For a few GRPs more

TELEVISION: STAR Plus and Colors are ready to ignore money in their quest for GRPs.

Indian television viewers, who have often complained about too many commercials, had an unusual experience on January 30. On Martyrs Day, STAR Plus sacrificed its revenue considerations to give viewers a commercials-free day from eight in the morning to nine in the evening. “It grew the total TRPs (television rating points) by a few notches,” says an executive of Rupert Murdoch’s flagship channel in India.

Five days earlier, Viacom 18’s seven-month-old Colors, which has been trying to overtake STAR Plus as the most-watched channel, had aired Akshay Kumar’s Singh is Kinng, a big hit of last year and presumably an expensive buy.

As the battle between the two channels intensifies, they have begun to look beyond money at the one thing that matters most to them right now: Gross Rating Points, or GRPs. It is the sum total of a channel’s rating points, which, in turn, is a measure of its audience reach and time spent on the channel. This is the parameter advertisers use when they get down to deciding their media plan.

With Colors barely seven GRPs away from STAR Plus the week before last, the latter stepped on the gas to report a lead of 46 GRPs last week. According to TAM’s latest data on television viewership, STAR Plus is leading the burgeoning pack of general entertainment channels with a GRP of 317 followed by Colors at 217 and Zee at 209. The next data will be released on Thursday.

Colors’ Chief Executive Officer Rajesh Kamat admits that the ‘ads-free’ day was a smart move by STAR Plus. “We are constantly on the alert. It’s a daily battle and, at least, we at Colors are enjoying it,” he says. If STAR Plus showed six films last weekend, Colors increased its own haul to four from two earlier. “We will buy some new films soon,” says Kamat.

For a start, during Week Five (January 25 to January 31), STAR Plus aired a special one-hour episode of its top-rated serial, Bidaai, which garnered its highest-ever TRP of 8.98.

“The entire episode was devoted to a wedding in the serial,” says the spokesperson for STAR India. However, the bulk of the 46 GRPs came from the STAR Screen Awards telecast on the channel on January 25. “We gained nearly 30 GRPs from the event,” says the spokesperson.

Colors fought tooth and nail for viewership by screening Singh is Kinng the same day, though it did not benefit as much.

The channel is pinning its hopes on a slew of new programmes. A new serial on female infanticide based in — where else — Haryana will be aired soon. Two reality shows — Khatron Ke Khiladi II and India’s Got Talent, a Freemantle format — are also in the pipeline. “In India’s Got Talent you will find acrobats, singers, fire-eaters and many such people with unusual talents. It’s a very successful format worldwide,” says Kamat.

If Colors is splurging on content, STAR Plus is not sitting idle. It has introduced Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, which got a TRP of 7.9 on the opening day and now averages around 5.6. On the cards is a dance show as well as a reality show on wedding in collaboration with the matrimonial portal, shaadi.com.

Kamat says Colors hasn’t exploited its full potential as its original programming is 23-24 hours versus STAR’s 38-40 hours. “STAR has a full-fledged afternoon band while we are still to introduce ours and we’ve still managed to close in on the market leader,” says Kamat.

Clearly, with neither of the two giving in just yet, the weekly battle for the number one slot will be long-drawn.