Gone are the days when television audiences didn’t have the luxury of choice. In the 90s, only a handful of players existed, and audiences didn’t really have the chance to browse channels. There was no concept of doomscrolling in television. Now, that isn’t the case. In fact, television channels' biggest rivals today aren’t other channels but platforms like OTT, vertical programming shows, and, of course, social media content. One might think the magic of television channels might be waning, and it is at such a time that Sony Pictures Networks India are launching their Tamil television channel, Sony Vizha. The team behind this new channel clearly understands what the market lacks and what they can bring to the table. “There's always a generational shift every few years. Our research revealed a profound insight. The brief was that the audience has changed, but the incumbents haven’t been in tune with the change,” begins Rajaraman S, Chief Content Officer, South Regional, Sony Pictures Networks India, adding, “There's a contemporary Tamil family that exists now which has, say, a Gen X, an early millennial with a Gen Z kid, and variations of the same with a Gen Z involved in the mix, as well. In this family setup, the world has changed, and COVID became a very defining moment.”

It is this moment that got Sony to Tamil three decades after they started out as a Hindi channel in 1995. Having been at the forefront of various gamechangers in television, especially in reality TV and megaserials, Sony Vizha aims to disrupt by bringing in content that treats its audience as global citizens. “Currently, we are seeing content that is largely limited to four walls of the house, intense family dramas skewed towards negativity, and even in the so-called reality space we hear words like manufactured reality. The current generation is seeking authenticity. In one survey, a response said, ‘Subtitles are the tax I pay to watch global content.’ So here is an audience which wants to watch content in its language. Technology has changed people's aspirations, and our television hasn’t captured that, and given what they want to see,” shares Rajaraman, who understands that the dynamics of television watching have evolved a lot faster in the last five years when compared to the previous couple of decades.  

Discussing the content overload and the overcrowding of platforms where it can be consumed, Rajaraman points out that Sony Vizha isn’t just trying to diversify content, but also distribution. “Sony Vizha isn’t just a TV channel, but an ecosystem. They'll see content on television, and they'll discover more on social media, including behind-the-scenes content and bloopers shared on YouTube to appeal to different parts of the audience. The power of habit is very strong, and I admit TV gives you the space to just consume something after a hard day’s work. For on-demand content, you will also have Sony LIV, our OTT streamer. You create your own way of engaging with the various programmes. There are multiple camera angles, skippable content, and we are facilitating deeper engagement,” says Rajaraman, who believes their flagship shows like Celebrity MasterChef Tamil, which features actor-producer Samantha Ruth Prabhu as a celebrity judge, will be something that the whole family can watch together. “Everyone will have distinct memories associated with food, right? What better way to enjoy these memories than to reminisce with your loved ones?”

Rajaraman also shares how Samantha’s presence in MasterChef gives the Tamil reimagining of the popular global cooking show a unique identity. “Look at her story! It starts off in Pallavaram, and now, she is one of the most famous Tamil people in cinema and on social media. When she narrates her personal stories, she immediately connects with people. She is such an impressive role model. This will be a very inspirational show with food at the core, and rooted in Tamil emotions,” he says, and reveals that the understanding of the market is what made them go for journalist-actor Rangaraj Pandey to host the Tamil version of the hugely popular true crime series, Crime Patrol. “The right choices for a new brand are not about what you do, but what you say no to. We have positioned ourselves as a television channel with a large-screen core. We are looking at long-form story narration, but that doesn’t mean the adjacent content will just be scene edits as micro clips, or putting the same content on YouTube for people to catch up. We aren’t looking at micro-dramas right now either. Our focus is the long-form story narration,” says Rajaraman. 

As a parting note, when asked whether Sony Vizha would follow the incumbents and take the mega serial route to enter the consciousness of the Tamil television audience, Rajaraman has a clear answer. “The very core of what we want to do with Sony Vizha is very simple. We want our shows to have a finite arc. The way an episode plays out, the genre it fits in, how the characters behave, and the worlds we build will be very different. We can do multiple seasons, but we should never stretch it so far that you are milking the content It is an unwritten contract between the consumer and us. We have to respect the audience’s intelligence, and stick to our promise of not giving them more of the same,” signs off Rajaraman.