MAM
Zee TV climbs to No. 2 for 1st time in 2013; Star Plus regains top spot in week 3
MUMBAI: Zee TV has climbed to the second rank in the Hindi GEC (general entertainment channel) hierarchy for the first time in 2013 as some of its special shows performed strongly in week 3.
Star Plus regained its top position as Colors, living without its popular reality show Bigg Boss, slipped ground to take up the No. 3 spot.
As per TAM data (HSM, 4+, C&S) sourced from a Hindi GEC, Zee TV in week three of 2013 added 20 GRPs to its previous week’s tally to gross 215 GRPs.
Zee TV gained particularly from its special shows, where episodes of two serials are combined into one show, which the channels calls ‘mahasangram’. Zee TV had aired mahasangram of Hitler Didi and Pavitra Rishta on 14 January that rated 3.3 TVR for one hour telecast; mahasangram of Qubool Hai and Punar Vivah on 18 January clocked 3.2 TVR for a 90-minute telecast.
Also, Zee TV’s ‘Sapne Suhane Ladakpan Ke’ was the third most watched show on a Hindi general entertainment channel, after Star Plus’ Diya AUr Baati Hum (4.4 TVR) and Colors’ Balika Vadhu (4.4 TVR). The Zee show has even become the weekday 7.30 pm slot leader with an average of 4 TVR.
Zee TV had also aired mahaepisode of ‘Sapne Suhane Ladakpan Ke’ on 19 January, which recorded 3.1 TVR for 90-minute airing against Colors Screen Awards.
The gains made by Zee TV, however, were not enough to beat Star Plus. The Star channel returned to the top spot after a week with 241 GRPs, unchanged from a week earlier. The channel was the second most watched Hindi GEC last week as Colors occupied the top position on the back of ‘Bigg Boss- 6’ finale that had rated 4.4 TVR.
Colors slipped despite the telecast of Colors Screen Awards (the 19th edition of the annual Bollywood awards) on 19 January garnering 3.9 TVR for a four-hour run. The telecast of this event contributed around 31 GRPs to the channel.
Colors had replaced Bigg Boss -6 with two fiction shows – ‘Sanskaar Dharohar Apnon Ki’ and ‘Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuchh Kaha-2’ that opened with 1.56 TVR and 2.16 TVR respectively. The channel lost 35 GRPs to end the week with 210 GRPs.
“While there is marginal drop across, Bigg Boss-6 which went off air last week was not replaced by shows performing as well as the reality show. This is the reason for the GRP loss for Colors,” a media planner said.
Sony Entertainment Television (Set) lost eight GRPs to end the week with a tally of 187 GRPs. The leading shows of the channel like CID (3.4 TVR) and KBC (2.7 TVR) had lost viewers. The channel launched a new fiction show on 14 January titled ‘Amita Ka Amit’ that had debut TVR of 1.1. It replaced Love Marriage Ya Arranged Married which concluded with a 0.5 TVR.
Next in the hierarchy is Sab with 146 GRPs (previous week 150) and Life OK with 128 GRPs (previous week 117 GRPs).
Sahara One with 25 GRPs (previous week 25) remained at the bottom of the ladder.
MUMBAI: In India’s fast-moving payments race, Visa has just swiped in a new leader. The company has named Suresh Sethi as its India country head, marking a key leadership shift as it sharpens its focus on digital payments growth in the market. Sethi steps into the role following his recent exit from Protean eGov Technologies, where he served as chief executive officer. He succeeds Sandeep Ghosh, who has moved on after more than four years at Visa to pursue an external opportunity.
The appointment comes at a time when Visa is doubling down on its expansion strategy across India and the wider region, deepening partnerships and accelerating adoption in an increasingly competitive digital payments ecosystem.
Sethi brings with him a broad, cross-market perspective shaped by decades of experience across corporate banking, retail financial services, mobile money and large-scale government technology initiatives. He began his career at Citigroup, where he spent 14 years working across India, Africa, South America and the United States, focusing on transaction banking services within the corporate bank.
His appointment signals a blend of institutional experience and market familiarity qualities that could prove critical as Visa navigates a landscape where fintech innovation, regulatory evolution and consumer adoption are all accelerating at once.
As digital payments in India continue to scale rapidly, the leadership change underscores a simple reality, in a market where every tap, scan and swipe counts, who leads the charge can matter just as much as the technology itself.
