MUMBAI: The future of the reality television genre is good, particularly with the emergence of digital media. However, the genre is a loss leader for general entertainment channels, despite the fact that it brings in audiences and helps accumulate GRPs (gross rating points). These were some of the points made at a session during the Fusion 2013 conference organised by IMC.

Actress Poonam Dhillon, who took part in Bigg Boss, noted that reality shows are not scripted but manipulated. She, however, agreed that reality shows gave people from small towns an opportunity to show their talent.

"They know how people will react after seeing them for two weeks, day in and day out. Drama, negativity and things that are not pleasant are looked for as channels feel that this is what drives eyeballs. We have to remember that youngsters watch these shows and therefore it is important to offer something that will inspire them," Dhillon said.

Indiantelevision.com Group CEO and Editor-in-Chief Anil Wanvari noted that while serials and soaps form the staple diet of Indian television, it is reality shows that give spikes in ratings.

"The reality shows accumulate GRPs. Youth targeted channels like MTV and Bindass also do reality shows. ?Roadies? has developed a cult following. Youngsters connect to real stuff. Reality also has sub-genres like talent shows and voyeuristic shows like ?Bigg Boss?. Situations are built into reality shows to see participants? reactions," said Wanvari, while speaking at the ?Reality Shows on TV: Beyond Entertainment and Voyeurism? session.

Wanvari noted that a quiz show like ?KBC? went into reality TV by offering back stories of participants which wasn?t done before. He also pointed out that as a reality show goes through more seasons, the core audience sticks to it.

He bemoaned the fact that reality shows in India are toned down compared to what is seen abroad. "Bigg Boss was told to tone down or it would be in trouble," he averred.

People magazine editor Saira Menezes opined that reality shows are not actually real; it is hyper reality that people are put into. "People have to decide what reality they want to be put into. To succeed, participants have to figure out the object and intent of a show. With Dance India Dance, this is clear. With Big Boss a participant needs a storyline to standout and survive. Reality TV will grow. It is democratic and offers opportunities for people in small towns," she stated.

Actor Kabir Bedi who moderated the session, spoke about his experience in Italy doing ?Celebrity Survivor?. One thing he learnt was that people would do anything to win.

Dhillon concurred. "There is a lot of prize money at stake as well as adulation on TV. Reality TV can be cruel. Judges can put people down. Participants sometimes can get depressed," said Dhillon.

Wanvari said that TV is gaining from social media and the reality genre is no exception. "Social media allows you to tune into a show when you want to. It allows for interactive experiences. You could have short format content, clips on YouTube. Producers may cut content especially for the web. This is already happening in Europe and Asia and it will also happen in India," he added.

MUMBAI: MTV, the youth entertainment channel from Viacome18?s stable, is bringing its international awards property ?Video Music Awards? (VMA) to India.

The channel has roped in Micromax to present the first edition of the global award in India.

Micromax MTV Video Music Awards India will recognise the music that is loved by young India. The genres of music that will be considered for the awards are film -- both Hindi and Regional -- and independent music.

The awards will also recognise the international artist who has had the biggest impact in India as well as the artist who is being talked about and seen a lot on the digital medium.

Since the VMAs is as much about the video as the music, awards will be given out to Best Video Director, Best Video Editor and Best Sound Designer.

According to Viacom18 SVP and business head - Integrated Network Solutions Jaideep Singh, MTV Video Music Awards is the first live initiative from the channel.

The event will be simulcast on seven of Viacom 18?s network channels which will include the flagship Hindi general entertainment channel Colors.

The awards will be decided by the audience basis online voting. Any artist who has released music in calendar year 2012 is eligible to vie for the awards.

MTV India EVP and business head Aditya Swamy said, "Bringing the VMAs to India gives us an opportunity to recognise artists who have rocked young India and do it in a unique MTV way that is full of irreverence. Given the wide range of artists we have worked with over the years, it is our way of giving something back to the musicians who have given us such incredible music. Leveraging our huge digital footprint, the entire entry and voting process is online and transparent, which means the voice of the audience will be heard."

There are 17 categories in which an artiste, artiste manager, label can register themselves. The categories are - Best Bollywood, Album Best Bollywood Lyrics (song), Best Bollywood Video, Best Bollywood Single - Male, Best Bollywood Single - Female, Best Regional Video, Best Regional Song, Best Indie Artist - Male, Best Indie Artist - Female, Best Indie Band , Best Indie Video, Best Indi Lyrics (song), Best MTV Push Artist, Best International Video, Best Video from the Interwebz, Technical Award: Best Video Direction, Technical Award: Best Video Editing, Technical Award: Best Sound Design.

Micromax India CMO Shubhodip Pal said, "We are looking forward to creating similar global platforms for Indian audiences which are unconventional and irreverent."

Viacom18?s Singh said, "With this we are very excited to showcase to our audience and partners the supremacy of the network and what it can do to a live event in scaling its impact and reach."

The MTV Video Music Awards voting system will be validated by Ernst & Young India to ensure quality and equality in the process and the short listing will be aided and validated by knowledge partners Ormax Media.

MUMBAI: Russian entertainment media group Prof-Media has said it will shut MTV Russia beginning May next year citing falling viewership.

The music channel?s ratings dropped due to growing popularity of listening to music online which made it unviable to run.

MTV Russia, which began broadcasting in 1998, will be replaced by a new entertainment channel Pyatnitsa targeted at the 14-44 TG.

Prof-Media had in 2007 bought MTV Russia and VH1 Russia for about $360 million in cash from American media conglomerate Viacom.

MUMBAI: Music and youth entertainment channel MTV is extending its musical franchise ?MTV Unplugged? through a dual telecast of the property on its sister channel Colors.

The show?s second season, which kickstarts on 3 November, will be aired on Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at noon on MTV. The time slot on Colors is yet to be decided, said Colors CEO Raj Nayak.

MTV Unplugged will also be aired on radio through Fever FM. MTV?s other music property, Coke Studio?s second season, also had a dual telecast on Doordarshan.

MTV EVP and business head Aditya Swamy said, ?This time around, the focus is not so much on marketing but on distributing the property to a larger segment of the audience. By telecasting the show on Colors and Fever, we hope to widen the audience reach.?

MTV is currently positioned as a multi-platform and multi-dimensional channel which has different faces at different times. "So with ?Roadies? and Splitsvilla, we have a reality show face. With ?Rush? and ?Bring it on?, we have a TV series face. Our music face is through properties like Coke Studio, Roots, Unplugged and Sound Tripping,? said Swamy.

The title sponsor for the show is Royal Stag. Other sponsors include HTC, Vodafone and Tissot. As part of its marketing initiatives, the show will be promoted on air by Fever FM by RJ?s and through contests.

?We will be doing 14 live shows in the top youth and markets of the country. We have also got major labels like Sony and Universal on board for the CDs and DVDs. On the digital front too, we have associated with entities like iTunes, Napster and Nokia Music Store.,? Swamy said.

Sixty seven per cent of the property?s ad revenue will come from sponsorship while 33 per cent will be from spot buys.

The landscape of the music channel space has changed considerably over the past few years with the leading channels like MTV and Channel V shifting their positioning to youth entertainment channels. While MTV has done this on a global scale, Swamy says that India is not really different from the rest of the world.

?The youth is becoming exposed to a lot of global elements today and India is not so different in this space as compared to the rest of the world. The game, though, has changed. For example, earlier we kept the biggest and most popular artist for last. But now, we are launching the show?s second season with the A R Rehman episode,? he explained.

MTV Unplugged season two comprises 10 episodes where artists perform acoustic version of their numbers without the support of any electronic devices. This season, the show is curated by Ranjit Barot and will see participation from artists like AR Rehman, Kailasa, Sunidhi Chauhan, Lucky Ali, Indus Creed, Agnee, Ash King and Shafqat Amanat Ali.