When Priyanka Chopra challenges 13 men to indulge in daredevil stunts, it makes for interesting television. However, the debut episode of Khatron Ke Khiladi season 3 (Kkk3) on Monday fell short in ratings, compared to its first episode last season, hosted by original khiladi Akshay Kumar.
According to TV audience rating agency aMap, the opening show of Kkk3 on Colors got a rating of 2.4. When Kumar hosted the second season of the show in 2009 with female contestants, it had got a rating of 2.9 on the opening day. On the first day in the 2008 season, the rating was 1.6. The ratings represent the percentage of the television viewing population that saw the show for a stipulated time.
“Kumar is a much bigger star than Chopra and has a much higher fan following, so it is not surprising that the show had a better opening last year. However, even this season, the show has not done badly. Hopefully, in the coming weeks, the show will do as well, if not better, than the last seasons,” said a senior executive at one of the sponsors of the show.
Good ratings for the show are important as it could prove to be the acid test for the fourth seasons of two other big-budget shows that will be aired in mid-October. While Colors will have the fourth season of another celebrity reality show, Bigg Boss, hosted by Salman Khan, Sony will have Kaun Banega Crorepati, hosted by Amitabh Bachchan.
Garnier Men Deodorant is the presenting sponsor of Kkk3. The channel has roped in eight associate sponsors, including Micromax mobile, CEAT, Mahindra Scorpio, Tic Tac, Vodafone, Sony Bravia, Streax and TVS Star City.
For celebrity-driven reality shows, while presenting sponsors pay between Rs 10-15 crore, associate sponsors shell out around Rs 6-7 crore. Colors is expected to rake in around Rs 55 crore from Kkk3. However, big-budget shows come with their high cost factor, as a single day shoot could cost a production house over Rs 1 crore, as the hosts charge a huge share as fees.
This season of Kkk3 had initial setbacks, as it was set to have 13 cricketers as contestants in the show, but with cricketers making unannounced exit from the programme, the makers had to make replacements with other celebrities.
The contestants of this season include Rahul Bose, Terrence Lewis (choreographer), Cyrus Broacha, Rahul Dev, Milind Soman, Manjot Singh (the affable Sardar of Oye Lucky Lucky Oye fame), Abhishek Kapoor, Shabbir Ahluvalia, Karan Singh Grover, Dino Morea, Armaan Ebrahim (Folmula Two car racer), and squash player Ritwik Bhattacharya.
