GECs
Afternoon soap watcher ‘underprivileged escapist’: MRUC’s Sparr study
MUMBAI: The top line findings of a new research study – Sparr (Sections, Pullouts and Attitudinal Readership Research) – conducted by Media Research Users Council (MRUC) has thrown up some interesting findings around television viewing habits.
Sparr, a study whose principal aim is to provide an understanding of the nuances of reader’s habits towards newspaper pullouts and sections, has also taken other media like television into account as a part of its profiling of media consumption habits.
As far as psychographics were concerned it came out that the underprivileged escapist person who has no means to sophisticated entertainment watches the most afternoon television. The aspiring consumer who is seeking glamour in his life and is proactive watches around 2 hours a day of television. In all, the people surveyed were split into seven categories. The other categories were the unhappy, the privileged who enjoy the luxury of travelling often, the constrained, the unconcerned and the average consumer.
Not surprisingly serials and Star Plus came out on top in the rankings. Serials had an overall share of 55 per cent. News had a share of 11 per cent while Hindi movies were some distance behind.
Star Plus is skewed towards women with 46 per cent while for men it is 28 per cent. DD is 11 per cent for the female while eight per cent for the male. The city was divided into five zones for the psychographic survey.
GECs
Sony ties up with EU for MasterChef India finale
GI-tagged European ingredients headline finale week
MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Networks India has struck what it calls a landmark association with the European Union for the finale week of MasterChef India, marking the first such collaboration between the bloc and an Indian television format.
The tie-up will culminate in the “European Union mystery box challenge”, which opens the much-anticipated finale week. The task will see the top six contestant pairs cook with a curated basket of ingredients bearing geographical indications (GIs) from across EU member states: a nod to provenance as well as palate.
Chef Ajay and Chef Guntas, introduced as chef ambassadors to the European Union, will present the mystery boxes and set the brief: use the fewest ingredients from each category and produce a MasterChef-level dish that marries European produce with Indian flavour sensibilities. Precision and restraint, rather than extravagance, will be tested.
For Sony, the move signals a push towards high-value integrations that blur the line between sponsorship and storytelling. The network said the association underscores the show’s growing global stature and its ability to attract world-renowned institutions to Indian screens.
Chef Ajay Chopra, food ambassador in the European Union, described the collaboration as a strategic opportunity to spotlight the heritage and authenticity of GI-tagged European products to India’s vast food-loving audience.
Over the years, MasterChef India has positioned itself as a gateway to global cuisines. The EU partnership sharpens that pitch, turning the finale into a stage for cross-continental culinary diplomacy.
The finale week will air from 2 March, 2026 at 8 pm on Sony Entertainment Television and stream on Sony Liv.
