Star leads, Sony back to third

After a difficult first quarter of 2008, Star Plus has substantially improved its lead over Zee in the second quarter. According to week 30 of TAM data, Star Plus delivered 315 GRPs against Zee's 216. But the picture wasn't rosy for the leader in the GEC space in February and March — Zee was almost within distance of catching up with the leader with 309 GRPs against Star's 330.

After the launch of NDTV Imagine in January, Sony had lost its third position to the former in the first quarter and later to 9X in April and May. But in the last two months, Sony too has reclaimed its third position with an average of 99 GRPs over the last nine weeks.

What has led to Star's improved performance and which shows have helped Sony bounce back in the third GEC slot? Fiction is working great for Star Plus across all slots — weekday prime time, weekend prime and the revamped afternoon weekday delivering better than the competition.

While Kyunki makes its presence felt and Bidaai continues to rule, the fiction shows launched on Star in the past six months have steadily climbed on charts. Kis Desh Mein Hai Mera Dil is leading with 4.6 ratings against Zee's Maayka. Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat has fought competition and risen to 4.2 TVR. Similarly, Hamari Devrani has boosted Star's ratings.

Sony too has reclaimed its third slot with weekend shows like CID, Comedy Circus, Boogie Woogie and 10 Ka Dum. Says business head Albert Almeida, "10 Ka Dum has helped improve the channel's viewership by getting eyeballs for CID and Comedy Circus. Besides, Babul and Kuch Is Tarah have also started showing traction."