GEC Watch: Sony gains numbers; marches ahead of SAB

All the other top Hindi GECs saw a decline in viewership in Week 17 of TAM.

Multi Screen Media's flagship Hindi general entertainment channel, Sony Entertainment Television, was the only gainer amongst top channels in the genre this week.

As per TAM data (HSM, 4+, C&S), the channel added around 53004 GVTs to register 297073 GVTs in Week 17 of TAM. Sony's shows like Jee Le Zara (1305 TVTs), Adaalat (1483 TVTs), Crime Patrol (242 TVTs) and Maharana Pratap (2828 TVTs) garnered better viewership as compared to the previous week.

On the back of added eyeballs, Sony raced ahead of its younger sibling SAB TV, occupying the fifth position in the hierarchy.

Despite losing around 47341 GVTs, Star Plus was way ahead of its competitors. The channel grossed 743435 GVTs in the week ended April 26. Seven of its fiction shows appeared in the top 10 shows' list.

Zee TV continued to be at No. 2 with 444500 GVTs this week; it registered 473025 GVTs in Week 16 of TAM. Its historical drama Jodha Akbar garnered one of the top slots in the Hindi GEC shows' chart.

Next was Colors with 423262 GVTs (last week 433237 GVTs). The channel managed to push its comedy non-fiction show Comedy Nights with Kapil to the top 10 shows' list.

Meanwhile, Star Plus' sister channel Life OK closed the week with 349580 GVTs. It had recorded 389214 GVTs in the previous week.

SAB TV settled at No.6 with 260127 GVTs, a little low from last week's 265573 GVTs. Its comedy fiction Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah continued to be one of the most watched in the genre.

Sahara One and Z Anmol clocked 22645 GVTs (last week 21245 GVTs) and 71400 GVTs (last week 76195 GVTs), respectively.

Star Plus' Diya Aur Baati Hum continued to be the most watched show in the genre with an average TVT of 13301. It was followed by Zee TV's Jodha Akbar that took the No.2 spot in the top 10 shows' list with 9834 TVTs.

The next three slots were occupied by Star Plus' Saathiya Saath Nibhana (9503 TVTs), Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai (7490 TVTs) and Mahabharat (7346 TVTs).

At No. 6 was Colors' Comedy Nights with Kapil that got 6992 TVTs, followed by Star Plus' Veera (6784 TVTs) and Pyaar ka Dard (6310 TVTs).

The ninth spot on the chart was taken by SAB TV's flagship show Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah that clocked 6098 TVTs. The next on the ladder was Star Plus' Yeh Hai Mohabbatein with 5880 TVTs.

The leading channels seem to have seen a drop in viewership because of the airing of Indian Premiere League Season 7 on Sony Max and Sony Six.

For the record, the figures mentioned are approximate TVT figures. TVT is television viewership in 1000s (TVR in 1000). It is the average number of individuals in '000s that are available at any given minute of the programme/day part that is under consideration. It captures growth in TV audiences in the country in absolute numbers. The TVR system, in contrast, works on percentages.