MAM
Sony, Sab witness big leap in ratings
MUMBAI: Sony Entertainment Television and Sab are the only Hindi general entertainment channels to have seen sizeable jump in viewership in week 13.
As per TAM data (HSM including 5 new LC1 markets, C&S, 4+) sourced from a channel, the two Multi Screen Media (MSM) channels have become the major gainers in the week ended 30 March.
Sab benefited from the telecast of ‘Sab Ki Holi’ on 27 March that rated a 3.1 TVR for a two-and-a-half hours run, contributing to around 15 GRPs to the channel’s total tally of 159 GRPs (last week 142 GRPs).
Sab EVP and business head Anooj Kapoor said, “More and more families seem to be joining the SAB family with every passing week. The magic of “Asli mazaa SAB Ke Saath Aata hai” is indeed spreading. We are committed to this extended family of ours and will continue to offer exciting and entertaining content that families can sit together and enjoy. Sab ki Holi was one such initiative and we are thrilled to see the way our viewers have loved it, taking it to a unprecedented rating of 3.1 TVR.”
Meanwhile, Set gained from the television premiere of Amir Khan-starrer ‘Talaash’ that notched a 2.3 TVR for a three-and-a half hour telecast on 30 March, fetching around 16 GRPs for the MSM flagship Hindi GEC. The channel garnered 175 GRPs (last week 155), and its new fiction show Chanchan that debuted on 25 March clocked a 1.7 TVR.. The show replaced Honge Juda na hum at the 9 pm slot, which registered a TVR of 0.4 on 21 March, its closing episode.
Star Plus maintained the status quo with 291 GRPs, continuing to rule the Hindi GECs’ flock. The channel had aired its first ever Star Guild Awards, hosted by Bollywood superstar Salman Khan, that notched up 3.7 TVR on 24 March. Almost all the fiction shows on the channel like Yeh Rishta Kya kehlata Hai (3.5 TVR), Diya Aur Baati Hum (4.6 TVR) saw a marginal dip in viewership.
Holding on to the second spot is Zee TV with the same numbers as last week at 207 GRPs. Its Sapne Suhane Ladakpan Ke Holi Event recorded a whopping 3.5 TVR for three hours run on 25 March. Like Star Plus, Zee TV also suffered loss in numbers of few of its daily soaps like Qubool Hai (2.9 TVR) and Punar Vivah (1.8 TVR).
Colors, the number 3 Hindi GEC channel lost just one GRP to conclude the week with 191 GRPs. The Viacom18 channel had aired Femina Miss India 2013 on 24 March that registered a 0.8 TVR at the 10 pm slot. The loss in numbers can be because of the audience fragmentation to Star Plus as it clashed with the Salman Khan hosted Star Guild Awards on that day. The channel‘s other shows witnessed minor changes in the ratings.
Following Sab, at No. 6 is Life OK that lost eight GRPs to close the week with 119 GRPs. Sahara One remained at the bottom of the ladder with 22 GRPs (last week 24).
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Abhay Duggal joins JioStar as director of Hindi GEC ad sales
The streaming giant brings in a seasoned revenue hand as the battle for Hindi television advertising heats up
MUMBAI: Abhay Duggal has a new desk, and JioStar has a new weapon. The media and entertainment veteran has joined JioStar as director of entertainment ad sales for Hindi general entertainment channels, adding 17 years of hard-won revenue experience to one of India’s most powerful broadcasting operations.
Duggal is no stranger to big portfolios or bruising markets. Before joining JioStar, he spent a brief stint at Republic World as deputy general manager and north regional head for ad sales. Before that, he put in three years at Enterr10 Television, where he ran the north region for Dangal TV and Dangal 2, two of India’s leading free-to-air Hindi channels. The north alone accounted for more than 50 per cent of total channel revenue on his watch, a number that tends to get attention in any sales meeting.
His longest stint was at Zee Entertainment Enterprises, where he spent over six years rising to associate director of sales. There he commanded the Hindi movies cluster across seven channels, owned more than half of north India’s revenue across flagship properties including Zee TV and &TV, and closed marquee sponsorships across the Indian Premier League, Zee Rishtey Awards and Dance India Dance. He also handled monetisation for the English movies and entertainment cluster and the global news channel WION, a portfolio that would stretch most sales teams twice his size.
Earlier in his career Duggal closed what was then a Rs 3 crore single deal at Reliance Broadcast Network, one of the largest in Indian radio at the time, before that he helped launch and monetise JAINHITS, India’s first HITS-based cable and satellite platform.
His edge, by his own account, lies in marrying data and instinct: translating audience trends, inventory signals and client demands into long-term partnerships built on cost-per-rating-point discipline rather than short-term deal chasing. In a media landscape being reshaped by streaming, fragmented attention and AI-driven advertising, that kind of rigour is increasingly rare and increasingly valuable.
JioStar, which blends the scale of Reliance’s Jio platform with the content firepower of Star, is doubling down on its advertising business at precisely the moment the Hindi GEC market is getting more competitive. Bringing in someone who has spent nearly two decades doing exactly this, across some of India’s most watched channels, is a pointed statement of intent. Duggal has spent his career turning audiences into revenue. JioStar is clearly betting he can do it again, and bigger.
