STAR Plus bets on Rajshri’s love story to strengthen 8 pm slot

Rajshri Productions has always been known for producing family love stories. It carried its legacy into television with ‘Woh Rehne Wali Mehlon Ki’ on SaharaOne. Despite the channel being not so popular, the serial has been wildly successful, garnering a high TVR of 3.9, which no SaharaOne show has been able to attain till date.

Now, the leading general entertainment channel (GEC), STAR Plus, is trying to strengthen its 8 pm time band with Rajshri’s ‘Pyaar Ke Do Naam... Ek Raadha, Ek Shyaam’. The show will go on air from April 3.

The senior executives at STAR Plus are quite visibly optimistic about the success of the new soap. As Shailja Kejriwal, senior creative director, STAR India, says, “Around three years ago, the 8 pm time slot on STAR Plus used to deliver an average TVR of around 6, which saw a subsequent decline to around 3.5.”

“But now we hope to reinvent this slot and get back to our original high TVRs with this new show,” she says.

The reason for Kejriwal’s optimism is that the daily soap is based on a love story and it will bring in viewers in the age group of 15-25 years.

According to close watchers of the industry such as Kajal Malik, regional director, OMS, STAR Plus is in an advantageous position because none of the other competing channels have a stronger line-up in this time slot.

For instance, while the current show in the time slot on STAR Plus, ‘Mum Tum Aur Hum’, garnered the highest TVR of 3.52 (among the GEC channels) in the last six weeks, ‘Kaisa Ye Pyar Hai’ on Sony managed 2.85 in the same period. And ‘Tumhari Disha’ on Zee TV could get only 1.38 (as per TAM data analysed by agencyfaqs!; Base: C&S, 4+, HSM, Weeks 4-9, 2006).

Malik says, “STAR Plus’ current objective is to rejuvenate its weaker time slots. And this early evening time band has not been STAR Plus’ strength of late.”

Malik is of the opinion that the new show will help STAR Plus win some young viewers, a group that every broadcaster and advertiser is desperate to reach. She says, “A section of today’s youthful viewers might be slightly inclined towards a channel such as STAR One, but they are certainly not loyal to any channel.”

According to the assessment of another senior media planner, Anita Nayyar, Rajshri’s credibility and its expertise in making great love stories will play a major role in the success of this show. Nair, who is managing director, Starcom, North India and Pakistan, says, “The 8 pm slot is already youth oriented, so the STAR-Rajshri magic could work well here.”

She adds, “The show will have the combo of big banner and big platform, which will contribute to its success, provided the content and treatment are perfect.”

Kejriwal asserts that the show will follow a tight storyline and, whether it succeeds or fails, will end in a year.

Well, that’s a relief, considering that many viewers are now falling asleep, waiting for Tulsi to become a great grandmother.

© 2006 agencyfaqs!