"Sony moved its strong soaps away from the KBC slot and is using Ek Mahal Ho Sapnon Ka to retain viewership in this time band. The move has given them results," said a media analyst. Saaya was moved from the 9 p.m. to 10.30 p.m. slot, but was not too effective. Though it picked up, the programme never won back its pre-KBC ratings. Sparsh and Kaash were two shows which were retired from prime time. Zee TV reacted later and changed its programming grid in early September. According to INTAM data, the channel's reach fell from 34.84 per cent when KBC was launched to 31.42 per cent for the week ended October 1. `X Zone' was badly affected and even after shifting it to the Sunday 10.30 p.m. slot, has not been able to recover.

Muskaan, moved from 9.30 p.m. to 10.30 p.m., fared poorly and slid from a TRP of 3.54 per cent in June 19 to 0.51 in October 9. India's Most Wanted, which continued in its original time slot at 9.30 p.m. post-KBC, also could not stem the slide. Koshish was the only show which held on tothe KBC onslaught. Kartavya, which was moved to take on KBC, retained its viewership. "Sony has been more flexible and innovative in its programme scheduling than Zee TV. But, Zee may not have played its cards well as they were waiting for an overall change in programming grid after the launch of their game show," a media analyst said.