Executive Dossier
‘We are targeting 20 per cent revenue growth this fiscal’ : Anooj Kapoor- Sab senior vice president & business head
From launching new shows to experimenting with new genres and time slots, Sab has been running from pillar to post to get the ratings right.
Post Sony acquisition, Sab has been dabbling with an ‘identity crisis’. From being a comedy channel to a youth-centric channel and now returing to its original positioning, Sony Entertainment Channel’s sibling channel has seen it all. It has experimented with various genres – youth-centric patriotic shows, stand-up comedies, reality-based acting shows and detective stories.
In conversation with Indiantelevision.com’s Nasrin Sultana, Sab SVP and business head Anooj Kapoor shares the channel’s programming strategies.
Excerpts:
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Sab has been accused of experimenting too often with its positioning. How long will this new positioning last?
We have recreated the concept of soaps. The shows can be watched by the entire family. All the other soaps till date have upheld the joint-family system as a negative institution with so much added conflict in it. In our shows, we are upholding the virtues of a joint family.
Unlike other soaps on Hindi GECs, new shows (Lo Ho Gayi Pooja Is Ghar Ki, Mein Kab Saans Banoogi? and Jugni Jali Jallandhar ) on Sab have a woman protagonist; but she does not indulge in kitchen politics.
Our content is fresh and differentiated. We have decided not to go by the Amar-Akbar-Anthony route which every GEC is treading upon. Wherein Amar is reality show, Akbar is mythology and Anthony is fiction. |
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What kind of new shows and segments of comedy will you be introducing? |
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With so much of comic content being thrown in by different channels including news channels, do you think there is still enough space for a complete comedy channel?
Earlier all comedy shows were targeted at male audiences while GECs were meant for the females. There was no channel to fill up this gap. We are providing content for happy family viewing. |
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How have viewers taken to Sab’s new positioning?
Our driver show Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah has been garnering 0.8 TRPs and is currently the most watched family comedy show on Indian television. After Wagli Ki Duniya, Taarak Mehta … is one of the most successful comedy shows adapted from a book (column in this case). It is compared to cult shows like Office Office. |
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Are new advertisers hopping on? |
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Will Sab see revenue growth as a result or are you dealing with falling rates to fill up your inventory at a time when the whole industry is set for a slowdown? |
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How are you pushing forward your new shows? Which cities are your touch points?
We are targeting all the Hindi speaking markets in India like Delhi, Mumbai, Gujarat, Maharashtra, UP, MP, Punjab and Rajasthan.
We will be indulging in various forms of on-ground activations like wall painting etc. India has laughter clubs in many towns and cities, we are trying to get associated with all the laughter clubs. We are going to malls, beauty parlours, grocery shops and ladies coampartment in local trains for a Sab experience by distributing gifts. |
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With so many show launches and changes in positioning of the channel, isn’t it natural that your marketing costs have to be pushed up? |
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What are the difficulties to sustain as a youth channel?
As per our internal research, people still associate Sab brand as a comedy rather than a youth channel. So we decided to go back to our original positioning. |
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What all innovations you are introducing after the establishment of the new positioning? |
MUMBAI: Game faces on, pressure high India’s gaming ambitions are levelling up. Good Game, billed as the world’s first as-live global gaming reality show, has officially launched in India with a bold mission: to crown the country’s first Global Gaming Superstar.
Blending esports with mainstream entertainment, the show brings together competitive gaming, creativity and on-camera performance in a format that tests more than just joystick skills. Contestants will be judged on gameplay, screen presence and their ability to perform under pressure, reflecting how gaming has evolved from pastime to profession and pop culture currency.
Fronting the show are three high-profile ambassadors: actor and entrepreneur Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Indian cricket star Rishabh Pant, and gaming creator Ujjwal Chaurasia. The winner will take home Rs 1 crore ($100,000) among the largest prize pools for any Indian reality show along with the chance to represent India on a global stage.
Backed by a planned annual investment of up to Rs 100 crore, Good Game is also courting brand partners, promising a minimum reach of 500 million among India’s core youth audience. The creators position the show as a bridge between entertainment and interactive culture, offering long-format content, community engagement and commercial scale.
Auditions are now open to Indian citizens aged 18 and above, inviting amateur and professional gamers, creators and performers alike. Shortlisted candidates will be called for in-person auditions in Mumbai on 14 and 15 February, and in Delhi on 28 February and 1 March 2026.
With big money, big names and even bigger ambition, Good Game signals a shift in how India views gaming not just as play, but as performance, profession and prime-time spectacle.
