MAM
Bollywood awards show widens genre leader Star Plus’ lead
MUMBAI: Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) genre leader Star Plus got a big lift from its Bollywood awards show it aired on the new year‘s eve, helping it widen its lead in the opening week of 2013.
Star Plus with 287 GRPs (gross rating points) was ahead of Colors by 34 GRPs as it gained 42 points. The gap in Star Plus‘ GRPs and that of Colors in the 52nd week of 2012 was just 7 points.
The Big Star Entertainment Awards fetched Star Plus 41 GRPs as it ran for three-and-a-half hours on the New Year‘s eve and notched a TVR of 5.9 TVR, according to TAM data (HSM, 4+, C&S) provided by a television channel. The other shows of the channel have seen marginal difference in the viewership, keeping the overall ratings neutral.
Says Star Plus GM Nachiket Pantvaidya, “Star Plus‘ aim with Big Star Entertainment awards was to make New Year‘s Eve a special and memorable one for the entire family and keep them entertained through the night. It is indeed heartening to see a brilliant response from our viewers. This is just the beginning for 2013 and we have great entertainment lined up for the year.”
Colors got a boost from its in-house television awards show to maintain its second position. Colors Golden Petal Awards, also airing on the New Year‘s eve, earned a TVR of 4.5 as the channel added 15 GRPs in the week ended 5 January. The annual award function contributed 31.5 GRPs as Colors totaled 253 GRPs during the week. A few of the shows of the channel like Balika Vadhu (4.9 TVR) and Madhubala (3.7 TVR) saw a slight dip in viewership, while others like Bigg Boss-6 (2.8 TVR), Uttaran (2.5 TVR) and Shaitaan (1.4 TVR) went up marginally.
Occupying the third slot is Zee TV with 211 GRPs (last week 198). The channel had launched a new fiction property, Housewife, that debuted with 2.5 TVR, better than its replaced show Afsar Bitiya which last recorded a rating of 2 TVR. Like Colors, few of Zee TV‘s fiction shows have seen improvement in performance while others have seen loss in eyeballs. Its fiction shows like Punarvivaha (1.9 TVR) and Fear Files (2.4 TVR) have seen increase in numbers.
Sony Entertainment Television (Set) lost 18 GRPs to end the week with 180 GRPs. The channel has launched the new season of its comedy reality show, Comedy Circus, which opened with 2.4 TVR.
Sab lost 6 GRPs to register 150 GRPs while Life OK added four GRPs to close the week with 114 GRPs. Sahara One maintained status quo with 23 GRPs.
Brands
Trump announces $300bn Texas oil refinery with Reliance, calls it the biggest in US history
First new US refinery in 50 years planned at Brownsville port with Reliance
WASHINGTON: The United States may soon see the first brand-new oil refinery built on its soil in half a century.
Donald Trump announced a proposed $300 billion refinery project in Texas, calling it a landmark moment for American energy production and jobs.
Posting on Truth Social on 10 March, Trump said the facility would be built at the Port of Brownsville and developed by a company called America First Refining, with major investment from India’s Reliance Industries.
The announcement frames the project as a centrepiece of the administration’s push for “energy dominance”, with Trump claiming it would deliver thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity to South Texas.
If realised, the plant would mark the first all-new major refinery constructed in the United States since the 1970s. In recent decades, oil companies have largely chosen to expand existing facilities rather than build new ones, citing high costs, regulatory hurdles and environmental scrutiny.
Trump described the proposed investment as the “biggest in US history”, positioning it as proof that policy changes such as streamlined permits and lower taxes are drawing large-scale energy investments back into the country.
The refinery is planned for the Port of Brownsville, a strategic Gulf Coast location that provides easy access to shipping routes and export markets.
A key partner in the project is Reliance Industries, controlled by billionaire industrialist Mukesh Ambani. The company already runs the world’s largest refining complex in Jamnagar, India, making it one of the most experienced operators in large-scale petroleum processing.
The Texas venture would mark a significant step for the group into America’s domestic refining sector, potentially strengthening industrial ties between the US and India.
The proposed refinery is being promoted as a next-generation facility capable of processing American shale oil while maintaining high environmental standards. Trump said it would be “the cleanest refinery in the world”, although the specific technologies behind that claim have not yet been detailed.
Industry observers also note that the $300 billion figure is unusually large for a refinery project, and analysts are waiting for more clarity on whether the number reflects total construction costs, long-term infrastructure investment, or broader economic impact estimates.
As of 11 March, Reliance Industries had not publicly confirmed the investment size or the structure of its involvement.
For now, the announcement has sparked equal parts excitement and curiosity in energy markets. If the plan moves from promise to pouring concrete, the refinery could reshape the Gulf Coast energy landscape, and reopen a chapter in American refining that has been quiet for nearly fifty years.
