Channel wars heat up

Not long ago, the number one channel used to be way ahead of the number two player by as much as 250 points and the gap between number two and three was around 50 to 60 points. Today the difference in their figures has narrowed down to about 50 points. As a result, Star Plus and Zee are literally slugging it out for the top slot, while Sony's viewership has fallen down quite drastically. On the other hand, NDTV Imagine which entered the business in January wrested the third position from Sony. Though in the last two weeks Sony has bounced back in the third slot, the trouble is far from over for Sony as Star One and Sahara are also not far behind.

In fact, while Star Plus continues to lead over Zee, the latter is giving the former a run for its money with shows like Dulhan, Maayka, Saath Phere, Naagin, Betiyaan and Rock-N-Roll Family. Similarly, there is hardly any difference between the figures of NDTV Imagine, Sony, SaharaOne and Star One. What's the reason behind such massive fragmentation of eyeballs? In simple analysis, one's loss has been the other's gain. While Star Plus continued to bleed, Zee which started its upward journey about one and half years ago consolidated its position recently. Media watcher are of the view that Star Plus' undoing has been its over reliance on K shows — Kyunki, Kahani and Kasauti — which lost their ratings considerably. New shows from the Balaji stable like Karam Apna Apna and Kasturi didn't live up to the expectations either. In short, not a single property, baring Babul Ka Sapna Bidaai, delivered rocking TRPs for Star Plus, not even KBC 3 which had lost its novelty by the time Shah Rukh Khan took over. Even Nach Baliye which was moved from Star One to Star Plus for the third season didn't create any waves.

"There are several reasons for Star's slide. The macro reason is a lack of good programming and overdependence on old shows," says Shailja Kejriwal, executive vice president, content, NDTV Imagine. Adds Sony's business head Albert Almeida, "You need one big hit to start your upward journey and after that you need to create more properties to build around the performing show for further growth."

Indeed that's what Star Plus did in July 2000 with KBC and Kyunki and followed it up with Kahani and Kasauti a few months down the line. Zee started its upward journey with the success of Saath Phere, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge and Kasamh Se which helped Zee turn the tide against Star Plus. The reason for Sony's slide has been its excessive dependence on reality TV. That is why, according to Zee's business head Tarun Mehra, NDTV Imagine grabbed the third slot.

There is no denying that from day one NDTV's major property is Ramayan which has delivered an average of 2-plus TVR. Other shows which are doing well on NDTV Imagine include Radha Ki Betiyaan, Jasuben Jayantilaal Joshi, Nachle Ve with Saroj Khan and Dharam Veer. However, Albert is of the view that the current scenario will not last long and "further fragmentation in viewership will throw up three to four players at the top," he feels. SaharaOne's senior creative director Kalyan Sundaram is also of the view that the current ups and downs are temporary. "Gone are the days of one channel leading the space for eight years. In future, number one and two positions will interchange every three to four months," says Tarun. However, Keertan Adyanthaya, general manager and executive vice president, Star Plus, says, "We are not worried about competition. We want to redefine television programming."