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
Samsung TV Plus launches Kings of Comedy channel
New free FAST channel brings iconic Hindi comedy shows to millions of Samsung Smart TV owners.
MUMBAI: Samsung TV Plus has just turned up the laughter volume and it’s completely free. The leading free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) service in India has launched Kings of Comedy, a premium comedy channel featuring some of the country’s most beloved primetime shows. Available exclusively on Samsung TV Plus, the channel delivers back-to-back hits including Comedy Nights with Kapil, Khatra Khatra Khatra, and Comedy Nights Bachao, with no login or subscription required.
The launch marks a milestone for free streaming in India, offering audiences a dedicated comedy destination directly from their Samsung TV home screen. It arrives as Samsung TV Plus India celebrates its 5th anniversary, during which the service has grown its monthly active users by 42 per cent and more than doubled its total viewing hours. The platform now offers over 180 free channels across 14 languages.
Samsung TV Plus India general manager and head of business development Kunal Mehta said, “Comedy is the heartbeat of Hindi entertainment, and Kings of Comedy brings together the shows Indians already love, completely free on their Samsung TV. Our focus remains the same take the content people know and make it effortless to access.”
Globally, Samsung TV Plus has surpassed 100 million monthly active users across more than 4,500 channels, solidifying its position as one of the world’s leading free streaming services.
Kings of Comedy is now available on all compatible Samsung Smart TVs. For viewers seeking non-stop laughter without any cost, this new channel delivers a royal treat proving that sometimes the best entertainment really does come with no strings (or subscriptions) attached.
