Anil Kapoor's 24 thrills metros, but slow in towns

The number of viewers watching the show dropped to 2.8 mn for the second episode

Anil Kapoor starrer thriller drama series ‘24’ has gotten off to a shaky start, with as many as 3.4 million viewers tuning into the first episode. In contrast, other high-profile shows like ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’, ‘Bigg Boss’ and ‘Mahabharat’ got above five million viewers on the launch day.

The number of viewers watching the show dropped to 2.8 million for the second episode of the crime thriller, which narrates the adventures of an anti-terrorist unit. The show airs on Viacom18-owned Colors. Industry observers say  shows like these take time to grow on audiences.

“This is a new genre of television content and audiences are yet to warm up to it. The show has done well in the metros. The LC1 (those with population less than 1,00,000) markets are where it has not succeeded, at least in the launch week. I would not write it off yet,” says a media observer. Nearly one third of the viewership for the show came from Delhi and Mumbai.

‘24’, which premiered on October 4, is the Indian adaption of the hit American series by the same name. Veteran Bollywood actor Kapoor, who also starred in the American series, has produced the Indian version. He also stars in the show as Jai Singh Rathod, an officer of the anti-terrorist unit, where he tries to save the prime ministerial candidate from being assassinated and free his family from the clutches of a kidnapper.

Long running crime-based show, CID, had raked in twice as much in ratings, even as the new show launched. As many as seven million viewers tuned into the 15-year-old show on Sony Entertainment Television (SET) for the week ending October 5. The viewers in fact grew 27% from 5.5 million from the week before.   

 

One of the big ticket shows of the season, Kaun Banega Crorepati (on SET) continued to shed viewers. The game show anchored by Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan lost 1.2 million viewers for the same week, at 3.9 million. 

 

Bigg Boss saw a very slight, 0.4% increase in viewership to 4.8 million. The slow growth in ratings were anticipated by media buyers who feel that ratings of celebrity reality shows will pick up viewership two or three weeks from the launch, as audiences get familiarised with this year's contestants.

 

Star India’s magnum opus Mahabharat, too continued to shed viewers in its third week. The show's viewership reduced by 11% to 4.9 million. 

 

Star Plus continued to top the charts with 501 million total viewers, followed by Colors at 476 million. Zee continues to be in third place with 415 million. Life OK took the fourth place, followed by SET and Sab TV.