All About: Top three Hindi GEC episodes

We analyse what worked for the top-rated episodes on TV in between January-November 2011

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Kaun Banega Crorepati on Sony Entertainment Television delivered a TVR of 8.07 on 2 November 2011, making it this year’s top-rated episode of a programme on Hindi GECs till the end of November (Source: TAM). On that night, Sushil Kumar, a computer operator from Bihar, won the prize kitty of Rs 5 crores. In second place, was Pavitra Rishta on Zee TV with a TVR of 6.98 for its 27 January episode, and in third place, Saathiya Saath Nibhana on Star Plus with a TVR of 6.93 on 8 November.

1. Danish Khan, senior vice president and head of marketing at Sony Entertainment Television, said, “The show and the season was based on the aam aadmi. The most important part of KBC this year is that it was packaged very differently. One, there was a lot of care taken in auditioning, ensuring that anybody in India who had the knowledge had access to participate. Two, every single contestant reflected the reality of India. Three, the importance of knowledge to change someone’s life was promoted very well – Koi Insaan Chhota Nahin Hota captured the imagination of the nation. All this worked and we had a huge amount of anticipation of someone coming on KBC and winning that prize of Rs 5 crores. The moment it was done, we broke it through the news, and the moment itself was so magical that if you look at the amount of news coverage it got, it almost became a national event. The episode marketed itself, honestly.”

On the advertiser interest throughout the season, he commented, “It was promoted very strongly, for about two months before it was launched. Also from the advertiser point of view, there is no show in Indian reality which has delivered a consistent 4.5+ episode after episode for 13 weeks. All the advertisers are extremely happy.” According to industry sources, the ad rate was Rs 4 lakhs-5lakhs for 10 seconds for that 2 November episode.

For the rest of the season, it was Rs 3.25lakhs – 3.75 lakhs for 10 seconds.

2. In Pavitra Rishta on Zee TV, the 27 January episode revolved around Vaishali, the sister of the main protagonist Archana, who has left her husband Dharmesh and is now living with Archana and her husband Manav. According to Zee TV fiction head, Sukesh Motwani, “This particular episode was not specially promoted to get the kind of viewership that it did, but yes, the track of Dharmesh-Vaishali was definitely promoted in a huge way that it roped us good TRPs and 27 January was a ripple effect of the same.” On what has worked for the show this year, he explained, “We had many twists and turns this year in terms of the storyline. We also took a four year leap in June.”

3. For Saathiya Saath Nibhana on Star Plus, Suzana Ghai, senior creative director – fiction, Star Plus, said, “In the 8 November episode, the younger Modi daughter-in-law Raashi (who had been asked to leave the house because she had conned them), in her desperation for the family to take her back, brings police to the Modi house and accuses them of having tortured her in the courtyard. However through surveillance cameras in the courtyard, she is proved wrong.” On what had worked for the show through the year, she said, “In this show, while the mother-in-law is supportive of the daughter in law, the daughter in law who is an orphan, in turn, finds a mother in her mother in law.” On advertiser interest, she said, “Saathiya has been a top performing show on Hindi GE for the past one year, and the advertisers have responded extremely positively to the show, ruling the highest ASRs (average spot rate) among the fiction shows on Hindi GE.”

4. On trends that Hindi GECs have seen this year, LV Krishnan, CEO, TAM Media Research, said, “GECs showing blockbuster movies and increased number of award shows have been significant factors for adding audiences. These shows have started providing a platform for the promotion of regular soaps and launch of new reality shows. Besides this, the regular soaps have also started extending themselves with special stories (Maha-episodes) in weekends which have further boosted audience engagement with HGEC.”

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