will increase in the long run due to growth in volumes. Plus, fiction shows can be produced at lower costs compared to non-fiction shows. So, this move will have a positive impact on both revenue and profitability in the long run," the media executive averred.

Giving a media agency's perspective, Ramsai Panchapakesan, Zenith SVP and National Head - Integrated Media Buying, said the overall TV GRPs have been shrinking. The drop in GRPs is considerably higher during the prime time, which brings 65-70% of revenue for the channels, he added. The demand for GRPs among advertisers is increasing, he said.

"Given this situation, it makes sense to provide more GRPs to advertisers. The increase in a single day of programming by Star Plus and Zee TV will lead to a 17% increase in inventory every month. This is going to give them incremental revenue by fulfilling the demand in the market," Panchapakesan stated.

Panchapakesan noted that the biggest advantage of extending the weekday fiction shows to Sunday is that the channel will not have to fight for pricing in the market. "Investing in a new show that will cost a lot of money and there is no guarantee on the return that it is going to give. As far as existing fiction shows are concerned, the pricing is already established and you don't have fight for price in the market. If a channel launches a new non-fiction property in that time band, it has to fight for pricing and they have to promise deliverables in terms of ratings," he explained.

Madison World Chief Buying Officer Vinay Hegde pointed out that the strategy would help both channels to keep their viewership base intact in an era where audience loyalty has become fragile. He stated that the weekends do not have appointment viewing while alternative programming like reality shows and movie premieres do not seem to be doing well either.

"So original programming has its loyal viewers and it is to increase ratings in an era where we are seeing TVRs sliding amidst the onslaught of digital in the form of OTTs. So, I suppose this is the last stand to retain viewership," Hegde stated.