Star’s flagship channel has nearly 50% lead over Colors
When the general entertainment channel from the Viacom18 stable, Colors, grabbed the top slot in viewership ratings for a good 22 weeks last financial year, Star Plus reinvented itself to keep pace with the new-age Indian women.
Today, rival channels have lined up a host of big-budget reality shows to attract eyeballs, yet Star Plus which continues to bet big on fictional narratives remains unfazed. The channel has managed to not only regain and retain its leadership position but has also enhanced the gap with competition.
According to data available with TAM, a television viewership monitoring agency, Star Plus had 391 Gross Rating Points (GRPs) last month as compared to 268 GRPs garnered by Colors and 204 by Zee. GRPs are an aggregate of TRPs (TV rating points) which are a measure of the percentage of viewers watching a particular programme at a given time. GRPs of a channel usually translate into its advertising revenue, and are therefore of maximum value.
Anupam Vasudev, head, marketing, Star India says, “Star Plus today enjoys a nearly 50 per cent lead over the closest competitor. Reality shows capture 10 per cent of our total programming but they tend to get talked about more due to the noise and buzz. In the long run, however, it is fiction that drives viewers. True to our tagline, ‘Rishta Wahi, Soch Nayi’, we are offering viewers a fresh perspective on life and relationships and that has converted into an increase in GRPs.”
Brave words for a channel, which had shot back in the limelight in 2000 after bringing in Kaun Banega Crorepati – a property it has since given up.
But it also shows the repositioning of the channel, which now has 18 of its shows among the top 20 slots. While ‘Saathiya’ leads the Hindi general entertainment category with a television rating of 5.3 points, ‘Yeh Rishta’ follows next with 4.9 TVR.
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“The changes we that we have brought about in our existing content is steadily showing results and viewers are back on the channel. Hindi GEC is no longer remaining general in its entertainment fare. Innovative formats in the programming strategy are the need of the hour as identical narratives fail to impress viewers. We will continue to innovate and live up to the commitments we have made to draw in audiences”, added Vasudev.
In the current quarter, the channel has scheduled for launch ‘Gulaal’ and another fiction show which will be announced in December. ‘Gulal’ traces the life of a simple girl based in a village in Kutch. Yet, as in all women characters portrayed on Star Plus now, her character depicts an inner strength which enables her to make intelligent choices for the betterment of her people.