Bigg Boss vs Cricket World Cup: A Delightful Dilemma For Audience

Indian viewers are in for an eventful month ahead, with both the Cricket World Cup and 'Bigg Boss' on their entertainment calendar.

The World Cup had its official kickoff on October 5, while Kamal Haasan's 'Bigg Boss Tamil 7' and Sudeep's 'Bigg Boss Kannada 10' were launched on October 1 and October 8, in that order. This week, Salman Khan-hosted 'Bigg Boss 17' will take off.

From the audience's perspective, this presents a delightful scheduling dilemma. "It's a happy headache for us. Because the next 40 days we will be glued to TVs enjoying both cricket and 'Bigg Boss Kannada'," 65-year-old Vijayakumar tells Oneindia. "On the days there are Indian matches, we prefer watching cricket to reality shows," he points out.

However, there are also people who prefer watching TV shows to sports. "Our first choice will remain 'Bigg Boss Tamil'. If it was T20 cricket, we might have been tempted to watch cricket. Since it is 50-over ODI matches, we keep juggling between the channels during the breaks," Chennai-based Venkat Subramaniam says.

What comes as a big advantage for the fans of both cricket and reality show is they can watch 'Bigg Boss' once the matches are over on the OTT platform. "Gone are the days we used to worry about missing TV shows. Today, we can easily watch any missed episodes on OTT platforms at our convenience," Sadashiva, who watches both 'Bigg Boss Tamil' and 'Bigg Boss Kannada', says.

"We usually watch the matches live. If it is boring, we will switch channels. Else we watch both the version of the reality shows the next day," he adds.

While 'Bigg Boss Tamil' is streamed on Disney+Hotstar, the Kannada version can be enjoyed on Jio Cinema. The forthcoming 'Bigg Boss 17' will be available for watching on Jio Cinema.

However, not everyone is familiar with the OTT platform and there are people in rural areas who even today watch matches and shows on satellite channels. "If it is T20, we will prefer watching cricket. Else it takes the backseat," Somashekar, who owns a provision store, claims.