Kaun Bachega Crorepati? Star may strip rivals of ratings, ads
EXPRESS NEWS SERICE

MUMBAI, JULY 9: A lukewarm verdict from the critics does not deter Amitabh Bachchan, not even in his maiden attempt on television. Popular support is apparently pouring in for the gameshow hosted by the former superstar on Star Plus, Kaun Banega Crorepati. The show is notching up huge television rating points (TRPs) to give competing channels a headache.

On the first day itself, the over-hyped `hungama' which allows contestants to win up to a crore of rupees apart from the pleasure of sharing a table with Bachchan, picked up rating points that are considered high by industry standards.

Mumbai gave it 19.4 points which reads as 39 per cent of all cable and satellite TV viewership. Delhi and Kanpur fared even better. Delhi's TRP was 15 which translates into 55 per cent viewership while Kanpur had 22.4 points with 61 per cent viewership. The ratings were measured by the TAM Peoplemeter in the three cities.

In contrast, the TRP ratings of the top five shows in Mumbai for the week starting May 15 put out by INTAM read: CID (Sony) 11.9 per cent, Amanat (Zee) 10.7, Heena (Sony) 10.1, Shraddhanjali (Sony) 9.5 and X-Zone (Zee) 8.

Apart from the high TRP ratings, the slotting of the show -- 9 pm to 10 pm, Monday through Thursday -- is giving Star's competing channels the jitters. This is bad news for Zee and Sony who have popular soaps/serials on air in that slot. The fear is that the gameshow, if it continues to ride the popularity charts, will lure away advertisers.

The show, which has already thrown up a Rs 25 lakh-winner from Delhi, has shattered the widely-held belief among channel programmers that gameshows are doomed because Indian viewers don't particularly enjoy watching programmes that make other people rich. At least that was the experience from Zee's Tol Mol Ke Bol which wound up after initial euphoria.

But industry sources say Star TV has put aside such a huge budget for Crorepati that it can sustain viewers' interest for a long time.

Monday, when the Big B returns to the small screen, Zee and Sony will be hoping Kaun Banega Crorepati meets the fate of its predecessors. Because if Bachchan's TRP ratings survive the second week, they could have a serious problem on hand. Primetime programming could undergo major changes as competitors devise ways to meet the ten-million rupee challenge from Star Plus.

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