ORG-Marg presents findings on Thursday Premieres

Two months after launching Thursday Premieres, ZEE TV, the flagship channel of ZEE Telefilms Ltd (ZTL) has claimed 40 per cent viewership for its weekday movie initiative. This statement comes on the back of a DAR or Day After Recall study conducted by ORG-Marg across six cities, namely, Mumbai, Ludhiana, Lucknow, Jaipur, Bhopal and Meerut (Delhi was included after two rounds).

The study tracked viewership patterns of movies screened every Thursday, beginning with Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hain, the third film in the series (telecast on October 24, 2002). A total of 1,800 interviews were conducted across locations targeting adults in the socio-economic class of A, B and C, all having a cable and satellite connection.

"I wanted the initiative to settle in before starting the survey," says Apurva Purohit, president, ZEE TV, explaining the reason for commencing the study with the third film rather than the first, The Legend of Bhagat Singh. "Only then do you get a fair estimate," she adds.

According to the study, ZEE TV as a channel is available across socio-economic classes and cities whereas Sony is slightly less tuned in, in smaller metros as well as in the city of Mumbai.

Overall viewership for most titles, except for children's movie Little John hovered in the region of 40 per cent with Mumbai being one of the high points in the survey. Viewership for Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hain was highest in Meerut (52 per cent) with Mumbai and Jaipur following close behind at 49 per cent and 43 per cent respectively. Om Jai Jagadish (telecast on October 31, 2002) had the highest viewership in Mumbai and Lucknow (47 per cent for each centre) with Bhopal and Jaipur following with 42 and 36 per cent respectively. Mujhse Dosti Karoge (telecast on November 7, 2002) had 51 per cent viewership in Mumbai and Jaipur while Lucknow and Delhi were placed at 48 and 39 per cent respectively. Little John (telecast on November 14, 2002) had an overall viewership of 24 per cent with Mumbai and Meerut scoring the highest in the Day After Recall survey conducted on November 15, 2002. Figures for the two cities stood at 35 per cent.

"The study proves that a large percentage of viewers did watch Thursday Premieres; and so the programme displayed high stickiness," claims Purohit. "Normally a four-week span gives you a fair idea about the viewership pattern for a certain property. We intend continuing with DAR studies, but for other programmes or initiatives on the channel," she reiterates.

According to the survey, the mean or average age of a person watching Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hain was 29.6 years, while for Om Jai Jagadish, Mujhse Dosti Karoge and Little John, it was 30.1, 29.1 and 27.9 years respectively. © 2002 agencyfaqs!