Jhansi Ki Rani does it for Zee TV!!

MUMBAI: The battle to remain on top in the Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) space has become a very regular phenomenon for the top three players. And with competition getting fiercer by the day, these channels are putting all their energies behind building each time slot.

For the present, the hot choice is the 8-8.30 pm band with Zee TV putting its latest offering, Jhansi Ki Rani, a mega-budget historical, to wage war in this time zone. Star Plus had earlier placed the second season of its popular show, Aap Ki Kachehri, to take on Colors top-rated programme Balika Vadhu.

While Zee TV's Jhansi Ki Rani has opened well with a TVR of 4.09 (peak), slot leader Balika Vadhu stands unruffled with a peak TVR of 6.54 for the week ended 23 August, as per Tam data.

Kiran Bedi-hosted Aap Ki Kachehri, however, is running in slow pace. While the first season of the television reality justice show, aired at 10.30 pm, averaged 3.5 TVR, its latest weekly average TVR was 1.8.

Jhansi Ki Rani has helped Zee TV push up its GRPs (gross rating points) to 281 during the week, the highest for the channel so far this year.

Zee TV was getting an average TVR of 1.5 from its earlier show, Maayeka, in that time band. Until Jhansi Ki Rani arrived on 18 August.

Says Zee TV marketing head Akash Chawla, "The 8 pm slot is perfectly suitable for Jhansi Ki Rani. It is the time when the kids and the entire family watch TV. Moreover, we also get male viewership from small towns."

For Star Plus, Aap Ki Kachehri has had a disappointing second run. The channel had moved the time slot of the show with the aim of taking away some of Balika Vadhu's viewership and also attracting new, non-GEC audiences.

The plan, however, seems to have failed. But Star India EVP Anupam Vasudev still has hope. "The ratings are not as much as the first season, but the market has changed and it is a different slot. We believe that Aap Ki Kachehri has more potential and we are taking steps to ensure that we improve its ratings."

Meanwhile, Colors has won back its top position as the grand finale of its talent-hunt show, India's Got Talent, garnered a peak TVR of 3.42. The show lasted from 9 pm till 12.30 am on 22 August.

Colors with 297 GRPs is closely followed by Star Plus (294 GRPs) while Zee TV rests in the third spot (281 GRPs).

Sony Entertainment TV has maintained its fourth position with 124 GRPs, while NDTV Imagine is hovering at 105 GRPs. Sab and Star One are at sixth and seventh spot with 69 and 54 GRPs respectively. Sahara One has 34 GRPs, followed by 9X with 20 GRPs and Real with 7 GRPs.