Star News claims top slot with Aaj Tak

MUMBAI: Star News has claimed that it has shot up to share the top position with Aaj Tak, fuelled by a spurt in viewership in Mumbai following the week that flooded the city.

According to latest Tam data, quoted by Star News, the channel enjoyed a 25 per cent share among C&S 15+ audiences in the Hindi speaking markets (HSM) for the week ended 6 August. NDTV and Zee News lagged behind, holding a share of 15 per cent share each.

In Mumbai, however, Star News was a clear leader in this audience group with a 33 per share, followed by Aaj Tak (28 per cent), while NDTV India and Zee News shared the third slot (11 per cent each).

Commenting on the gains made by Star News, Media Content & Communications Services India Pvt. Ltd, (MCCS) CEO Uday Shankar says, "It is very satisfying. This points to the kind of endorsement Star News enjoyed with its slant on human interest stories following the torrid rains on 26 July."

MCCS is a joint venture between Star Group and ABP TV ( owned by ABP Group of Kolkata) that manages Star News and its Bengali sibling Star Ananda.

Quoting Tam data, Star News claimed to have seven of its programmes in the top ten. Shankar says the people-oriented programming helped the channel to get in audiences.

Viewers also spent more time on Star News. According to Tam data provided by Star News, the time spent per viewer on the channel was 54 minutes as against Aaj Tak's 42 minutes. For Zee News, the comparative figure was 32 minutes while NDTV's stood at 28 minutes. Says a jubilant Shankar, "For Star News, the journey has just begun."