9X, Bindass trump popular TV channels

9X, Bindass trump popular TV channels

The new GEC channels, 9X and Bindass, has started making inroads into the viewership of the already established MTV, [V], Sony, Star Utsav, Sahara One and SAB TV who are smarting under this new attack to their strongholds. With an impressive 30 per cent penetration of the C&S households within the first month of broadcast itself, 9X has made a very impressive start. 9X is visible in all the major metro towns and some audience measurement agencies have reported that 9X is almost on par with the decade old Sony entertainment channel, the weakest of the three "senior" GEC channels of Sony, Zee and Star which have been broadcasting for almost a decade now.

Good household penetration and wide pre-launch exposure has contributed in garnering this early viewership. Bindass, the youth channel from UTV, is busy diluting the leadership of MTV and Channel [V] among the young viewers. The audience ratings for the UTV Bindass shows an impressive rating for the week day prime time slot, outnumbering Channel [V] and MTV by big margins. One of the major attractions on Bindass is their masala mix of hit English movies and other entertainment shows. Earlier this year, Sony Entertainment Television had also spruced up its inventory by acquiring exclusive world satellite rights of five blockbuster movies from Yash Raj Films. The movies were Chak De! India, Ta Ra Rum Pum, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, Laaga Chunari Main Daag and Aaja Nachle. With the viewer getting more selective, the channels will have to use every trick to upgrade and their content and retain viewer ship numbers.

www.deccan.com