Television thrives amidst internet outage: Can it keep its viewers?
"After almost five years, our family came together to watch television during the internet outage. It was fun, and reminded us of the old times when we used to watch cable TV together," said Parul, who works as a nurse at a private hospital.
This sentiment resonated across the country as people left their mobile phones to watch their TV screens for a change.
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My brain, accustomed to surfing the internet all day, found peace in switching channels with my trusty old friend, the remote control. After watching piles of excruciating news about the rampage and ruins of our country, I found an escape in funny serials and old Bangla movies on TV.
Amidst the chaos, I found solace in Deepto TV's popular drama "Bokulpur" and Gaan Bangla's musical program "Wind of Change".
Then it struck me—what really happened to television? Why did it lose its charm? Will it be able to sustain the sudden rise in TV ratings with quality content?
Curious, I asked my Gen-Z cousin for her take on television content. "I think I'm going to lose my mind if I have to stay without the internet. I can't stand those cringe Bangla movies and slapstick comedies anymore," said Zaira.
"Television channel owners should have considered people's tastes and taken digital media as a strong competitor to produce quality programmes. Unfortunately, they failed to meet expectations, leading to a decline in viewership," said Ibn Hasan Khan, Director of Sales and Marketing at Channel i.
Alfred Kokhon, Head of Programs at NTV, shared a similar sentiment. He stated, "We have both television and an OTT platform. However, we always air the latest episodes first on our channel. But since the audience hasoptions, viewership gets distributed. When there was no online option, everything was centralized on TV. If television starts producing quality content that caters to our local audiences' tastes, viewers will surely watch it."
To be fair, televisions could not have predicted the situation and instantly formulated a plan to keep its sudden viewership.
"We are going through a crisis period right now, and sticking with scheduled content for the time being. However, we are hopeful that once we get through this, we will come up with ideas to draw audiences back to television," said Ibn Hasan.
While the internet was down, TV ratings skyrocketed. Most TV channels have confirmed that their ratings have doubled, although they couldn't provide actual figures as data couldn't be gathered physically. How did they assume their content was reaching the audience? The answer lies in the constant stream of advertisement breaks.
"The viewership of our series is also increasing. Many people are watching our series 'Ghorer Shotru Bivishon' and 'Jonakir Alo.' Increased viewership means more advertisements for NTV. With online platforms still temporarily off, people are turning to television. When sponsors are eager to place ads on our content, it confirms that viewers are watching it more," said Alfred Kokhon.
While other channels are airing old series and reruns of previous episodes, Deepto TV is committed to highlighting new episodes for their viewers.
"We could have showcased repeats of old episodes of our popular series, but we didn't. We don't want to bank episodes; instead, we aim to show fresh episodes for our viewers. If we run out of episodes, we have decided to ensure pick-and-drop service for our artists so that they can shoot safely. This initiative is our effort to retain our audience. We are confident that this approach will help retain a small percentage of our viewers," said Subarna Parvin, COO of Deepto TV.
Deepto TV, known for its series-based content, saw a significant increase in viewership during the internet outage. Their dramas "Mashrafe Junior," "Bokulpur," and "Dena Pawna" have a massive fanbase that grew even larger during this period.
Recently, Channel i's tele-fiction "Tithidor" has been praised for raising awareness about depression in adults. The channel also enjoys a dedicated fanbase with its "Punorjonmo" series. Ibn Hasan Khan of Channel i is confident that the popularity of television will sustain in the long run against OTT platforms.
"Although the popularity of this medium is increasing, it still hasn't fully taken away the charm of television. The reason is that only a certain sector of people is connected with digital media, while a large number of people still watch television. Television still has a significant scope to attract an audience by offering good content," added Ibn Hasan.
While it's true that the popularity of OTT platforms is currently at its peak, the internet outage has sparked a much-needed push for television to produce better, high-quality, and unique content for its viewers. Now it's up to the channel owners to decide whether they will be able to retain the viewership or if they will lose their momentum now that the internet is restored.
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