I am still No. 1

Queen Bee: Ekta Kapoor

Soap queen maintains her shows are doing well,remains unperturbed by Zee's claim

Sapana Patil

Our report 'Time Bomb rips into saas-bahu sagas,' dated July 4, seems to have stirred up quite a reaction in channel circles. However, if Ekta Kapoor noticed it, she isn't batting an eyelid…not as yet at least.A spokesperson for Balaji Telefilms says, "Viewers could not watch Star (Plus) that night (on June 27), as cable put off Star for that night. This was due to a technical failure. All other channels were on." Repeated calls to Zee TV's president Abhijit Saxena failed to evoke a response. However, insiders maintain that Zee does not want to get into a catfight over tube performances.As far as they go, Time Bomb and it's instant success speak for itself.There is nothing more to say about the issue.There are several excuses floating around but Time Bomb is definitely at the centre of the controversy. If Ekta feels that technical failure is the reason for the rising viewer ratings for Zee's Time Bomb, then so be it. The report says: The latest TAM ratings (an auditing agency that rates television programmes) revealed that Zee's political thriller Time Bomb had achieved a viewer rating of 2.34 in the Hindi speaking market on June 27. Consequent to the launch of Time Bomb in the 10 to 11 pm time slot on June 20, ratings for Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii and Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, ruling dramas on this Star Plus slot until now, dipped miserably. On June 27, Kahaani… and Kyunki… saw a decline in ratings by 32 per cent and 44 per centrespectively. Also, research indicates that in the said time band, male viewership on Zee TV increased by 210 per cent and female viewership increased by 323 per cent. The increase in the number of eyeballs watching Time Bomb can be largely attributed to a fall of 30 per cent male viewership for Kahaani… and Kyunki… each. Kahaani… has seen a 39 per cent fall in female viewership and Kyunki… a 50 per cent fall in the same category.