Tam from 02/01/11 to 08/01/11

Last week, Star Plus wrapped its highest delivering property 'Bidayi' with 'Gulaal' that debuted on November 15, 2010. As interesting as the move is, many have seen it as a risk. The first set of numbers of the show is here.

TAM Media Research data shows that 'Gulaal' opened with a 2.87 TVR on Monday, and has stayed in the 2-plus range, with the exception of November 18, 2010, when the episode rating is at 1.85 TVR. An absolute comparison is not fair at present as this is the opening week, but the numbers are modest when compared to 'Bidayi'.

Anupam Vasudev, EVP Marketing, STAR India, reminded that unlike format shows and other such properties, soaps or serials were "long-term propositions". In a conversation with exchange4media, he explained, "It is too early to predict anything at this point as the show has only seen two and a half hours of air time yet. We have to give the show at least four weeks before we can gauge anything. It is not a T20 game, where we have to win the match in 20 overs ' this is a long term process, and we have a vision of two to three months for the show."

Even as many eyes are on 'Gulaal', and whether Star Plus can repeat the magic, the 9.00 pm itself is witnessing an intense battle.

GEC war at 9 pm
Defying anything that the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting had to say, 'Bigg Boss' is continuing at 9.00 pm, and last week, the 'Bigg Boss' house hosted Pamela Anderson for three days. 'Bigg Boss' that has otherwise been delivering around 3-plus TVRs for its episodes, saw a spike in ratings last week averaging at almost 4.5 TVR for the period that Anderson was on the show. The average, however, would drop if the Monday episode, November 16, 2010, is included.

'Bigg Boss' has rated better than 'Kaun Banega Crorepati', Sony's prime 9 pm attraction, despite star anchor Amitabh Bachchan. 'KBC' has managed an average of 3.68 TVR in the week.

Despite all the action in the slot, and channels like Colors spending a reported amount of Rs 3 crore for including Pamela Anderson on the show ' exchange4media couldn't independently verify the figure ' the one show that had a strong week was 'Pavitra Rishta' on Zee TV. The show hit a massive 6.27 TVR, which is one of the best numbers that it has seen so far.

The 9.00 pm war promises to continue, and it is evident that for now, it is not an easy slot to crack.

Also read:

As Hindi general entertainment channels begin the 2011 ratings report card, exchange4media looks at what New Year fare allowed a good opening to channels.

Star Plus premiered the Big Star Entertainment Awards, its joint property with Big CBS, on December 31, 2010 at 10 pm, which garnered a rating of 5.51 TVR. Amongst the top watched shows across channels on New Year's Eve, Star Plus boasted of three shows. 'Saathiya Saath Nibhana' ranked at the top with a 5.58 TVR, followed by 'Sasuraal Genda Phool' with 5.83 TVR, while shows like 'Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hain' and 'Chand Chupa Baadal Mein' made it in the Top 10.

Colors compensated for their lack of holiday-specific shows by offering two Hindi feature films on Saturday ' 'Once Upon a Time in Mumbai' and 'Pyaar Kiya Toh Darna Kya', both of which drew in ratings close to 1.5 TVR.

The other interesting watch was Zee TV, which began the year with the launch of the fourth season of 'Dance India Dance ' DID Doubles'. A grand opening of two back-to-back 90-minute long episodes were planned for the show. 'DID Doubles' began airing at the 9.30 pm slot and continued into the late night programming slot, which pulled in numbers of 4.59 TVR and 1.59 TVR for the channel. The leading show at 9 pm was the currently high rating 'Pavitra Rishta', which scored a 5.45 TVR, coupled with other new top grossers such as 'Jhansi Ki Rani' that rated 3.75 TVR and 'Yahaan Mein Ghar Ghar Kheli' that rated 3.44 TVR.

For Sab TV, shows such as 'Ring Wrong Ring' and 'Papad Pol' seem to be catching on with the audiences as ratings on December 31, 2010 ranged close to 1 TVR, whereas 'Tarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chasma' has pulled in a 2.95 TVR rating. 'Mrs Tendulkar' is another show due for launch to supplement the channel's fiction programming, which has been extended to a Monday to Friday format with an elongated prime time beginning from 7.30 pm, as opposed to the standard 8 pm followed by most other channels.

In Week 53, (December 25, 2010 to January 1, 2011), as per data from TAM Media Research, Star Plus continued to lead the pack, moving up 29 points from 368 GRPs to 396 GRPs. Colors remained at No. 2, dropping slightly from 290 GRPs to 283 GRPs in Week 53, increasing the gain margin for Star Plus. Next was Zee TV at No. 3 with 224 GRPs, followed by Sony Entertainment Television and Sab TV, which have maintained steady ratings of 179 GRPs and 146 GRPs, respectively, same as from last week. Imagine, Star One and Sahara One have seen small but encouraging rise in ratings, putting them at 86 GRPs, 38 GRPs and 31 GRPs, respectively, in the final week of 2010.