MAM
Battle for 2nd spot intense among Hindi GECs
Mumbai: The fight for the second spot among Hindi general entertainment channels (GECs) is intense. Zee TV, Sony Entertainment Television (Set) and Colors are separated from each other by just a few points, with Star Plus ahead of the pack.
As per TAM data (HSM, C&S, 4+) for week 38, provided by Hindi GECs, Star Plus is the leader with 252 GRPs (last week 250 gross ratings points). The fiction shows of the channel have not seen much change in viewership except ‘Diya Aur Bati Hum’ which notched 6 TVR (last week 5.3 TVR) in the week ended 22 September.
Second in the Hindi GEC hierarchy is Zee TV that winded up its dancing property ‘Dance Ke Superkids’ on 23 September (Sunday). The Saturday (22 September) episode of the show, which was part of the finale week, clocked 4.3 TVR. The channel lost five GRPs to close the week with 235 GRPs. Its fiction properties like ‘Pavitra Rishta’ (3.1 TVR) and ‘Punarvivaha’ (2.5 TVR) have seen slight dip in the viewership.
Just two GRPs behind Zee TV is Colors that added three GRPs to end the week with 233 GRPs (previous week 230). Its reality property ‘India‘s Got Talent’ opened with a 4.1 TVR on 22 September. The show had debuted with 3.9 TVR in its last season. ‘Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa’ that will air its finale this weekend recorded 2.8 TVR (last week 3.2 TVR) in week 38. ‘Balika Vadhu’ continues to be the leading show of the channel with 4.5 TVR.
Set continues to be a strong fighter with 232 GRPs (previous week 230). Its popular fiction show, ‘Bade Achche Lagte Hain’, rated 4.7 TVR (last week 3.9), as the lead protagonists Ram and Priya meet each other after five years. ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ averaged 3.9 TVR. Its other shows like ‘Kuch to log kahenge’ (1.4 TVR), ‘Kya Hua Tera Vada’ (1.8 TVR) and ‘Parwarish’ (1.6 TVR) saw growth in eyeballs.
Meanwhile, despite the loss of six GRPs, Sab has jumped back to No.5 spot on the GEC ladder. Life OK with 124 GRPs (last week 167) follows. The channel had fetched its highest ratings last week on the back of the grand episode of ‘Mahadev’ that got this year’s highest rating of 8.2 TVR.
Sahara One with 29 GRPs (last week 34) is at the bottom of the ladder.
The Hindi GECs were hit by the cricket T20 World Cup which kicked off on 18 September. The combined GRPs from Hindi GECs fell to 1271 from 1322 as the T20 matches were telecast live during evening prime time.
AD Agencies
WPP Media elevates Dipti Gulati to vp, client growth for APMEA
Singapore-based executive to commercialise AI-powered solutions business across the region
SINGAPORE: WPP Media has promoted Dipti Gulati to vice president, client growth, handing her the mandate to lead the commercialisation of its solutions business across APMEA.
Based in Singapore, Gulati steps up after serving as senior director, client growth, where she drove expansion across APAC spanning programmatic, search, social, CTV, DOOH and cross-channel offerings. Now, she is tasked with translating advanced AI, data and technology ecosystems into scalable growth strategies for global brands across FMCG, luxury, F&B and financial services.
“I commercialise the future of media — at scale, across APMEA,” Gulati said, announcing her appointment. She added that she turns advanced data, AI and technology ecosystems into real commercial outcomes, shifting the conversation “from a pure media play to owning business outcomes”.
Her brief is unapologetically future-facing: addressable, accountable and AI-powered media. She will work with cross-market teams across APMEA, bringing together diverse perspectives and cultures to accelerate growth and build what she calls the “future of media”.
Gulati’s rise caps nearly two years at WPP Media and follows a six-month stint as regional director of growth, APAC, at Mindshare, where she led new business development and expanded capabilities for existing clients. Earlier, as global account director for integrated marketing communications on the Unilever business, she drove communications strategy for multi-million dollar beauty and wellbeing brands across Southeast Asia.
Before that, Gulati spent close to two years as associate director at Warner Bros. Discovery in Singapore. She also served as director, strategic partnerships and market development at TrustSphere, leading go-to-market and growth initiatives across Asia and evangelising relationship analytics to C-level executives. TrustSphere, credited by industry and Harvard Business School case studies as a pioneer in relationship analytics, became a springboard for her deeper engagement with data-driven growth.
Her board and evangelist roles at the Asia Cloud Computing Association and its Asia Analytics Alliance further sharpened her regional policy and analytics credentials. Earlier chapters include marketing consultancy at Blockchain Foundry and a seven-year run at Warner Bros. Discovery in India, where she led ad-sales and business development for HBO and WB across north and east India, delivering record billings. She began her career at Diligent Media Corporation Ltd and Bennett, Coleman and Co. Ltd..
From ad-sales floors in Delhi and Mumbai to boardrooms in Singapore, Gulati’s arc mirrors the industry’s own shift — from selling spots and slots to engineering outcomes through data and AI. At WPP Media, the brief is clear: scale smarter, move faster and turn algorithms into advantage.
