GECs
Brand Kapil Sharma, a success on twitter too
MUMBAI: He has managed to charm Indian audiences with his sense of humour and timing. Brand Kapil Sharma though, is not just limited to television but the funnyman is a hit on micro blogging site twitter too. He features at the top of the most followed among TV celebrities on twitter with 17, 17,777 followers, followed by anchor Mandira Bedi with 4, 93,190. Fashionista Anusha Dandekar, is third in the list with 3, 28,262 followers. Television actor Ram Kapoor completes the list with 1,27,717.
Indian channels too have been seeing increasing engagement on the micro blogging site, to woo fans and audiences. The channel Colors comes at the number one spot toppling other GEC’s like Zee TV and Star Plus which have come at the second and third spot respectively. Zoom, a Bollywood dedicated channel has beaten Sony for the fourth spot, which came in fifth.
Former lead vocalist of the now disbanded electro rock band Pentagram and part of the duo Vishal-Shekhar, Vishal Dadlani tops the most mentioned musicians list. He’s known to be candid and openly voice his support and his opinions on current affairs and music. Although way more popular for his trendy lyrics and music production, Yo Yo Honey Singh, surprisingly comes in at number three. Female vocalist Shreya Goshal comes second while Academy award winner AR Rahman comes in fourth.
The most spoken moment on the platform among entertainment vertical, was when Rajinikanth joined twitter, with over 2, 00,000 followers in the first 24 hours and now over 1.1 million in total.
Popular on TV and also popular on twitter, Kapil Sharma has not just topped this list but is also one of the fastest growing TV personalities too. He is closely followed by Chef Vikas Khanna who is also popular for his charm and sharp looks. The other three most mentioned TV personalities are Karan Kundra, Karan Wahi and Kritika Sharma.
In a news dominant nation, journalists make for influencers as well as change agents. Harsha Bhogle known for his commentary as well as his opinion and contributory article in leading publications and magazines made it to the list. It is also intriguing to note that all mentioned are related to the TV medium than the print, Harsha being the exception. Rajdeep Sardesai tops the list while wife Sagarika Ghose comes in fourth. NDTV’s Barkha Dutt is second in line, while Rahul Kanwal is placed at number three.
The list of some of the most followed Indians from the entertainment industry is not a tricky one to guess. Shahenshah Amitabh Bachchan is ranked number one with 11,881,345 followers, followed by the three Khan’s; Shah Rukh, Aamir and Salman with 1,02,96,567, 9,925,022, 9,475,555 followers respectively. Female actor Deepika Padukone comes in fifth with 83,99,197 followers.
The big names who joined the platform this year are Rajinikanth, Arjun Kapoor, Kajol, Twinkle Khanna, Kirron Kher, Alok Nath, Armaan Jain, Amit Trivedi and Prakash Jha.
The top 10 hashtags for the year were ManwaLaage (Manwa Laage, a song from the movie Happy New Year), Happy Birthday Hrithik Roshan, Hrithik The Most Handsome Indian, I Stand With Deepika Padukone (Users support actor Deepika Padukone for her stance against a national newspaper), Jai Ho Thunder Storms In 11 Days (the hashtag refers to fans waiting for Jai Ho movie 11 days prior its release) among others.
GECs
Samsung TV Plus launches Kings of Comedy channel
New free FAST channel brings iconic Hindi comedy shows to millions of Samsung Smart TV owners.
MUMBAI: Samsung TV Plus has just turned up the laughter volume and it’s completely free. The leading free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) service in India has launched Kings of Comedy, a premium comedy channel featuring some of the country’s most beloved primetime shows. Available exclusively on Samsung TV Plus, the channel delivers back-to-back hits including Comedy Nights with Kapil, Khatra Khatra Khatra, and Comedy Nights Bachao, with no login or subscription required.
The launch marks a milestone for free streaming in India, offering audiences a dedicated comedy destination directly from their Samsung TV home screen. It arrives as Samsung TV Plus India celebrates its 5th anniversary, during which the service has grown its monthly active users by 42 per cent and more than doubled its total viewing hours. The platform now offers over 180 free channels across 14 languages.
Samsung TV Plus India general manager and head of business development Kunal Mehta said, “Comedy is the heartbeat of Hindi entertainment, and Kings of Comedy brings together the shows Indians already love, completely free on their Samsung TV. Our focus remains the same take the content people know and make it effortless to access.”
Globally, Samsung TV Plus has surpassed 100 million monthly active users across more than 4,500 channels, solidifying its position as one of the world’s leading free streaming services.
Kings of Comedy is now available on all compatible Samsung Smart TVs. For viewers seeking non-stop laughter without any cost, this new channel delivers a royal treat proving that sometimes the best entertainment really does come with no strings (or subscriptions) attached.
