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Overtaking the long reigning king is no mean feat. Colors, in Week 15 of 2009, has surged ahead of STAR Plus, which has been ruling the general entertainment genre for almost a decade. The channel’s celebration didn’t stop at popping the champagne. The entire team has been partying since last afternoon, commemorating the achievement of this new milestone.
As per TAM’s analysis of Week 15, for C&S, 4+, HSM audiences, Colors raked in 292 GRPs, while STAR Plus garnered 267 – a difference of 25 GRPs. Adding more excitement to the battle, Zee fetched 236 GRPs.
The relative channel shares of Colors and STAR Plus stand at 25 per cent and 22 per cent respectively. STAR Plus’ share in Week 14 was 25 per cent; and it has also lost 40 GRPs compared to last week.
Week 15
In Week 15, Colors aired five movies, some of them with little or no commercial breaks. Singh is Kinng, for instance, was telecast without any commercial breaks. The film, which has made the rounds on other channels as well, fetched a TVR of 2.4 on Colors on Sunday.
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Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, which was aired for the second time on Colors, got a TVR of 1.3; while Bhoothnath got 1.2. Another movie, Indra The Tiger recorded a TVR of 1. These films were telecast with two to three breaks. On an average, a movie is usually aired with at least six to seven breaks. Colors garnered around 51 GRPs from the movies alone.
Nandini Dias, chief operating officer, Lodestar Universal, says, “A single break or break-free strategy in the long term is not sustainable, while it is a smart strategy. The cost incurred in buying a movie is high, making it imperative to monetize the airing of the movie. While it’s nice for the viewers, does it generate money or is it self-sustainable? I am not sure.”
3 D strategy
For Viacom-18’s GEC, the feat is the result of distinctive programming and some great marketing noise. A few days before the launch of the channel, Rajesh Kamat, CEO of Colors, had said that the channel aims to figure in the top three, within 12 months of launch.
The channel has focussed on the three Ds – distribution, differentiation and disruption. Kamat had said that after the initial samplings, the channel would go pay in about six months. It went pay early this month.
Colors has done quite a few innovations – roping in Akshay Kumar to host Fear Factor and Shilpa Shetty to anchor Bigg Boss season 2, telecasting a child marriage story on prime-time and having a kids’ laughter reality show.
The climb
Within the second week of launch, Colors was No 3. With a 10 per cent relative channel share, it raced past Sony, which had been in the slot for weeks. For the next few weeks, it contended with Sony for the third rank.
In September last year, it threatened Zee’s position – Colors had a 17 per cent share, while Zee had 18 per cent. In the following weeks, Colors reached and stuck to the No 2 rank.
Since November 2008, the GEC started to inch closer to STAR Plus. Since the beginning of 2009, Colors has been a few GRPs away from or almost at par with STAR Plus, until Week 15 dawned.
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Its driver shows -- Balika Vadhu, Jai Shri Krishna and Uttaran -- kept the GRPs coming, despite its big- ticket reality shows going off air. Coming up is the second season of Khatron Ke Khiladi.
About the ratings for the latest week, Lynn de Souza, chairperson and CEO, Lintas Media Group, says, “It was expected of Colors to surge ahead of STAR Plus. It was just a matter of time. It has been a steady climb for the GEC since launch.”
De Souza believes that there won’t be a clear leader in the forthcoming weeks; neither can one ascertain when a leader will emerge. “It will keep fluctuating between STAR Plus and Colors,” she says.
Also, with the IPL and election coverage, viewership is expected to be affected.
Ashivini Yardi, programming head, Colors, although ecstatic with the newfound status, says, “We know that it has just been one week and there are several more to go. We have a lot of plans ahead, foremost of which is to extend our weekend and afternoon slots with new programming.”
Currently, the original hours of programming on Colors, which is 22 hours per week, is less than that on any other GEC.
The Others
In Week 15, Zee has maintained its position at No 3 with 236 GRPs and a 19 per cent relative share. NDTV Imagine is at No 4 with 90 GRPs, followed by Sony with 78 GRPs at No 5. STAR One follows with 60 GRPs, while SAB, with 49 GRPs, is at No 7.
Sahara One has managed to rake in 48 GRPs in Week 15, followed by STAR Utsav and DD1, each of which have 26 GRPs. 9X and Real have recorded 23 and 19 GRPs respectively.
On the list of Top 10 programmes on GECs, Bidaai still rules the roost with 7.4 TVR, followed by another STAR Plus show, Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, which has garnered a TVR of 7. Balika Vadhu is at No 3, with a TVR of 6. The viewership of this show, which was once at the top, has been declining over the weeks.
Yardi offers an explanation. “I think we overdid the mourning track in the programme, which might have put the viewers off. But we have planned some drama and surprises in the next few weeks and are sure that the TVRs will pick up,” she states.
The other programmes on the Top 10 list are: Chhoti Bahu, Betiyaan and Dance India Dance on Zee; Jai Shri Krishna, Uttaran and Na Aana Is Des Laado on Colors; and Sab Ki Laadli Bebo on STAR Plus.
© 2010 afaqs!From Sumithra, Fri 17 Apr 2009 05:56:36 PM Congrats to the entire team of Colors.must say u have made people glued to the television after tiring day of work.it is good to see some sense in these programs.its jus a suggestion,one of the show on colors " Na aana is des me lado" has not caught up interest of mine.might be main lead "Siya" is not strong enough to sustain interest of viewers.
From Kshitij, Thu 16 Apr 2009 11:45:22 PM Congratulations to Colors for achieving this feat in a short span of 9 years. I hope Colors continues to reign the GECs and offer the same quality entertainment to its viewers. However, I prefer to see movies on weekends and its quite boring to watch serials.
From Preeth, Thu 16 Apr 2009 07:56:21 PM And the now fun begins...
So we have a winner! For a short while yet non the less!! Now is when the real fun will begin. Colors can hold on to the throne for a good enough time but then it'll be faced with the essential Q - Do u now innovate (in the real sense of the wrd) or do u play dwn stds for popular approval to keep ur place? Star after attainin the No 1 spot cudnt ever put anythin together which took the nxt step fwd (No KBC n game shows dnt count). They didnt challenge their audience. Colors has a choice. Lets hope they make the right decision.
From frank, Thu 16 Apr 2009 05:09:59 PM This is a very informative article and I appreciate colors for their performance. Like others even I’m a viewer of colors, especially their show Balika vadhu. It’s good to know that finally some channel beat star plus and managed to come at the top level.
‘Colors’ provides a good mix of entertainment and yes, I admit Real does the same, with good variety of decent shows for different age groups.
But still, I prefer watching real to other channels which repeats their old shows and doesn’t want to get rid of soppy soaps like kum kum and kasauti.
People are tired of watching kitchen politics and are looking for some change and newness and must say real is offering a break from such shows.
From Sushil Berry, Thu 16 Apr 2009 04:31:19 PM In this world No one could hold the position # 1. The big achievement is how long one can hold it . Specially in 9 months toughest period. I wish COLOUR to keep this as long as they can . Cheeers.
From Priyancka, Thu 16 Apr 2009 01:56:31 PM Well, Congrtas to Colors and Viacom 18. Must say, that am a constant viewers of primetime shows, so surely you have caught me as your target, Colors means ideas out of the box. Great going Creative team.
From Shawna, Thu 16 Apr 2009 01:41:46 PM Real test of time for REAL uh? great that colors did something no one ellse has managed to do. even if they fail to retain this status...it wil be long remembered.
From Yogesh, Thu 16 Apr 2009 01:11:49 PM Yikes! Star Utsav is ahead of REAL! For me, that is the real story, more than a month after the launch of the channel.
From sanjay rao, Thu 16 Apr 2009 11:41:22 AM great going colors good show !!!!! cheeeeeeeers!!!!!!!.
keep it up & best wishes for future.
