‘Kahaani Rating Kii’

On November 15, STAR Plus’ iconic show, ‘Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii’, went through a makeover and so did the ratings of the show. It’s been almost a year since a programme on STAR Plus garnered such high ratings

STAR Plus is on a high ever since its long-running soap opera, ‘Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii’, went through a serious makeover in appearance as well as story line. On November 15, 2006, television sets across the country were witness to the epic re-entry of the ideal ‘bhabhi’ of the small screen, Parvati Aggarwal (played by Saakshi Tanwar), in a glamorous new look. In tandem with the new look, the story of ‘KGGK’ took an 18-year leap and its script took a dramatic turn.

The result? The ratings for the programme soared. As per TAM Media Research for C&S 4+, HSM, ‘KGGK’ garnered a TVR of 15.34 on November 15, a high STAR Plus hasn’t seen in a while now, despite its prolonged dominance over the other general entertainment channels. STAR Plus claims that the Wednesday episode of ‘KGGK’ reached out to more than 12 million viewers. The highest rating that the programme had garnered earlier was 12.55, on January 3, 2006.

Media planners attribute the upswing in ratings to the show promotions, which began well before November 15. “There was strong network support for the show,” asserts Kajal Malik, regional director, OMS. According to her, STAR Plus invested quite a bit in the promotions. “The makeover or the protagonist’s comeback was projected as an event,” she explains.

Malik states that a minimum of two promos were aired during ‘Nach Baliye 2’ on STAR One, which helped to generate a high level of interest.

Basabdutta Chowdhury, COO, Madison Media Plus, points out that the November 15 episode was aired for 30 minutes without a break. “This was certainly a great strategy to hook viewers,” she says, and adds, “Besides, the aggressive promotions would have ensured high viewership for the show anyway.”

A logical inference could be that a popular programme, coupled with a strong promotional strategy and not too much competition, is a winning formula. For the record, on weekdays at 10pm, Sony Entertainment Television airs ‘Bigg Boss’, while Zee TV airs ‘Betiyaan’.

However, media planners express doubts about whether ‘KGGK’ can sustain its performance. “It was a gimmick that worked well, but the story line will have to be really interesting for it to continue delivering such ratings,” says Chowdhury.

The last significant TVR milestone that STAR Plus experienced was early in 2006, when ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’ recorded 14.86 on the TVR scale. Two other leading shows on the channel, ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ and ‘Kasauti Zindagi Kay’ also managed ratings of 12.85 in November 2005 and 12.82 in January 2006, respectively.

© 2006 agencyfaqs!