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TV shows are increasingly moving from one channel to another, raising the question: are viewers loyal to shows or channels? ‘Thank you competition for airing the old seasons, for the latest
seasons tune into Zee Café’ goes the promo for one show. ‘_Dance ka naya rang, Colors ke sang’ _says another. As the lines suggest, they are about shows that have already been aired on other
channels. The Big Bang Theory, three seasons of which have been aired on Star World and fourth is set to start on Zee Café. The other one is the dance reality show _Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa,
_that has moved from Sony to Colors this year. Earlier this week, Oggy and the Cockroaches, a popular animated show has shifted from Nick to Cartoon Network. Besides these, there are many
English shows like _Supernatural, Sex & The City, Dexter, CSI_, etc that have had multiple airings on different channels. Not just viewers, these days even shows are channel hopping!
Says Tarun Katial, CEO, Reliance Broadcast Network, “TV programming is a sector marked by the ‘high risk, high returns’ syndrome. Out of all shows that are conceived and produced, very few
actually end up being successful. For these ‘cult’ shows, our aim is to target two types of viewers — one, who has never got a chance to consume the property although it might have aired on
another channel some time back, and two, those viewers, who want to watch it again and again. A known programming brand comes with credibility, familiarity and assures high tune-ins from
viewers.” So, Big CBS is airing _CSI_, which has been home to AXN for a long time. Similarly, Supernatural, five seasons of which have already been aired on AXN is now with Star World while
AXN is airing the seventh season. However, Supernatural along with Dexter is also a flagship property for Star World. As Saurabh Yagnik, business head, English Channels, Star India, says,
“They garner maximum visibility when we air it.” Even Krishna Desai, director content, South Asia, Turner International India, is confident that Oggy... will garner eyeballs despite it
having been aired on Nick earlier because “kids don’t mind watching repeats”. But if a show is so popular, why does a channel let go of the property in the first place. According to an
industry insider, it depends on the contract signed between the channel and the company that owns the property. KBC moved from Star to Sony because its contract with the company that owns
the rights, came to an end. As for _Jhalak_..., Sony had no plans of bringing on the show this year as they wanted to concentrate on fiction, save for KBC and Indian Idol. But BBC
Productions, which produces the show couldn’t afford to wait and gave it to Colors. Despite all the deals they strike to bag international formats or counter competition, at the end of the
day, it’s the show and not channel logo that attracts viewers.