SMS voting based TV shows are biased

Having watched several editions of India’s most popular TV shows (Voice of India, Indian Idol, Sa Re Ga Ma…) aimed at uncovering singing talent, I am firmly convinced that the SMS based voting process currently being used is inherently biased. Often, some of the best talent does not make the cut simply because they are not able to garner enough votes. There are several reasons for this:

1. People who SMS their preferences may not be good judges of musical talent. Some may in fact vote based on the song (because it is his/her favorite), rather than the singer’s voice, diction, taal, singing ability and so on.  
2. Some states can be chauvinistic about the sons and daughters of their soil and a mass SMS movement can skew numbers big time. The difficulty is that not all states are equally enthusiastic about supporting their sons and daughters. Parochialism in such matters can go against genuine talent- and the best singers may lose out when the number of SMS “votes” received is the only criterion for selection.
3. Sending these SMS can be expensive and several viewers may just not bother.
4. Not all “gurus”/”ustaads” (many of who are themselves accomplished singers/music directors and are tasked with coaching participants and providing comments/advice live) are willing to “market” their “shagirds” to the voting public; some do a brilliant job of tugging at people’s heart strings, while others seem almost uninterested.
5. Mobile phone penetration varies widely across the country, as also between urban and rural India; some candidates are thus automatically disdvantaged.
6. Where international contestants are involved, the chances of people from their home countries watching and voting are perhaps even more limited. (OK, I concede that last night, Amanat Ali from Faisalabad, Pakistan made it to the finals of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa- and personally, I think the young man is very talented and sang very well).

I sincerely feel that the contestants would be better served by having a qualified panel of judges who evaluate peformances “live” and at the venue. And if you really want to broad-base the evaluation, let the members of the audience present vote. (Of course, this may introduce bias based on how many friends/relatives a partciular contestant has at the venue).

Of course, the entire perspective above is irrelevant if you view this genre of programs not as something designed to uncover talent, but just to shore up the top- and bottom- lines of mobile telephony service providers (for them, this is a terrific marketing program). There’s my cynicism taking over…… so I better stop.

But seriously, folks- please do respond and let me know your views on this subject.