SMS voting based TV shows are biased
September 29, 2007
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:
- 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.
- 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.
- Sending these SMS can be expensive and several viewers may just not bother.
- 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.
- Mobile phone penetration varies widely across the country, as also between urban and rural India; some candidates are thus automatically disdvantaged.
- 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.
Entry Filed under: General. Tags: Indian Idol, Sa re ga ma, singing talent, SMS voting, TV music shows, Voice of India.
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anandkrishna
1.
shankar | October 15, 2007 at 12:59 pm
“MUFFLED VOICE” OF AMUL STAR Voice Of India
I have been an ardent viewer of Amul Star Voice of India but the last episode reaffirmed the observation of the viewers that these reality shows are not talent shows but a gateway for the promotion of the mobile companies.It is a platform which has witnessed mockery of the rules,manipulation by a panel of judges in connivance with the show organizers and waste of public money.
Can Shri Gajendra Singh and his panel of 5 judges explain to the viewers their compulsions which is making them bend the rules of the game from time to time? What is the sanctity of the rules framed initially if the same are modified to suit certain participants? If sympathy and tear shedding tactics are going to strengthen one’s position in the top five or so, there will be quite a few singers working in bars or living a moderate living and desperately dreaming to become play back singers?
Secondly, if time and again the panel of judges is questioning the public’s ability to make right choices and exercising their powers to call back the eliminated participants , supported by feeble unconvincing explanations, why in the first place you empowered the public? (To ensure the prosperity of mobile companies or to provide for fat payments to judges?) and then the public is again asked to bring back the participants through their votes. It is as good as floating a fraud company where the innocent investors are cheated.
In fact, by making the public choose a candidate of their choice through SMSing, you are creating regional groupism instead of promoting national integration.
Please have a relook at the direction in which the Voice of India is drifting so that all of us do not have to witness a day when the programme TRP would have gone down so much that the “Voice of India “would get muffled.
2.
BOBBY | October 30, 2007 at 10:30 am
I have another comment on sms voting. The episode what they are showing on TV were filmed weeks back and certain candidates were already eliminated. Still they are asking for sma votes for the already eleimnated candidates. This is clear case of cheating.
3.
anandkrishna | November 4, 2007 at 5:06 pm
Some participants seem to rely on the “sympathy vote”. Personally, I think a talent show should not allow such extraneous considerations, as it detracts from the spirit of the competition. And given that the number of votes determines who gets to the next round, this allows partcipants (usually those that are not the best) to tug at people’s heart strings by seeking support.
And as I have said in my original post on the subject, SMS based competitions also tend to accentuate parochialism. Many contestants apeal to people from their state- which itself is not right in my view, as these are supposedly national- and not regional-talent discovery forums. Someone from a large state inherently is at an advantage vis-a-vis someone from a smaller state.
And finally, given the eternal quest for TRP ratings (which drive ad pricing for the TV channels), most of these shows are broadcast at around the same time. So even if someone wants to vote for their favorite singers, how many SMSs can one send each day- purely from the perpsective of cost per SMS?
Any reactions?