'Khatron Ke Khiladi 3' opening TRP ratings breaks record

New Delhi, Sep 15 (IANS) The third season of action adventure show 'Fear Factor - Khatron Ke Khiladi 3', hosted by Bollywood diva Priyanka Chopra, has beaten the opening ratings of the previous two editions.

TAM media research findings say that the launch episode of the show saw a 26 percent jump in ratings over last year which were 4.4. Thanks to the show, the Colors Channel saw an increase in overall reach - from 18.4 percent last year to 19.2 percent this year.

This is the highest launch for a Bollywood star since 2008 according to the TAM Data - Week 37. The first two seasons of the show were hosted by Akshay Kumar.

'After two successful seasons of 'Fear Factor - Khatron Ke Khiladi', we are encouraged by the overwhelming viewer response to the third season. The exceptional show rating which is higher than the earlier two seasons indicates that the content and the format have been accepted well by viewers,' Rajesh Kamat, chief operating officer, Colors, said in a statement.

'We have taken the show to the next level in terms of scale, credibility and delivering value to our advertising partners,' he added.

The ongoing season was earlier supposed to have cricketers as contestants but now male celebrities from differen walks of including, actors Dino Morea, Rahul Bose, Shabbir Ahluwalia, Karan Singh Grover, filmmaker Abhishek Kapoor, car racer Armaan Ebrahem and squash champion Ritwik Bhattacharya, are see doing daredevil stunts in it.

Each male celebrity is teamed up with a non-celebrity female contestant.