'Bigg Boss' flavour to stay as season 5 takes 10.30 pm slot

With the change in the telecast timing of 'Bigg Boss 5', Colors alters its weekday and afternoon programming

Neha Saraiya | Delhi | September 29, 2011

With the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) issuing a stricture to Colors to ensure “good taste and decency” last year for its flagship reality show, the fifth season of 'Bigg Boss' was expected to undergo some major changes. But, instead of changing the content strategy, the channel has opted to more or less stick to the MIB directive by pushing the show to a late-night primetime slot. The one-hour long 'Bigg Boss 5' will be aired at 10.30 pm on weekdays (Monday-Friday) and 10 pm on weekends (Saturday and Sunday).

The time slot chosen clearly indicates the channel's effort to retain flavour of the show -- the original or dramatic spats among the contestants. While the show will pass Sony's 'KBC' timing at 8:30 pm, it will directly compete with Sony's TRP grosser, 'Bade Acche Lagte Hain'. Interestingly, for the last five weeks, Sony Entertainment Television has recorded the highest TRPs, beginning from the launch week of 'KBC 2011', posing neck-and-neck competition with GEC leader Star Plus.

Elaborating on the time slot for the big-ticket reality show, Ashvini Yardi, Head of Content, Colors, said, “Bigg Boss 5 is our flagship show and with a very strong fiction show line-up during the week, we believe it fits well in the 10.30 pm time slot. 'Na Aana Is Des Laado', which currently occupies this slot, will be moved to the 1 pm afternoon slot which is currently dominated by repeat telecasts. On weekends, Bigg Boss 5 will air at 10 pm which will include the eviction episode (with Aakhri Farmaan) and some unseen tidbits from the show. This is being done with the aim of building up viewership on weekends and keeping everyone tied to their seats in anticipation of who will be leaving the Bigg Boss house.”

With Bigg Boss 5 running through the week during prime time, the channel has altered its weekday and afternoon programming. 'Na Aana Is Des Laado' will now be telecast in the 1.00 pm time band which is currently occupied by repeat telecast.

The channel believes that other shows including 'Laagi Tujhse Lagan' and 'Hamari Saas Leela' which are being shifted to the 1.30 pm and at 2.00 pm time slots will also create a strong afternoon programming. The current slot of 11 pm occupied by 'Mukti Bhandan', which will go off-air, will be taken over by Bigg Boss 5. The history based show, 'Veer Shivaji', will shift to weekdays at 8.30 pm from October 3.

This time the show's tagline, 'Double Vaat', is in sync with speculation over the dual anchoring of the show by actors Sanjay Dutt and Salman Khan. If the reports in various section of media to be believed, some international faces like Lady Gaga, Shakira, and Barbara Mori are likely to spice up 'Bigg Boss 5'. Last year the channel had brought in Pamela Anderson. Among the Indian names speculated to appear on the show are Poonam Pandey, Karan Singh Grover, Riya Sen, Jaspal Bhatti and Navjot Singh Sidhu.

Last year, Big Boss 4 managed to bag a good opening with 4.8 TVR (C&S 4+, HSM), leaving behind the Commonwealth Games 2010 opening ceremony in ratings.

Only time will tell if 'Bigg Boss 5' will bring back the sunshine days of the channel , but with the channel losing 14 and 8 GRPs in Week 38 and 39 of TAM 2011 lagging by 59 GRPs behind Sony, it is a tricky plot.

Neha@BestMediaInfo.com

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