Another flash in the pan? STAR News dethrones Aaj Tak

As per the latest TAM ratings for week 25, STAR News garnered a channel share of 22 per cent, which is one per cent more than Aaj Tak's stake of 21 per cent

Aaj Tak's dominance in the Hindi news space has been there for the past few years except for a few bubbles in between when other channels made their presence felt for a week or two. But, the exceptions have been few and far between.

What analysts term as "a flash in the pan", STAR News has yet again dethroned the undisputed leader Aaj Tak, similarly the way it did last year. However, this change could be just a temporary incident, if things go history's way.

As per the latest TAM ratings for week 25, STAR News garnered a relative channel share of 22 per cent, which is one percentage point more than Aaj Tak’s stake of 21 per cent. (Source: TAM, C&S, 15+, HSM)

"We have seen in the past how channels other than Aaj Tak are conspicuous by their absence for the numero uno position. It won't be a surprise if this one also turns out to be a one-off event," says Nandini Dias, COO, Lodestar Universal.

STAR has beaten close competitor Aaj Tak for the second consecutive time in two weeks, a similar feat it achieved last year. As reported last year by agencyfaqs!, the battle between the two started heating up from Week 39 of 2006 onwards, before STAR News finally overtook Aaj Tak in the week 40 & 41.

Mirroring last year's journey to the top, STAR News attained the top slot for two continuous weeks with a channel share of 21 and 22 per cent in the week 24 and 25 respectively – one percentage higher than Aaj Tak's share for the same period. (C&S 15+, Hindi speaking markets, relative market share)

Not all media experts consider this as a one-off event. Mona Jain, EV-P, ZenithOptimedia felt that the development was a pleasant change and would bring in some competition. "STAR News had been pushing for numero uno position for some time and one could feel it was coming. It was just a matter of time. I expect them to stay at top. If not, at least, STAR News will keep pushing for the top slot as the gap between the number one and two in the Hindi news space has narrowed," adds Jain.

STAR News isn't the only channel that has been consistently finishing at the podium. The king of ‘Breaking News’, India TV, has consistently been featuring among the top three Hindi news channels, since week 20, when for the first time it attained the second position in this genre. As per the latest figures, India TV completed the troika at the top for the week 25 with a channel share of 18 per cent.

Commenting on the successful run of STAR News, Barun Das, vice-president, MCCS, says, “The consistent upward trend of STAR News as well as the group’s Bengali news channel, STAR Ananda along with the viewers' positive feedback to the recently launched Marathi channel, encourages us to believe that we are on the right track.”

More than achieving leadership, the significant factor is to retain the numero uno position. But, it is the media buyers who are enjoying this battle the most with competition helping them bargain the price.

"The competition for the top slot has made our job much easier. At least, Aaj Tak would do away with its stringent pricing regime,” concludes Jain of ZenithOptimedia.