Top GECs record losses in GRPs

The low interest in sports channels, despite the IPL, maybe an indication that a cricket fatigue is setting in amongst the viewers. The top three Hindi GECs, too, recorded losses in total viewership.

Star Plus, the flagship Hindi GEC from the STAR stable, has shed 15 points in Week 16 to garner 319 GRPs for the week ended April 16 (TAM C&S 4+, HSM). Its relative channel share, however, remains stable at 26.5 per cent.

Meanwhile, second-in-command Colors lost 31 GRPs during the same period, while its relative share dropped to 18.1 per cent from the previous week's 19.7 per cent.

While for Star Plus the loss was primarily pushed by the absence of any weekend event property, Colors' weekend movies failed to attract enough audience.

At No. 3, Zee TV, too, lost 24 GRPs to lock 197 GRPs in Week 16. Its relative channel share is 16.4 per cent, down from the 17.5 per cent share that it had registered in the previous week.

Interestingly, Sony, at the fourth spot, has grown in channel share despite a fall in its gross rating points. Standing at 146 GRPs (152 GRPs in Week 15), Sony's relative channel share has moved up from 12 per cent to 12.2 per cent.

Sibling channel SAB, too, has grown in its channel share, despite a five point drop in GRPs. In Week 16, SAB's GRP is 135 points, while its channel share is 11.2 per cent (11 per cent in the previous week).

Industry observers note that while the overall Hindi GEC pie has witnessed a loss in total viewership, the shift in the eyeballs has not happened towards the IPL matches, but to other genres such as movies, kids and youth channels.

"Despite the on-going IPL, the sports genre has seen a drop of about 30 GRPs. This may be an indication that a cricket fatigue is setting in amongst the viewers," says a media observer.

However, Imagine TV has garnered an additional 10 points during the week (58 GRPs in the previous week), and its relative channel share has also moved up to 5.6 per cent (4.6 per cent in Week 15).

While STAR Utsav and STAR One have garnered 37 GRPs and 33 GRPs respectively, their relative shares recorded are 3 per cent and 2.7 per cent, respectively.

On the other hand, Sahara One has managed to garner 30 GRPs, with 2.5 per cent relative share.

On the list of the 10 most-watched programmes on Hindi GECs, Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai on StarPlus is at No. 1, with a TVR of 5.79.

Saathiya Saath Nibhana is the second most-watched programme, recording a TVR of 5.14, followed by Pavitra Rishta at No. 3 with 4.93 TVR.

The other shows on the list are Uttaran, Sasural Genda Phool, Yahan Mein Ghar Ghar Kheli, Pratigya, Na Aana Is Des Laado, Balika Vadhu and Navya.