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Indian media and the long tail

April 6, 2007 · Posted in Misc

Earlier this week, I went to a local Indian chaat-pakodi place to enjoy some delicious Bhel. The place is small and has a wall mounted flat panel TV that is perpetually set to Sony TV - which keeps doling out the K-soaps one after the other. Of of the 10-12 people dining there, 8-9 had their eyes glued to the screen. And no, I wasnt one of them.

That got me back to a thought I’ve wondered several times in recent years - why is Indian TV so unoriginal these days ? Where are the Nukkad - Khandan - Flop Show - Byomkesh Bakshi - Reporter genre of shows ?
Ever since Balaji Telefilms struck gold with their Kyonki Saas…and Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki, the number of these soppy family dramas has just kept on increasing. To the point that there’s hardly anything interesting to watch on Indian TV these days. If there isnt a K-soap running, its always a good time for Bollywood previews. The more I’ve tried to uncover what some of my female friends find so captivating about these K-soaps, the more I’ve realized that I am just a part of a meager minority that form the ‘I hate K-soaps’ club.

I guess Indian TV producers are alien to the concept of the long tail. Yes, I am a self proclaimed long tail constituent and I represent the minority, but my needs and preferences are completely under served by these rut of K-soaps. Thanks to Ekta Kapoor and her sorority, Indian TV is officially dead for me.

And this situation prevails not only for Indian TV but for Bollywood and online Indian radio as well. The biggest Bollywood hits in any given year happen to be the epic fairy tale romances churned out by the Johars and the Chopras. Commercial cinema is the only flavor that Bollywood knows and accepts. Alternative cinema, Indie flicks, documentaries are unheard of in the Indian film industry.

Thankfully, there seems to be some light at the end of the tunnel. Small budget and alternative movies such as Dor, Khosla ka Ghosla,My Brother Nikhil, Being Cyrus are getting widely accepted by Indian audiences worldwide. Emergence of DTH and launch announcements of several new channels also offers hope to Indian TV viewers. Online radio sites such as RadioVerve have emerged to serve the needs of Indie music buffs.
It will be interesting to watch when and who actually decides to tap into this virgin, long tail demographic. Till that happens, I will opt to seek solace in reading blogs and watching videos on YouTube .