Reality television has always been a little unpredictable. For advertisers, however, unpredictability has its limits. A new reality show may promise a fresh audience, a viral moment or the next big entertainment franchise, but brands still want to know one thing before putting their money behind it: who is watching and what will that association do for them? That question has become more complicated as India's entertainment market has expanded across television, streaming platforms and digital video. Established television properties continue to command enormous advertiser confidence, while OTT has opened the door for newer formats to test ideas, build niche communities and prove their value before attempting to become mainstream franchises.
The result is a curious balancing act. Brands want scale, but they also want relevance. They want credibility, but they are increasingly interested in cultural conversations and sharper audience engagement. And while television remains the safest bet for mass visibility, OTT platforms are making experimentation easier. The contrast can be seen in how brands are approaching properties as different as India's Got Latent and Kaun Banega Crorepati. For Ai+, a young smartphone brand entering an intensely competitive category, associating with India's Got Latent was less about the safety of a proven television property and more about finding a voice that could connect with today's youth.
Archi Gogoi, Head of Brand, Marketing & Growth, Ai+ Smartphone and NxtQuantum Shift Technologies, says the connection with comedian and creator Samay Raina was central to the decision. “Samay can really connect with today's youth. He's got that knack and he's brilliant at what he does. It is all about relevance for us and connecting with today's generation. Samay was just a natural fit for us,” Gogoi says. There is an interesting parallel in the brand's own positioning. Ai+ is entering a crowded smartphone market, yet the company has chosen to build around the idea of being bold and accessible. Gogoi argues that the willingness to back an unconventional entertainment property reflects the same philosophy. “When Madhav had so much guts and such a bold move to launch AI+ smartphone in such a cluttered industry that we're in, why wouldn't we go ahead with a format like India's Got Latent? It's a natural fit completely,” he says.
That is one side of the equation. On the other sits popular reality shows such as Kaun Banega Crorepati or Khatron Ke Khiladi. With these legacy shows value comes from precisely the things a new format has to spend years building: familiarity, trust and a deeply established relationship with audiences. Ai+ has also partnered with KBC Season 18, bringing the young technology brand alongside Amitabh Bachchan and one of Indian television's most recognisable entertainment properties. The association gives Ai+ access to an established environment of credibility while allowing the brand to build its own credentials with consumers.
Zed Black Agarbatti's approach is similarly rooted in the value of established franchises. Anshul Agrawal, Director, Mysore Deep Perfumery House, says properties such as KBC offer a rare combination of mass reach, credibility and a trusted family-viewing environment. For the brand, the appeal goes beyond audience numbers. A long-running franchise provides a degree of predictability that a new show simply cannot offer. Historical viewership, a familiar audience and an established reputation make it easier for advertisers to assess the potential return on investment. Yet that does not mean brands have shut the door on newer formats. Agrawal says Zed Black is open to experimenting with newer properties when the audience profile aligns closely with the brand and the format can create meaningful engagement, particularly across digital platforms. The decision, he says, comes down to audience relevance, engagement potential, brand fit and overall ROI. That distinction is becoming increasingly important. The question is not simply whether a show is new or established. It is whether the property has something distinctive to offer the brand.
Rekha Motwani, Senior VP, Media, ARM Worldwide, believes the first consideration is the audience rather than the format itself. Advertisers want to know who a show is expected to attract, how large that audience is, what its demographic and affluence profile look like, and how closely it overlaps with the brand's consumers. The next factor is predictability of delivery. Established franchises have audience histories that advertisers can study. A new property carries greater uncertainty and therefore needs to compensate with a compelling proposition, a highly relevant audience or stronger opportunities for integration.
However, a sponsorship logo and a few commercial spots may not be enough to make a property attractive. Advertisers are increasingly looking for ways to become part of the viewing experience. This is where the nature of brand participation is changing. Akshay Agrawal, Head, Linear Ad Sales, Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI), points to the growing importance of bespoke integrations. For a new non-fiction format to become a long-term franchise, he says, it needs to build beyond the curiosity surrounding its launch and create consistent audience engagement and cultural relevance. Brands, meanwhile, want flexibility in how they participate. Integrations that sit naturally within the content can create stronger connections than conventional advertising placements, particularly when a show generates conversation across multiple platforms. That multi-platform life is becoming one of the most important tests for entertainment properties.
Rohit Singh, Account Director, Client Servicing, White Rivers Media, says advertisers evaluate reality shows through audience reach and integration opportunities, with newer formats needing a distinctive proposition to attract the right demographics. A successful property must also sustain engagement across episodes and platforms, because that deeper relationship can improve campaign consideration and commercial outcomes. OTT has made this equation particularly interesting. Streaming platforms can offer brands access to sharply defined communities and audiences that may be difficult to reach through mass television. They also provide an environment where newer ideas can be tested with less pressure to immediately deliver the scale expected of a flagship television franchise.
Motwani describes OTT as an “incubation ground” for new entertainment IPs. Platforms can build around specific audience cohorts, experiment with formats and use consumption data to understand what resonates. For advertisers targeting younger, affluent or digitally engaged consumers, that can make a new OTT property more attractive than a legacy television franchise, even when the latter offers significantly greater reach. But television is hardly being pushed to the sidelines. Akshay Agrawal argues that television and digital work as a cohesive entertainment ecosystem. Television continues to offer scale, consistency and shared viewing, all of which are valuable when the ambition is to turn an entertainment property into a mainstream cultural franchise.
Television also has something OTT cannot always replicate: the ability to create a shared national moment. A new show that manages to enter that conversation can quickly become valuable to advertisers. The challenge is getting there. Established franchises already have audience equity, while a new property has to convince viewers and brands at the same time. That makes the future less about television versus OTT and more about what happens between the two. Motwani puts it neatly: “OTT builds the audience; television gives it the scale to become a mainstream franchise.” That could become the new playbook for reality entertainment. A format can find its first loyal audience on streaming, develop a distinct identity, attract advertisers through targeted engagement and eventually graduate to television when it has demonstrated enough cultural relevance.
At the same time, television broadcasters are continuing to introduce fresh concepts alongside their legacy properties, creating opportunities for new formats to prove themselves without abandoning the scale of linear entertainment. For brands, the calculation is becoming more nuanced. The comfort of shows like KBC will remain difficult to replicate. Its credibility, audience familiarity and association with Amitabh Bachchan give advertisers a level of confidence that a new property has to work hard to earn.
But confidence does not automatically make a property relevant to every consumer. A young brand chasing a young audience may find greater value in a format that speaks their language. A mass consumer brand may prefer the familiarity of a long-running television franchise. Another marketer may want both, using a trusted television property for reach and a digital show to build sharper engagement with a specific community. The reality show of the future, therefore, may have to prove more than its entertainment value. It will need to demonstrate where it sits in the audience's life, how naturally brands can participate and whether its appeal can travel across screens.
In an entertainment market overflowing with options, familiarity remains powerful. But relevance can be just as valuable. The winners may be the properties that can offer advertisers both, or at least create a credible path from one to the other.
