GECs
Kumkum Bhagya, spinoff, SaReGaMaPa help Zee TV dominate Hindi GECs across genres
BENGALURU: Two family soaps and a homegrown reality show have been time and again propping up Zee TV’s ratings in 2017– one soap – Kumkum Bhagya did it for the channel in the previous calendar year also. The other soap, a spinoff of the same – Kundali Bhagya has been rocking the ratings for the channel right from the time of its launch on 12 July 2017. And Zee TV’s home grown reality show is the music talent hunt Amul Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Little Champs. These programmes, along with other programmes on the channel seemed to have done a fair bit in helping viewership stickiness/enhancement in week 44 of 2017 (Saturday, 28 October 2017 to Friday, 3 November 2017). So much so that Zee TV topped the ratings amongst the Hindi GEC in Broadcast Audience Research Council of India (BARC) weekly data for top 10 channels across genre: All India (U+R) : 2+ Individuals. Zee TV was ranked second after the Sun Network’s flagship Tamil GEC Sun TV in week 44 of 2017. This time around for Zee TV, it was the spinoff that had a larger viewership in the Hindi GEC HSM (U+R) and Hindi GEC HSM (U) market than the original.
Three channels from Sony Pictures Network, two channels each from Network 18, Star India and Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (Zeel) and one channel from the Sun Network made up the top 10 channels list for week 44 of 2017. From the genres perspective, seven Hindi GEC channels and one channel each from the Hindi Movies, Tamil GEC and Telugu GEC space made it to BARC’s weekly list of top 10 channels across genre.
In week 44 of 2017, Sun TV was the leader across genres with 1,014.077 million weekly impressions. All the five programmes in BARC’s weekly list of top 5 Tamil programmes (TN/ Puducherry (U+R) : NCCS All : Prime Time (1800 – 2330 hrs) : 2+ Individuals) were from Sun TV. Among Sun TV’s programmes that made it to the top five, Tamil programmes is a multilingual (Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada) supernatural television drama – Nandini claimed to be the second biggest budgeted series on Indian television after Naagin and the biggest in South India.
Sun TV was followed by Zee TV with 795.129 million weekly impressions at second place. Star India’s recently renamed and free to air (FTA) channel Star Bharat was at third place with 707.563 million weekly impressions. At fourth place was Zee TV’s FTA Hindi GEC sibling – Zee Anmol with 678.924 million weekly impressions followed by Network 18 (Viacom 18) flagship Hindi GEC Colors with 614.118 million weekly impressions.
Women focused Hindi GEC Sony Pal from the Sony Pictures Network India (SPN) stable was at sixth place in week 44 of 2017 with 597.676 million weekly impressions. SPN’s Hindi movies channel Sony Max was at seventh place with 573.083 million weekly impressions followed by Star India’s flagship Hindi GEC Star Plus at eighth place with 565.534 million weekly impressions. The Network 18 associated Telugu GEC ETV Telugu was at ninth place with 537.726 million weekly impressions in week 44 of 2017. Helped along by the Amitabh Bahchan anchored Kaun Banega Crorepati or KBC was SPN’s flagship Hindi GEC Sony Entertainment Television (SET) with 491.791 million weekly impressions at tenth place in week 44 of 2017.
GECs
Asianet Television Awards 2026 celebrates women power in Malayalam TV
“She is the Colour” theme honours icons as ceremony airs on March 14 and 15 at 7 PM.
MUMBAI: If television lights up living rooms, this year Asianet decided to let women provide the colour. The Asianet Television Awards 2026 turned the spotlight firmly on women empowerment with the theme “She is the Colour”, celebrating the strength, resilience and achievements of women who continue to shape society and the Malayalam entertainment industry.
The ceremony honoured several distinguished personalities whose journeys have left a lasting cultural imprint. Among them was legendary playback singer Vimala Varma, widely recognised as the first Malayalam playback singer. The evening also paid tribute to Padma Shri awardees Devaki Amma and Vimala Menon for their exceptional contributions in their respective fields.
Leading women from the Malayalam film industry were also recognised during the event, including actor Shweta Menon, who currently serves as president of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists, and National Award winning actor Surabhi Lakshmi.
The awards ceremony brought together a glittering lineup of actors and industry figures, including Jayasurya, Vijay Babu, Asha Sarath, Lena, Esther Anil, Anumol, Akhila Bhargavan, Sarayu Mohan, Prajod Kalabhavan, Gayathri Suresh, Sabumon Abdusamad, Swasika, Tini Tom, Sijoy Varghese, Kailash, Veena Nandakumar, Sabareesh Varma, Ansiba Hassan and Dinesh Prabhakar. Kishan Kumar, executive vice president Malayalam at JioStar, was also present at the event.
Beyond individual recognitions, the awards celebrated excellence across Malayalam television, acknowledging artists and technicians whose work continues to drive the industry forward.
The evening also offered plenty of spectacle, with elaborate dance performances, stunt acts and comedy skits performed by popular television and film personalities, turning the ceremony into a full fledged entertainment showcase.
Viewers will get to watch the celebrations when the Asianet Television Awards 2026 air on Asianet on March 14 and 15, Saturday and Sunday, from 7 pm onwards, bringing the star studded tribute to homes across Kerala and beyond.
