MAM
King Khan takes Zee to top spot on GEC chart: Week 43
MUMBAI: It seems the 40 crore acquisition of Zee TV has paid off. The channel’s biggest acquisition Chennai Express worked wonders for the channel. In the week 43 of TAM TV ratings, Zee TV has finally overtaken Star Plus, thanks to the biggest blockbuster of the year which the channel premiered on 20 October that earned 19,541 TVTs.
It has notched up the channel’s ratings taking its tally to 505,442 GVT’s (409,304). Second placed, Star Plus shed and marked at 492,849 GVTs (517,048). Colors is at the third position earning 423,584 GVTs (384,496).
Life OK’s position was constant at number four with 334,635 GVTs (316,904). Sab is at number five with 331,674 GVTs (319,214) and Sony remains stable at number six with 281,638 GVTs (292,327). Sahara One continues to be at the bottom of the chart with 36,323 GVTs (32,081).
Coming back to the chart topper, Zee TV’s fictional offering Qubool Hai witnessed a drop and scored 4,998 TVTs (5,412). Pavitra Rishta generated 4,419 TVTs (4,736). Sapne Suhane Ladakpan Ke secured 4,843 TVTs (4,660). Period drama Jodha Akbar noted 8,299 TVTs (8,551), while drama series, Do Dil Bandhe Ek Dori Se registered 4,412 TVTs (4,726). The new sitcom Bh se Bhade generated 2,856 TVTs. The channel recently launched its reality dancing show, DID 4 which registered 6,075 TVTs.
Star Plus ranked second in the rating, but its popular show, Diya aur Baati Hum fared well with 10,367 TVTs (9,981), Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai scored 7,347 TVTs (6,819), Pyar Ka Dard Hai generated 7,178 TVTs (6,878) and Saathiya registered 7,474 TVTs (7,007). Epic series, Mahabharat witnessed a rise and scored 5,530 TVTs (4,815). Saraswati Chandra scored 5,170 TVTs (6,009).
Interestingly, Colors’ longest running fiction series Balika Vadhu saw a huge rise in its ratings and marked 7,735 TVTs (5,767), Madhubala – Ek Ishq Ek Junoon scored 4,305 TVTs (4,230) and Uttaran reported 3,722 TVTs (3,663). Comedy Nights with Kapil maintained its stability and registered 5,250 TVTs (5,228). It’s much hyped adaptation of the international 24 starring Anil Kapoor witnessed a rise and scored 3,050 TVTs (2,776). And its popular reality show, Bigg Boss scored 4,587 TVTs (4,246).
Fourth placed, Life OK’s top mythological series Mahadev scored 3,759 TVTs (3,316). Do Dil Ek Jaan stood at 1,719 TVTs (1,711), Savdhan India rated 2,577 TVTs (2,563). Shapath generated 3,699 TVTs (3,460) and Ek Boond Ishq noted 2,749 TVTs (2,673). Reality series The Bachelorette India stood at 2,052 TVTs (1,875).
Sab’s fiction show, Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah continues to lead among all its other shows with 8,161 TVTs (7,224). Chidiya Ghar saw a rise and rated 3,852 TVTs (3,386). Lapataganj generated 2,217 TVTs (2,189) and Baalveer registered 2,904 TVTs (2,750). It was a roller-coaster ride for other fiction shows as well.
Sony, which is at number six, saw a rise and recorded 5,009 TVTs (3,229) for its longest running crime series CID, Crime Petrol too saw a rise and registered 3,947 TVTs (2,940). The channel’s historical show Maharana Pratap witnessed 2,772 TVTs (2,680). KBC garnered 3,570 TVTs (3,796). Other fiction shows either held on to their viewership or dipped marginally during the week.
In the movie channel genre, Zee Cinema reported 195,223 GVTs (205,828); Star Gold witnessed a rise and registered 190,414 GVTs (179,697) and Movies OK scored 124,887 GVTs (116,200). On the other hand, &pictures garnered 67,725 GVTs (64,687), Zee Anmol rated 52,731 GVTs (52,080) and Max scored 198,492 GVTs (199,906).
Let’s see what’s in store for the channels in the coming weeks.
Digital
Content India 2026 opens with a copro pitch, a spice evangelist and a £10,000 prize for Indian storytelling
Dish TV and C21Media’s three-day summit puts seven ambitious projects before an international jury, and two walk away with serious development money
MUMBAI: India’s content industry gathered in Mumbai this March for Content India 2026, a three-day summit organised by Dish TV in partnership with C21Media, and it wasted no time making a statement. The event opened with a Copro Pitch that put seven scripted and unscripted television concepts before an international panel of judges, and by the end of it, two projects had walked away with £10,000 each in marketing prize money from C21Media to support development and international promotion.
The jury, comprising Frank Spotnitz, Fiona Campbell, Rashmi Bajpai, Bal Samra and Rachel Glaister, evaluated a shortlist that ranged from a dark Mumbai comedy-drama about mental health (Dirty Minds, created by Sundar Aaron) to a Delhi coming-of-age mystery (Djinn Patrol, by Neha Sharma and Kilian Irwin), a techno-thriller about a teenage gaming prodigy (Kanpur X Satori, by Suchita Bhatia), an investigative crime drama blending mythology and modern thriller (The Age of Kali, by Shivani Bhatija), a documentary on India’s spice heritage (The Masala Quest, hosted by Sarina Kamini), a documentary on competitive gaming (Respawn: India’s Esports Revolution, by George Mangala Thomas and Sangram Mawari), and a reality-horror competition merging gaming and immersive fear (Scary Goose, by Samar Iqbal).
The session was hosted by Mayank Shekhar.
The two winners were Djinn Patrol, backed by Miura Kite, formerly of Participant Media and known for Chinatown and Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey, with Jaya Entertainment, producers of Real Kashmir Football Club, also attached; and The Masala Quest, created and hosted by Sarina Kamini, an Indian-Australian cook, author and self-described “spice evangelist.”
The summit also unveiled the Content India Trends Report, whose findings made for bracing reading. Daoud Jackson, senior analyst at OMDIA, set the tone: “By 2030, online video in India will nearly double the revenue of traditional TV, becoming the main driver of growth.” He noted that in 2025, India produced a quarter of all YouTube videos globally, overtaking the United States, while Indians collectively spend 117 years daily on YouTube and 72 years on Instagram. Traditional subscription TV is declining as free TV and connected TV gain ground, forcing broadcasters to innovate. “AI-generated content is just 2 per cent of engagement,” Jackson added, “highlighting the dominance of high-quality human content. The key for Indian media companies is scaling while monetising effectively from day one.”
Hannah Walsh, principal analyst at Ampere Analysis, added hard numbers to the picture. India produced over 24,000 titles in January 2026 alone, with 19,000 available internationally. The country now accounts for 12 per cent of Asia-Pacific content spend, up from 8 per cent in 2021, outpacing both Japan and China. Key exporters include JioStar, Zee Entertainment, Sony India, Amazon and Netflix, delivering over 7,500 Indian-produced titles abroad each year. The top importing markets are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, the United States and the Philippines. Scripted content dominates globally at 88 per cent, with crime dramas and children’s and family titles performing particularly strongly.
Manoj Dobhal, chief executive and executive director of Dish TV India, framed the summit’s ambition squarely. “Stories don’t need translation. They need a platform, discovery, and reach, local or global,” he said. “India produces more movies than any country, our streaming platforms compete globally, and our tech and creators win international awards. Yet fragmentation slows growth. Producers, platforms, and tech move in different lanes. We need shared spaces, collaboration, and an ecosystem where ideas, technology, and people meet. That is why we built Content India.”
The data, the pitches and the prize money all pointed to the same conclusion: India is not waiting for the world to discover its stories. It is building the infrastructure to sell them.
