TV channels vie for ad revenues amid rising TRP claims

Competition in the general entertainment channel (GEC) space is heating up with ever-rising claims of high TRPs to attract advertisement revenues.

Balika Vadhu’s big-bang launch changed not only prime time viewing but also the TRP charts. Colors, launched in 2007 toppled Star TV that reigned supreme for almost a decade.

But now, the bigg boss of Indian Television has been displaced, that's what the latest ratings suggest.

While Star has emerged number one, Colors has been relegated to the number 3 position as per TAM ratings. Sony, backed by KBC's success has grabbed the second spot. Zee and SAB are lagging behind.

And now with competition heating up, channels are going full throttle to grab eyeballs. Whether it is through celebrity shows or launching multi-crore media campaigns.

As per TAM ratings, Star Plus enjoys the highest TRP of 23 per cent , followed by SET-19 per cent  and Colors- 18 per cent. Zee and SAB come at the fourth and fifth positions with TRPs of 15 per cent and 9.9 per cent, respectively.

NP Singh, COO of Multi Screen Media said, "There has been a pressure on our content and programming as the competition has now intensified. Though we are competing with each other, ultimately the advertising pie and the market are growing."

Gross rating points, a good indication of these channels’ popularity, influence advertisers’ investment decisions.

Ajay Chandwani, Director at Percept H said, "The media spend is proportionate to the ratings. So this TRP rejig will reflect in the monies getting reallocated from one player to the other top one".

It has been Big B's day for now that has helped Sony get the hot seat on the TRP chart but all eyes will now be on how the charts change for Colors once Bigg Boss steps in.

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