Category: Viewership

Mumbai: Warner Bros. Discovery has officially launched its global centennial campaign, “Celebrating Every Story,” in preparation for the studio’s 100th anniversary on 4 April  2023. This landmark birthday will be celebrated across consumer touchpoints over the next 12 months with special programming and content, exclusive products and home entertainment releases, a dedicated programming page on HBO Max, omni-channel social media campaigns, live events and screenings, and fan-focused activations around the world. The official centennial logo and commemorative reel will also be unveiled.

Speaking on the launch, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav commented, “The name Warner Bros. is synonymous with entertainment, and we are honoured to be celebrating this iconic studio’s centennial and the rich heritage that stretches back to the four brothers who founded it in 1923. Over the past 100 years, Warner Bros. has created some of the most recognisable and beloved films, TV shows and characters ever made and has been the place for impactful storytelling that both defines and reflects our culture. We are excited about our company’s bright and dynamic future and, as we embark on its second century, to continue to tell the kind of great stories that entertain, inform, and inspire audiences around the world.”

Highlights of the centennial programming include a three-part documentary on the history of Warner Bros. from WB Unscripted Television, which will premiere on HBO Max (and select partners in regions where HBO Max isn’t available); programming marathons and special episodes across Warner Bros. Discovery’s 40+ domestic networks and international channels; and archival interviews airing on Extra from the series’ 29 seasons of studio set visits, red carpet premieres, and other events.

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will release a series of commemorative film and television bundles on digital, Blu-ray, and DVD, including four 25-film volumes and a 100-film collection (both with souvenir collectibles), complete TV series collections for the first time, and “Best of” TV compilations from the most beloved WBTV franchises. Throughout the year, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will release a dozen remastered titles in 4K ultra-high definition for the first time, including the Superman 5-film collection and special 50th anniversary editions of Enter the Dragon and The Exorcist.

HBO Max will launch a dedicated programming page with thematic and seasonal programming in late January. HBO Max will mine Warner Bros.’ unparalleled film and television libraries to present curated collections commemorating holidays and cultural events such as Black History Month, Women’s History Month, AAPI Month, and Pride/LGBTQ.

From apparel and housewares to toys and collectibles, publishing, retailers, and food and beverage companies, Warner Bros. Discovery Global Consumer Products is celebrating this milestone in collaboration with some of the world’s most popular and powerful brands.

Throughout 2023, the consumer products division will present a number of exclusive centennial activations in collaboration with key partners such as Amazon, Saks Fifth Avenue, Funko, Mattel, New Era, Running Press, and others. In addition, a new line of products featuring the Looney Tunes, a cornerstone of Warner Bros.’ history, will be unveiled, with the ultimate superfans dressed up as other legendary WB characters from fan favourite franchises such as DC and Wizarding World taking centre stage.

Throughout the year, the company will present a number of live events and experiences to fans around the world, including: Candlelight Concerts in 100 cities, taking fans on a musical journey through 100 years of Warner Bros. in cities such as Los Angeles, New York, London, Toronto, Melbourne, Paris, Singapore, Milan, So Paulo, and Mexico City.

In April, the TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood will honour key films and major talent from Warner Bros. Pictures’ history, including Casablanca, the 50th anniversaries of The Exorcist and Enter the Dragon, as well as world premiere restorations of East of Eden and Rio Bravo.

Limited theatrical engagements of some of Warner Bros.’ most popular film titles throughout its history; exhibits and screenings commemorating the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures’ centennial in Los Angeles; and commemorative screenings at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History’s Warner Bros. Theater will be included.

The centennial will be celebrated with exclusive merchandise, photo ops, special engagements and activations, and more at Warner Bros.’ hotels and theme parks around the world, including The WB Abu Dhabi, Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi, Parque Warner Madrid, and Warner Bros. Movie World in Australia.

Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood, the world’s premier attraction for bringing fans closer to the entertainment they love, will play a significant role in commemorating the centennial. A special 100th anniversary exhibit will debut as part of the tour in February, and more centennial-themed surprises will be revealed later in the year.

Warner Bros. has been active internationally for virtually its entire history. Teams from across the world will host centenary activations across all of the studio’s businesses to acknowledge the brand’s popularity worldwide as well as its content, characters, and consumer products. The Warner Bros. centennial celebration will truly be a global event, with centennial celebrations in China and a themed exhibition during the Beijing International Film Festival, pop-up channels in Germany, film exhibitions throughout Europe, consumer products and fashion lines across all regions, and more.

This Day in History, Backlot Journeys, 100 Iconic WB Moments, mashups with top-tier IP, activations at live events, user-generated content, photo ops and filters, and other specially designed themed campaigns will launch across social media to let fans of all things Warner Bros. join in the celebration.

Mumbai: Broadcast Audience Research Council (Barc) India has released currency data for week 49, i.e., 3 December to 9 December. As per data for the all-India 2+ target group, Sun TV is the most watched channel in India with an average minute audience (AMA) of 2526.01 (000). It was followed by Star Plus at 2506.69 (000) AMA, Star Maa at 2215.1 (000) AMA, Dangal at 1817.18 (000) AMA, and Goldmines at 1804.06 (000) AMA.

The average minute audience (AMA) is defined as the number of individuals within a target audience who viewed a televised “event,” averaged across minutes.

In the Hindi-speaking market (HSM), Star Plus emerged as the most watched channel at 2406.65 (000) AMA, followed by Dangal at 1809.22 (000) AMA, Goldmines at 1778.26 (000) AMA, Colors at 1777.45 (000) AMA, and Star Pravah at 1616.36 (000) AMA.

In the South market, Sun TV was the most watched channel at 2506.35 (000) AMA, followed by Star Maa at 2165.29 (000) AMA, Zee Kannada at 1478.53 (000) AMA, Star Vijay at 1422.65 (000) AMA,  Zee Telugu at 1280.66 (000) AMA.

In the Maharashtra/Goa market, Star Pravah was the most watched channel at 1602.33 (000) AMA, followed by Colors Marathi at 473.48 (000) AMA, Zee Marathi at 439.14 (000) AMA, Star Plus at 373.28 (000), and Sony SAB 370.79 (000) AMA.

In the West Bengal market, Star Jalsha was the most watched channel with 1135.88 (000) AMA followed by Zee Bangla at 867.85 (000) AMA, Jalsha Movies at 175.7 (000) AMA, Sports18 1 at 143.76 (000) AMA and Colors Bangla at 131.54 (000) AMA.

In the megacities market, including Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru, and Chennai, Colors was the most watched channel at 487.85 (000) AMA followed by Sun TV at 435.36 (000) AMA, Star Plus at 427.65 (000) AMA, Star Vijay at 308.52 (000) AMA and Star Pravah at 284.08 (000) AMA.

Mumbai: Colors’ reality show Bigg Boss has come a long way in its 15-year journey and has gone on to become a phenomenon in the television entertainment landscape. The sixteenth season of the hit show has bagged the No. 1 spot in the non-fiction category. The show has been instrumental in providing an unprecedented dose of glamour, entertaining audiences with its engaging content, and adding grand new elements year after year. Within six weeks of its launch, the show attracted over 127 million viewers on Colors and 600 million views on Voot. Bigg Boss 16 catapulted itself to the pole position in the non-fiction category with a massive reach of three billion, along with one billion views and a 97 per cent share of voice on Colors Digital, making it one of the marquee shows in the Hindi general entertainment category.

Over the last decade and a half, the Bigg Boss has become a huge platform for brands to collaborate, and it provides a great canvas for advertisers to connect with their target audience. The sponsorships aim to provide brands with an opportunity to engage and collaborate through various touch points. During the show, the brands will gain prominence and visibility through ad spots, task integrations, the caller of the week segment, special zones, and other peripheral branding opportunities.

The 16th season of Bigg Boss has Licious as an associate sponsor. Licious’ one-of-a-kind “Licious Greed Zone” is created in the house and occasionally opens up the window of surprise for the BB contestants to satiate their meat cravings. To build excitement and engagement with its audience, Licious debuts in the Bigg Boss kitchen, vowing to bring in new enthusiasm among the viewers as they can vote on the Licious app to choose and decide from the endless range of products that will go inside the house for their favourite contestants to enjoy delectable dishes. To top it all off, the top three lucky voters will receive a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to “Meet and Greet Salman Khan!”

Speaking about the association, Licious VP of brand Santosh Hegde said, “Our partnership with Bigg Boss is a huge pop culture moment for us! Our strategic and steadfast approach to making Licious offerings a part of the BB house has culminated in a breakthrough in the brand collaboration space, especially by giving consumers and audiences the chance to vote for their Licious favourites and making them a part of this experience. While our ready-to-eat range was at the heart of it, we are pumped to give the contestants a taste of our diverse portfolio, which only goes to show how Licious caters to all types of cravings, both on-screen and off-screen.”

Viacom18 revenue head of Colors Pavithra KR added, “This year’s Bigg Boss saw a lot of excitement and food cravings, especially where meat was concerned. This opened up an opportunity, and we felt that Licious, a D2C farm-to-fork platform, had found space in the Bigg Boss house. Hence the idea of a “Licious Greed Zone” germinated for the meat-lovers in the house. We co-created a contest on the Licious app to drive audience engagement and give the viewers the “power to choose” from the Licious menu. For the first time ever, viewers decided the menu that goes inside the house, keeping in mind the indulgences and cravings of the housemates. Hence, the brand became a part of the narrative and added to the immersive experience of the show.”

The 16th season of Bigg Boss is focused on offering a robust experience to brand partners through means of engagement, excitement & entertainment. The idea is to assist the brands in creating a powerful & impactful narrative that has the potential to build a lasting connection with the audience through content present in multiple markets cutting across geo-social cross-sections in India.

Mumbai: If 2021 saw Indians taking their first cautious steps into a post-pandemic era, 2022 marked the year people bounced back stronger in many ways. In this journey, Google Search helped people find a world of information – be it questions on everyday interests, new passions, or more intricate topics. As the year comes to a close, Google looked back at the year’s standout moments that had people searching, wondering, and celebrating across a broad range of topics – with the Year in Search 2022 recap in India.

Check out the key highlights:

 .   Indians celebrated diversity in film and rediscovered movie magic in the outside world. Unlike last year, theatrical releases took the lead in 2022, with popular theatrical releases across languages, including many pan-Indian films, dominating the overall trending movie list.

.    Brahmastra and KGF 2 dominated the overall and movie trending search lists. In fact, both films also made it to the top global trending movie searches.

.    Trending movies in India also included The Kashmir Files, Laal Singh Chaddha, Drishyam 2, RRR, Pushpa: The Rise, Vikram, Kantara, and Thor: Love and Thunder.

 .   Songs got people humming across the world, with popular tracks “Chaand Baaliyan” and “Srivalli” are top songs people hummed to search globally.

.    Saddened losses of renowned entertainment personalities found a spot in the trending news events of the year, including our very own nightingale Lata Mangeshkar, and artists Sidhu Moose Wala, KK, and Bappi Lahiri.

Trending Movies in India – breakdown

Rank	Overall	Hindi	International
1	Brahmastra	Brahmastra	Thor Love and Thunder
2	KGF 2	Kashmir Files	Black Adam
3	Kashmir Files	Lal Singh Chaddha	Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
4	RRR	Drishyam 2	Jurassic World
5	Kantara	Liger (shot in Hindi and Telugu)	Batman
6	Pushpa	RadheShyam (shot in Hindi and Telugu)	The Gray Man
7	Vikram	BhoolBhulaiyaa 2	Eternals
8	Lal Singh Chaddha	GangubaiKathiawadi	Wakanda Forever
9	Drishyam 2	VikramVedha	Uncharted
10	Thor Love and Thunder	Rocketry (shot in Hindi and Tamil)	Spider Man No Way home

Trending OTT specials in India

Rank	Overall	Indian	International
1	Gehraiyaan	Gehraiyaan	Moon Knight
2	Moon Knight	Darlings	House of the Dragon
3	House of the Dragon	Rocket Boys	The Gray Man
4	The Gray Man	MinnalMurali	All of us are dead
5	All of us are dead	KhudaHaafiz 2	Ms Marvel
6	Darlings
7	Ms Marvel
8	She Hulk
9	Rocket Boys
10	Euphoria

 

Trending entertainment personalities in India

Rank	Overall	Bollywood
1	Sushmita Sen	Sushmita Sen
2	Anjali Arora	Alia Bhatt
3	Abdu Rozik	Saba Azad
4	Amber Heard	Ranbir Kapoor
5	Yash	VivekAgnihotri
6	Alia Bhatt
7	Will Smith
8	Saba Azad
9	Ranbir Kapoor
10	UorfiJaved

Trending shows in India

Rank	Shows
1	Bigg Boss (Hindi)
2	Moon Knight
3	House of the Dragon
4	All of us are dead
5	Bigg Boss (Tamil)
6	Ms Marvel
7	Shark Tank India
8	She Hulk
9	Rocket Boys
10	Euphoria

Mumbai: If you want to describe the journey of StudioNEXT, the content creation arm of Sony Pictures Networks (SPN), then faadu would be the best word for it. In Hindi, faadu means outstanding and extraordinary, and StudioNEXT’s content is exactly on the same line!

StudioNEXT head Indranil Chakraborty is busy with the promotion of SonyLIV’s new show faadu, which is an Indian web series directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari and written by Saumya Joshi. It stars Pavail Gulati and Saiyami Kher in lead roles.

Chakraborty’s faadu professional moment occurs when he wants to create some content and audiences express their affection for it.

For him personally, it will be a faadu moment when his children succeed in their respective fields.

As a content producer for SPN’s media business as well as for other channels, networks, and over-the-top video streaming players in India and throughout the world, StudioNEXT, an autonomous business unit of SPN, executes content with responsibility. Kaun Banega Crorepati, Superstar Singer, The Scam 1992,ˀ and Shark Tank on Sony, were all created by the new company, which was founded in August 2018.

In a conversation with Indiantelevision.com, Chakraborty shared his vision for StudioNEXT in the coming years. He spoke about the journey of StudioNEXT, content creation, regulations, new shows, TV and OTT.

Edited excerpts

On the journey

When I joined Sony with the vision of StudioNEXT, we didn’t start out with grand plans of achieving this or that milestone, so everything has evolved organically over time.

When things evolve organically, you know that every step is a pleasure and a pleasant surprise, and when we started the journey, we were very clear about why or what we wanted to do.

Our goal was to tell actual stories. Make shows with a purpose for a discerning, intelligent audience, because there are a lot of them. And who wants this? And who follows global stories and platforms?

Why not start in India and build an ecosystem? Create a studio that caters to that type of storytelling.

We’re always very privileged to be associated with certain things. To begin with, we are the producers of KBC, and no other show can embody the concept of entertainment with a purpose.

Our biggest success came from being associated with and producing the Scam 1992. And we are all aware of what happened with Scam 1992. Many people have praised the show, and it was a success. When we started making Scam, it turned out exactly how we wanted; we had no idea it would be so well received and become a phenomenon.

Then came Shark Tank, a business show that had previously been on news channels globally but that was moved to prime time on a general entertainment channel that supports both television and digital, since its creators had faith in it.

According to me, the Indian internet has experienced some milestones in certain things, and we believe that Shark Tank is another milestone for entertainment that truly serves modern India.

Our stories will be great insights from the world, especially India, and will serve as entertainment with a purpose. We have great insights from the world present today, and we focus on Indian stories; we do not want to copy and retell the stories from other parts of the world.

On the new show

I don’t think the Indian digital world has seen a show focused solely on relationships, love, romance, poetry, and literature. We believe we have been bold in telling the story, and we have a lot of talent and more on the way. The majority of them are quite daring. I’m not claiming that everything will be a success. Nobody knows, so we can only hope. But it’s been exciting so far. It’s been difficult. And the good news is that our beliefs have all been strengthened in order to tell us even more stories. So we’re hoping that faadu will amplify that.

faadu comes from his and her attitudes, and there is a line that says “Zindagi faadu hona chahiye,” which means live life king size. That’s what it is: an attitude. It’s not so much about the word as it is about the context. It is the attitude that life should not be lived to its full potential and should instead be put into things.

On the content creation

In my opinion, there has never been a better time for a storyteller than now, and I have been in the media industry for over 25 years. When the world or universe gives you this opportunity, you have to grab it and be the most important thing. You must be truthful about it.

The viewers today want us to tell them good stories. They say, “We are here to watch it.” They have put their faith in us. I think it is our responsibility to give back to the viewers.

Now that we have given them the opportunity, they spend money, but they give time more than money. They devote so much time to watching what we produce. At the very least, we should not disappoint them. We must not undervalue it now. So our entire endeavour is that we are all about this quality, so that at least nobody can see that you people are short on budget.

It is our collective responsibility to take action. And once we’ve been honest with ourselves about our storytelling, we open up the Indian stories. That is our most important thing. We will tell Indian stories; we will not copy and paste; instead, we will bring in a story from a specific culture and land and try to make a mishmash of it. It will not happen to us.

We will tell stories from all over the country. And because we are language agnostic, people will be here, dress, and speak in that culture when we tell them about the various parts.

In faadu, 20 to 25 per cent of the dialogues are in Marathi. When the protagonist travels to Gujarat, he prefers to speak Gujarati, so we are very clear that we want to be immersed in that culture and place. I cannot believe a female protagonist, Manjiri, is talking in Hindi instead of Konkani to her parents.

On the TV vs OTT debate 

Everything has an audience. I no longer work on a channel or platform. So I won’t be able to give you viewers’ behavioural insight into what this is, but the way television functions is known as engagement viewing.

People sitting in front of the television at a specific time is part of everyday life. Communication is very one-sided on TV. Both work and will work in the future. The audience has more power thanks to digital.

There is such a thing as individual and group escapism. Television remains a form of family entertainment. People sit together and watch digital most of the time, especially if it’s not TV. But in a mobile situation, it’s all about the individual.

Faadu is a show that the entire family can watch together because that is its genre on television.

We believe that the key members of the family will sit down and watch because it’s clean. It’s relatable, and there is nothing that makes one another uncomfortable in that situation.

The audience has become fragmented. It’s not a different audience. However, the expectations of each viewer are vastly different.

So as storytellers, we have to be aware of that because certain things work better on a large screen or in a specific environment.

On the OTT regulations

We must obey the law of the land. There is no getting around obeying the law of the land. As a result, we must comply. We wish that people would not limit storytellers, creative instincts, and other such things.

But, as of now, I believe that television has a very self-censored atmosphere. OTT is still self-censored. If it is self-censored, we bear far more responsibility and onus.

We have to be a little more sensitive to people and the law of the land. We must follow the law; there are no two ways about it; we are not here to question the law.

We all believe in our greater flexibility and power as storytellers.

On the vision of StudioNEXT 

We’d like to tell you a story. Our entertainment mission and vision have come to fruition. We believe we can delve into a variety of stories. Many relationships, worlds, and customs, as if we were about to open up the entire world of Orissa.

So we’ll continue to tell stories in different languages, but we won’t say whether or not it’s a vernacular regional show. Yes, there will be various languages and activities. And I think we’re just getting started. And, as we embark on our digital journey, the world expects us to tell Indian stories.

We are not going to make stories for the entire world. We are creating stories for ourselves (India), but we will be very happy to hear that some of the stories have been seen in various parts of the world, as well as the recommendations that are taking place, which I believe is becoming one world in terms of distribution.

In the next two years, we want StudioNEXT to be something like our stated philosophy. Every other month, you will have a show from our table; it is a promise made.

On the new slate

After this in January or February, we’ll have Jahanbad, which is held by Sudhir Mishra; the second season of Scam, held by Hansal Mehta; and then we’ll have a show based on Orissa, which is titled Jengaburu, which is being written and directed by Nila Madhab Panda.

We have a very ambitious show set in Calcutta in the 1970s against Park Street, and there is music in the backdrop of the Bangladesh liberation. After that, there is a story that is being done by Sudhir Mishra, set in the 1970s. It’s a youth story of the 1970s, and then there is another show by Rahul Dholakia, which is based on our first election, An Untold Story.

We are also looking at unscripted shows, which is the nonfiction genre on digital. So we are exploring one or two shows that will be given the success of Shark Tank in digital. We believe that there are certain unscripted shows that can be developed and produced. I think we have enough on our plate.

Mumbai: Travelxp has expanded into Poland. Thanks to its cooperation with Polsat Plus Group, viewers in Poland will get to enjoy its premium travel and lifestyle content on Polsat Box (satellite, IPTV, and OTT TV with set-top boxes), Netia (IPTV), and the Polsat Box Go streaming service.

The broadcaster said that it is known for freshness and originality and that it has come up with many interesting shows even during the covid lockdown. Through shows like The Gypsies and The Savvy Nomad, which are in keeping with the changing nature of travel, the channel has stayed relevant. This has led to partnerships with broadcast platforms in the North and South American, African, South Pacific, and European regions. A partnership with the European pay TV giant, Polsat Plus Group, has expanded the channel’s reach in Europe.

Travelxp MD Europe Sumant Bahl said, “The year 2022, the very first after the lockdown, has been an excellent year for Travelxp, and it is ending on a high note with a crucial partnership. Launching the premium HDR content of Travelxp 4K in HLG HDR, 10-bit REC 2100 colour space, and 50 frames on the largest digital platform in Poland is just the feather in our cap that we needed, after establishing a strong foothold in over 20 countries across Europe.”

With 1000+ hours of premium travel and lifestyle content, Travelxp is distributed in over 100+ countries. It also claims to be the single-largest producer of travel content and a global innovation leader in 4K HDR technology. With a diverse programming mix, all Travelxp shows are original in-house productions filmed across 60+ countries with multi-cultural hosts from across the world. The channel launched its own OTT app in 2021, currently available in India, that hosts the largest HD library for travel content. Along with travel content, it also hosts booking services on its platform.

Mumbai: Through their daughters in Colors’ new show Durga Aur Charu, the late Bondita and Anirudh Roy Chowdhary’s legacy from one of the most adored television sitcoms, Barrister Babu, continues.

Durga is her mother’s shadow, whereas Charu is her soul. The show follows the lives of two sisters who are related by blood but who had quite different upbringings as a result of being split up when they were young. The program, which is made by Shashi Sumeet Productions, will debut on 12 December and air every day at 8:30 p.m.

For the starring roles as two sisters, Durga and Charu, the channel has cast well-known performers Aurra Bhatnagar and Vaishnavi Prajapati.

Viacom18 Hindi Mass Entertainment chief content officer Manisha Sharma said, “Delivering stories that strike a chord with our viewers has always been our focus at Colors. Such was the story of Barrister Babu, a show that enjoyed incredible success and love from the audience. Continuing its legacy, our new fiction show Durga Aur Charu traces the heartfelt journey of Bondita and Anirudh’s daughters, who are raised in two different environments, resulting in having contrasting personalities. As we present a fresh chapter and the continuation of the popular show, we hope to receive the same love and appreciation with Durga and Charu.”

Durga (Aurra Bhatnagar), a modest and pessimistic child, and her street-smart older sister Charu are the subjects of the film Durga Aur Charu, which is set in the period before and after independence (Vaishnavi Prajapati). The two sisters are living separately and are unaware of one another. Due to their varied upbringings, they are as different as chalk and cheese. While Charu, Durga’s sister, is fierce, loud, and excels in academics, Durga is reserved, quiet, and depends on doing acrobatics to support herself. The former is raised by con artists, whereas the latter is adopted by wealthy parents.

Producer Shashi Mittal said, “Durga aur Charu is a period drama set during the British colonial era that traces the journey of two siblings who not only lose their parents but also get separated at a young age. But eventually destiny brings them together, and their relationship is tested through several emotional adversaries. With our shows, we always aim to deal with various themes that impact our societal thinking in some way or another. Our association with Colors has been a fruitful one, we have had the opportunity to work with the best team with creative freedom, and we hope that with Durga Aur Charu, we deliver yet another compelling story to the viewers.”

Excited to be playing the role of Durga, Aurra Bhatnagar said, “As young Bondita, I have received immense love and support from the viewers, and now I am super excited to step into the new role of Durga. She is the exact replica of her mother, who excels in academics but is socially awkward due to her upbringing. After making my debut with Barrister Babu and Colors, I’m thrilled to be associated with the channel again to start a new chapter.”

Set to be seen in the role of Charu, Vaishnavi Prajapati said, “Essaying the titular role of Charu is a big opportunity for me, and I am thankful to the entire Durga Aur Charu team and Colors for giving me this chance. What I love about Charu is that she is feisty and fearless like her mother Bondita. I’m positive that Charu will win the hearts of the viewers as a confident girl, who knows how to take control of her life.”

Mumbai: OTT platforms Watcho has announced the premiere of Aarop, a heartbreaking crime thriller series. Written and directed by Subhash Jangid and Vinay Bhola, the 10-episode web series is available in Hindi language. 

The series is packed with mystery, suspense, drama, and thrill, which results in a recipe that makes it absolutely gripping for the viewers.

The show also features an ensemble of the cast, including Ram Mehar, Akansha Juneja, Raj Singh Verma, Muskkan Sayed, Vikas Mehta, Mukesh Musafir, Chandrani Baidya, Hiten Tank, Supriya Priyadarshani, and Alka Chatwal.

Aarop is a powerful, character-driven crime thriller set in contemporary India. It revolves around two cops, Anuraag and Shantanu, who successfully apprehend a local goon, Jethiya, but the mounting political pressures force them to fight against each other. The turn of events will take viewers through strange and intriguing scenarios with every episode. 

Commenting on the launch, Dish TV India Ltd. corp. head of marketing for DishTV & Watcho Sukhpreet Singh said, “Watcho endeavours to keep our viewers engaged with interesting content across varied genres. Aarop is one such story, with a gripping plot and outstanding performances by actors that make the story even more realistic. With the premiere of Aarop, we try to further strengthen our programming slate and viewing experience for our Watcho family.”

Mumbai: News18 India has once again dominated the country’s Hindi news segment, outperforming its competitors in terms of market share. With a market share of 15.3 per cent, News18 India outperformed top news channels such as TV9 Bharatvarsh, India TV, Aaj Tak, and Republic Bharat.

According to the Barc data, (market share per cent 24 hrs, TG:15+, HSM, Wk 48’22 All days), TV9 Bharatvarsh has a market share of 13.5 per cent, followed by India TV with 13.3 per cent, Aaj Tak with 13.1 per cent, and Republic Bharat with 11.4 per cent.

In terms of overall reach, News18 India has outperformed the top general entertainment channels.

“To ensure that News18’s content and presentation remain distinct and far ahead of the competition, the network has made significant investments in both technology and editorial staff. News18 brands have gained significant traction on YouTube and social media platforms, with views steadily increasing,” the channel said.

Mumbai: Broadcast Audience Research Council (Barc) India has released currency data for week 48, i.e., 26 November to 2 December. As per data for the all-India 2+ target group, Star Plus is the most watched channel in India with an average minute audience (AMA) of 2506.37 (000). It was followed by Sun TV at 2505.95 (000) AMA, Star Maa at 2352.1 (000) AMA, Dangal at 1984.33 (000) AMA, and Goldmines at 1938.29 (000) AMA.

The average minute audience (AMA) is defined as the number of individuals within a target audience who viewed a televised “event,” averaged across minutes.

In the Hindi-speaking market (HSM), Star Plus emerged as the most watched channel at 2405.99 (000) AMA, followed by Dangal at 1975.09 (000) AMA, Goldmines at 1909.06 (000) AMA, Colors at 1748.55 (000) AMA, and Star Pravah at 1651.62 (000) AMA.

In the south market, Sun TV was the most watched channel at 2491.37 (000) AMA, followed by Star Maa at 2293.51 (000) AMA, Zee Kannada at 1509.92 (000) AMA, Star Vijay at 1499.18 (000) AMA, and Zee Telugu at 1267.98 (000) AMA.

In the Maharashtra/Goa market, Star Pravah was the most watched channel at 1636.78 (000) AMA, followed by Zee Marathi at 454.8 (000) AMA, Colors Marathi 444.26 (000) AMA, Star Plus at 366.8 (000) and Sony SAB 352.59 (000) AMA.

In the West Bengal market, Star Jalsha was the most watched channel with 1104.98 (000) AMA followed by Zee Bangla at 887.38 (000) AMA, Jalsha Movies at 156.41, Sports18 1 at 155.09 (000) AMA and Colors Bangla at 129.05 (000) AMA

In the megacities market, including Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru, and Chennai, Colors was the most watched channel at 486.68 (000) AMA followed by Star Plus at 419.99 (000) AMA, Sun TV at 410.87 (000) AMA, Star Vijay at 329.28 (000) AMA and Star Pravah at 286.02 (000) AMA.