GECs
Sun TV regains top spot across genres as IPL 10 comes to a close
BENGALURU: As IPL 10 came to a close, the Sun TV Networks’ Tamil flagship GEC Sun TV regained its top spot in Broadcast Audience Research Council of India (BARC) weekly list of top 10 channels across genre: All India (U+R): 2+ Individuals in week 20 Saturday, 13 May 2017 to Friday, 19 May 2017.
IPL 10 viewership supremacy across genres
During its run, IPL 10 channels ruled the air with Indians lapping up the live event, more so during primetime. TV viewership declines during the summer months according to BARC. IPL 10 is probably one of the factors that helped retard this seasonal viewership decline.
IPL 10 commenced on Wednesday, 5 April 2017 (in BARC week 14). The mega T20 cricket bonanza played by 8 teams comprising of over 200 players including 72 international players concluded with the finals on Sunday, 21 May 2017, after 60 matches spread over 47 days.
BARC week 14 commenced on Saturday, 1 April 2017 and ended on Friday, 7 April 2017. Three days of play with three matches played happened in week 14. The event concluded in the beginning of week 21 – only one match was played during that week. Ten matches were played during each of BARC weeks15, 16,and 18. Nine matches were played in weeks17 (one match was rained out in week 17) and 19 and seven planned for week 20, with just one in week 21 as mentioned above.
The excitement built up for the event saw IPL 10 recording the highest viewership for the season in week 15 for all the Sony Pictures Network (SPN) channels that broadcast the event – the two Hindi Movie channels – Sony Max and two Sports channel’s Sony Six.(English) and Sony ESPN (commentary in Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Hindi).
Week 20: Top 10 channels list across genres
One channel each from the Tamil GEC, Telugu GEC and Hindi Movies spaces and seven channels from the Hindi GEC space were present in the weekly top 10 channels list across genres in week 20. Of these, three were from the Sony Pictures Network India (SPN) network, two each from the Network 18 (or Viacom 18), Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (Zeel) and the Sun TV Network stables, and one from the Star India Network.
Sun TV and Sony Max exchanged ranks while Star Plus, Sony Pal, Zee TV, Gemini TV, Colors, Zee Anmol, Rishtey retained their week 19 ranks of 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 respectively. Zee Telugu exited the list in week 20 to be replaced with Sony Sab.
As mentioned above, Sun TV once again topped BARC’s weekly top 10 channels list after a hiatus of 5 weeks with 10,41,591 Impressions (000s) Sums followed by Sony Max with 9,83,279Impressions (000s) Sums at second place.Please refer to the figure below for the list of top 10 channels across genres for week 20:
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.
