Family Time with Kapil Sharma takes a break on Sony

Sony Entertainment Television has decided to press the pause button on ‘Family Time with Kapil Sharma’ owing to the ill-health of the actor-comedian and major controversies surrounding the actor. Launched on March 25, and slotted to run on Saturdays and Sundays on the channel, only three episodes of the show have gone on air to date.

After that, the show was replaced with old episodes of The Kapil Sharma Show since there was no episode in the bank. While the channel did not offer any comment, a decision has not been taken yet on whether to suspend the show or continue with it after a short break.

The show was launched with Colgate as presenting sponsor, Priyagold Superstar, McDonalds and Vodafone as co - powered by sponsors. Llyod came on board as its cooing partner while Datsun, PC Jeweller, Haier, Horlicks, Fiama, Itel, Wild Stone and Macho were the associate sponsors on the show. Oppo was the co-presenting sponsor on the show for digital platforms.

It is being understood that the channel had sold out almost the full inventory on the show and the advertisers are now being adjusted on the other content running on the channel. However, sources close to the channel are of the opinion that this time it is just a short break, and that the channel might not pull the plug on the show so quickly.

A senior industry observer said, “While the actor has damaged his image to a large extent, the channel might not want to pull the plug on the show so quickly. Sharma has high affinity with the audiences and Sony too needs a pull that will continue to keep it afloat. Also, such shows call for high level on investments. The channel is also responsible to its advertisers. To be able to maintain the image of being a ‘reliable’ channel, it must put the show together again.”

Sharma has been closely associated with controversies of late. Started off as a comedian in 2007 with The Great Indian Laughter Challenge on Sony, Sharma rose to fame with Comedy Nights With Kapil on Colors. The show ran a successful stint from 2013 to January 2016, after which it was stopped when the actor had a fallout with the channel. He was accused of arrogance and unprofessionalism.

There on, Sony started The Kapil Sharma Show in April 2016, which ran till August 2017, when it was announced that the Sharma-Sony combination will be back soon. Family Time with Kapil Sharma was back in March 2018, as promised. However, it met a hurdle that needs to be resolved.

Be it the mid-air fight with his co-actors or the alleged unprofessionalism on the sets of his show, Sharma has been accused of many unwanted and unwarranted instances.

Info@BestMediaInfo.com