News Broadcasting
Titanic ratings spurs Vijay to bring in more dubbed movies
MUMBAI: Its reality shows are working, but it’s the dubbed Hollywood blockbuster that’s helping Vijay score over rivals in Tamil Nadu.
Star TV CEO Michelle Guthrie was not far off the mark when she pointed out at Frames 2004 that it was the dubbed properties that were fetching Star India better ratings than original Hindi movies. Titanic, dubbed in Tamil, has done a similar trick for Star’s Vijay down South. While rivals have scoffed at Vijay’s claim of a 51.1 per cent channel share in Tamil Nadu on the evening of 29 February when the film was aired, saying it was a one off spurt, Vijay is exulting in the impressive 15.3 TVR in raked in the rest of Tamil Nadu and 19.8 TVR in Chennai.
Vijay’s head of programming Suresh Iyer says the channel now has more such blockbusters in the pipeline for the year. Says Iyer, We put in a lot of efforts to ensure that viewers had a memorable time watching Titanic in Tamil. The high quality dubbing ensured that movie viewing experience remained intact.”
For the period between 11 am and 4 pm on that day, Vijay, usually a guarded number three in the numbers game in Tamil Nadu, had a majestic 66.2 per cent channel share in capital Chennai. Comparitive figures quoting TAM, show rival Sun TV with a channel share of 13.5 per cent and Sun sibling KTV with a share of 3.9 per cent. In the rest of Tamil Nadu, Sun TV fared a shade better with a share of 21.8 per cent, while KTV cornered a share of 7.7 per cent.
The film helped Vijay secure all time high TVRs in both Chennai and the rest of Tamil Nadu. Says Vijay TV GM Ajay Vidyasagar,” Epics like Titanic are timeless and will attract eyeballs. These are indications that consumption habits are undergoing a change.”
In recent weeks, Vijay launched new shows in the reality genre – one a game show Vai Raja Vai, aired on weekends and a daily election special programme Makkal Yaar Pakkam, both of which, according to Iyer are attracting a lot of attention among viewers.
News Broadcasting
Times Network to air JVC Exit Poll across 5 regions on April 29
Four-hour broadcast spans states and Puducherry with data-led analysis
MUMBAI: Times Network is set to roll out what it calls one of its most expansive election programming efforts yet, culminating in the JVC Exit Poll on 29 April, with a multi-hour broadcast spanning key poll-bound regions.
The exit poll will air across Times Now and Times Now Navbharat, beginning at 5pm and 4pm respectively. Co-powered by Vedanta and Jindal Stainless, the programming aims to combine on-ground reportage with data-driven projections across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry.
The network has deployed over 50 journalists across these regions, gathering voter sentiment and local insights in the run-up to polling. The effort builds on its ongoing election formats such as Election Yatra and Election Premier League, which have tracked campaign narratives and community-level issues.
In parallel, Times Now Navbharat has focused on constituency-level reporting in West Bengal through its Jan Gan ka Mann series, capturing voter opinions across diverse segments.
The coverage has also featured interviews with prominent political leaders. Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala and V D Satheesan have appeared on the network’s election specials. From Tamil Nadu, voices including deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran, BJP leader K Annamalai and NTK’s Seeman have also featured in discussions.
On the day of the exit poll, the network’s primetime anchors, including Navika Kumar, Zakka Jacob and Sumit Awasthi, will lead the coverage. They will be joined by a panel of political analysts, psephologists and senior journalists offering real-time insights and interpretation of trends.
The programming will integrate grassroots reportage with analytics from the JVC Exit Poll, aiming to give viewers an early sense of electoral outcomes ahead of the official results on 4 May.
With its combined English and Hindi broadcast reach, Times Network is positioning this effort as a comprehensive look at voter sentiment, blending field reporting, data and debate to decode what could lie ahead when the final mandate is revealed.
