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Reeling the Reality: A Study on Contemporary Reality Shows and Their Influence on Other Entertainment Program Genres

2014; RELX Group (Netherlands); Linguagem: Inglês

1556-5068

Prashanth G Malur, Nandini Lakshmikantha, V. Prashanth,

Media Studies and Communication

Every General Entertainment Television channel irrespective of its geographical presence appears to be largely depending on Reality Shows to capture and retain the eyeballs of the audiences for their survival. The struggle to secure high TRP rating though has changed the definition of reality shows, with the time- it is obvious that reality shows have remained a popular program format ever since the day they were conceptualized for telecast. The program genre, which started in quiz format on Indian television today, appears in various formats with the sole purpose of entertainment. Reality shows appear to earn maximum revenue by virtue of either providing a platform for film celebs to publicize their work or by trapping the emotional quotient of the viewer through scripted scenes, thus becoming a must go program for GECs. A closer look at the ‘shows’ that are being telecast reveals that, these shows are not only formulated, developed and structured on a borrowed western concept but are further translated tailored to suit the budget and technical availability of the regional channel. With many social groups expressing their displeasure against some of the concepts that are being incorporated in Reality shows, there arises also a situation to study on the influence of these ‘Shows’ on other entertainment program formats particularly teleserials. As both teleserials and reality shows appear to be locking their horns not only from business perspective of the channel but also on emotional quotient of their audience.