Tanuja and Gaurav Gera starrer Babban Bhai vs Bimla Tai on 9x

Entertainment television can be like a soap opera: dreams, drama and declarations in a bid for the audience’s heart. Two men who headed the largest TV network as CEOs of Star Entertainment and Star India, and who left earlier this year to start their own outfits, have made their plans public. On 12 November, Peter Mukerjea launched his flagship channel 9X. Around the same time, Sameer Nair, now CEO of NDTV Imagine, announced that his Hindi entertainment channel would be on air next January.

The airwaves are getting really crowded; for the consumer it’s a feast. 9X has launched a bagful of shows that include Balaji Telefilms’ Kahe Naa Kahe — described as a drama of “a small town girl with extraordinary dreams”. The other big shows include Jiya Jale, a first-time series produced by quiz master Siddhartha Basu, and Mere Apne — a family drama featuring an ageing Vinod Khanna in a production from Smriti Irani.

NDTV Imagine’s menu could have been cooked in the same kitchen. There is Dharam Veer produced by Sagar Arts — “a show about friendship, loyalty, rivalry and creating innumerable adventures”. There’s a comedy Jasuben Jayantilaal Joshi Ki Joint Family; and then something that seeks to rival Zee TV’s Betiyaan called Radha Ki Betiyaan Kuch Kar Dikhayengi.

Neither newcomer offers anything radically different. “We have the regular mix,” says Nair. “It is how you present it that makes it different.” Talking about 9X’s proposition, Indrani Mukerjea, CEO of INX Media says, “It is about the production values; each show looks different.”

How will the entertainment universe look after these launches? Will the current leaders Star Plus and Zee TV give way to these new channels or will the challengers’ offerings get lost in the stratosphere? Because the established leaders are not exactly idle. Zee TV has announced plans for a youth entertainment channel called Zee Next, scheduled for launch in December. Star Plus and Sahara One are both keeping their new content under wraps, but aver they will be coming out with a slew of shows.