Attracting Bangladeshi audiences to watch local channels, while a large portion of them are already inclined towards watching Indian shows, is no easy task – especially when TV channels seem to be producing the regular stream of drama series and talk shows, with very little excitement or innovation. In this background, Deepto TV has not only taken up the challenge of producing something new, but has also received the highest Television Rating Points (TRP) only within two months of its inception. Qazi Urfi Ahmad, the chief operating officer of Deepto TV, talks to Showtime about their journey.
The TRP indicates that Deepto TV has reached the top position among Bangladeshi TV channels in the first week of January. What do you think is the reason behind this?
First and foremost is the popularity of our programmes. If we produce something nice, viewers are likely to accept and enjoy that. We deliver stories which viewers are able to connect to, and that is why this has happened. It’s all about content. Since we are providing good material, viewers are watching our shows and that has been reflected in the TRP.
What kind of programmes do you offer?
Mainly programmes based on entertainment. We are currently running four drama series on six days of the week, two cartoons, two news bulletins and talk shows on different themes. Three of the series are in-house productions. One of them is based on Ashapurna Debi’s novel Baluchori, and is called Oporajita. The two other series are Khuje Phiri Takey and Palki. Another one is a Turkish drama called Sultan Suleiman, which we have dubbed in Bangla. All of them are aired during our prime time, which is from 6pm to 1am.
A number of dramas and talk shows are aired everyday on the local Bangla channels almost at the same hours. What makes Deepto different?
It’s true that if you shuffle through the channels you will find similar programmes at the same hour. However, we try to make the difference through certain strategies. For example, a huge difference was created by curbing the number of commercials, which is a huge reason why audiences lose interest in watching TV shows. We start our shows on time and the number of commercials are very limited. During a half hour show we air commercials in a fixed slot of eight minutes. For a one hour show, the commercial slot is 16 minutes. In this way we have tried to form a habit in the audience. Unlike other TV channels, our dramas are also aired six days a week at a particular hour, so the audiences know that we are reliable. Because of the catchy stories and fewer commercials, we have been able to grab viewers. And in the case of talk shows, we try to bring variation there through changing themes and format. Sometimes we talk about sports, sometimes current events, or sometimes it is a debate on any political or social topic.
What was your mission and vision when you started?
Like any new venture, our mission was to become number one. We also wanted to detach audiences from the Indian channels like Zee Bangla and Star Jolsha and draw them towards our programmes. Star Plus was also considered as competition. We wanted our audience to get involved with the stories we tell, and we wanted to engage them in such a way that they would eagerly wait for the next episode and be ready in front of the TV when it is about to be aired. According to MRB, which is a regional research agency, we have been on number one from January 16 to 22 among local TV channels and on number four after Star Jolsha, Zee Bangla and Star Plus in terms of viewership of Bangladeshi audience.
Now that you have reached the top spot, what is your goal?
To sustain our position, we have to maintain the quality of our work, which is an even bigger challenge, and keep coming up with good programmes in order to remain the very best.
Who is your target audience?
That depends on the programmes, but our primary target was to bring back the group of audience who were fond of Indian daily soaps. Women aged above 24 can be taken as the target group. Initially we targeted audiences who watch TV during prime time, since research suggests that 70% of the TV viewing audience in Bangladesh are watching Star Jolsha or Zee Bangla during prime time. To a certain extent, we have been successful. We have not been able to supplant the Indian channels yet, but we are definitely on track. We are the top Bangladeshi channel right now, but the ratings can change on some days, like when a game is going on.
Has Sultan Suleiman been one of the reasons behind Deepto’s success?
Certainly. For some reason, programmes like this appeal to people. If you look at what was popular in the past you will see that historical pieces like Alif Laila were hugely successful. Audiences have a certain attraction towards Sultan Suleiman, maybe because of the era or because they want to know what happened to Muslims in the Ottoman empire. There is also romance, intrigue, action – all of these make it a good drama. People like to watch programmes that take them away from reality. It is a great story and the added bonus is that it is also a technically impressive production. In the meantime, our in-house productions are also doing very well.
