Salman Khan beats Big B and Shilpa Shetty in Bigg Boss

If the ratings provided by aMap are anything to go by, host Salman Khan attracted a much bigger audience to Bigg Boss Season 4, than Amitabh Bachchan and Shilpa Shetty in the previous seasons of the reality show

Actor Salman Khan is known for appealing to a mass audience, whether it is his movies or brand endorsements. Going by the number of viewers who tuned into watch the fourth season of Bigg Boss, hosted by Khan, his popularity continues undiminished. The launch episode of the show got a TVR of 3.6, according to aMap (C&S, 4+, NWE). This is the highest-ever viewership garnered by the launch episode of any of the seasons of Bigg Boss.

The third season of the reality show, which was hosted by Amitabh Bachchan (who played Pop Philosopher), garnered a TVR of 3 on the launch day, as per aMap. During Season 2, hosted by actor Shilpa Shetty, the opening day episode recorded a TVR of 1.5.

More than 20 million viewers tuned into watch Bigg Boss on Sunday, October 03 on Colors, which was the inaugural episode that introduced the contestants of the show. This is almost double the number of viewers who tuned into the third season. The launch day of the last season had 11 million viewers.

Between 9 pm and midnight on October 03, Bigg Boss was the most watched programme on Hindi GECs. Colors enjoyed an 18.4 per cent reach during that time band. Zee managed to gather 12 per cent reach, owing to shows such as Gold Awards and Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Singing Superstars.

Media planners give it a thumbs-up. According to Basabdutta Chowdhury, chief executive officer, Platinum Media, the fact that Bigg Boss has fetched these numbers, despite coinciding with the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, is a good feat.

"This time, the promotions were bigger and different from what it is usually, with the music video and PR buzz. Besides, of course, the host Salman Khan is an eyeball grabber," she observes.

Divya Radhakrishnan, president, TME thinks Salman Khan is the right anchor for Bigg Boss. "The opening episode was very different this time with star-studded entertainment; while last time, with Amitabh Bachchan, it was a tad serious," she says.

Salman Khan has definitely rendered his touch to the show, the initial viewership trend suggests. The contestant dynamics will now decide how many eyeballs are retained.