MAM
Masterchef India 3 opens with 2.2 TVR on Star Plus
MUMBAI: The third season of the cookery show Masterchef India opened with a TVR of 2.2 in a week that saw no change in the Hindi GEC hierarchy.
Star Plus‘ strategy of placing the show on weekdays at 8 pm seems to have worked. Pitched against daily soaps, ‘Masterchef Kitchen Ke Superstar‘ (as named this time) held on to its ratings in a highly fragmented market. In the earlier two seasons, the Indian adaptation of ‘Masterchef Australia‘ was aired during weekends and debuted with 2.6 TVR (with Akshay Kumar as host) and 2.01 TVR respectively.
Star Plus maintained its position as the leading Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) with a tally of 273 GRPs for the week ended 16 March. The channel gained a single GRP over the previous week, despite most of its fiction shows seeing some loss in audience numbers. Saraswatichandra, however, rated higher with an average of 2.9 TVR (last week 2.5). Star Plus’ non-fiction property, Nach Baliye 5, averaged 2.7 TVR compared to the previous week‘s 2.9 TVR.
As per TAM data (HSM including 5 new LC1 markets, C&S, 4+) sourced from a channel, the pecking order of the top four Hindi GECs remained the same in week 11, with Sab and Life OK sharing the fifth spot.
Continuing to hold on to the second spot, Zee TV lost 13 GRPs to close the week with 202 GRPs. ‘Qubool Hai’ remained as the leading fiction property of the channel with 3 TVR (last week 3.4 TVR), followed by Sapne Suhane LK with 2.7 TVR (3.1 TVR) and Pavitra Rishta with 2.5 TVR (2.7 TVR). The channel’s kids reality show ‘India’s Best Dramebaaz’ rated 3.1 (3.5 TVR).
Colors stayed at the third spot with 187 GRPs, a loss of 27 GRPs from the previous week. Balika Vadhu had a rating of 3.6 TVR (4.3 TVR), Madhubala 3.5 TVR (3.9 TVR) and Uttaran 2.8 TVR (3.1 TVR).
Sony Entertainment Television (Set) added eight GRPs to end the week with 163 GRPs (last week 155).
Life OK and Sab collected 135 GRPs each. While Life OK added 10 GRPs to its last week’s tally, Sab stayed flat. Sahara One with 23 GRPs (last week 24) remained at the bottom of the ladder.
Brands
From mega bills to spontaneous dates: Swiggy Dineout Valentine’s report
From mega bills to last-minute plans, India celebrated love with flair
MUMBAI: Valentine’s Day 2026 was a feast for the senses and wallets alike, according to Swiggy Dineout. India’s on-demand dining platform revealed how the nation celebrated romance with big gestures, lively nights out, and plenty of spontaneous bookings.
Metropolitan hubs continued to rule the roost with Bengaluru, Delhi, and Hyderabad seeing the most reservations. Emerging cities aren’t far behind, with Ahmedabad, Jaipur, and Chandigarh joining the party. Growth was particularly striking in Surat (up 180 per cent), Vadodara (155 per cent) and Bhubaneswar (145.5 per cent) compared with the previous Saturday.
Mumbai stole the headlines with a single customer splashing out Rs 130,155 – the highest bill in the country. The city also hosted the largest single group booking, with 30 diners coming together to celebrate in style. Most Valentine’s transactions took place between 10pm and 11pm, proving love, and hunger, strike late.
Mumbai stole the spotlight with a mega-spender whose bill made everyone else blush, while savvy diners were cashing in on discounts, including a Pune customer saving 60% and another in Bengaluru saving 50 per cent. Fine dining was on fire, with bookings up 121 per cent year-on-year, though pubs, bars, and lounges remained the crowd favourites, accounting for 30.6 per cent of all reservations. Last-minute romance was the order of the day, with 66 per cent of diners booking within two hours of heading out. Together, India saved over Rs 6 crore, proving that love can be grand, yet thrifty.
Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Delhi led the premium dining rush, showing a growing appetite for curated, high-end experiences. Meanwhile, spontaneous bookings reinforced modern lifestyles, where convenience and instant gratification rule the day.
Whether it was big spends, huge groups, or a last-minute romantic dash, Valentine’s Day 2026 proved love and dining go hand in hand – and sometimes, they go all out.
