News Headline

Most watched Hindi GECs in 2018

Published

7 years ago

August 20, 2018

BENGALURU: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) free to air (FTA) Hindi GEC Zee Anmol was the most watched Hindi GEC during the first 31 weeks of 2018 according to Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) weekly data for weeks 1 to 31 of 2018 (Saturday 29 December 2017 to Friday 3 August 2018) of the top 10 Hindi GEC channels. Its older sibling and Zeel’s flagship Hindi GEC Zee TV was the most watched Pay TV Hindi GEC during the same period.

The only parameter for ranking considered in this report is limited (Refer Note 1 below) to BARC ratings. Reach, viewership share, have not been considered here. BARC weekly data for the top 10 Hindi GEC channels available in the public data is for viewership in the combined urban and rural Hindi Speaking market or HSM (U+R); Rural Hindi Speaking market or HSM (R); and Urban Hindi Speaking market or HSM (U).

According to BARC sources, the HSM market comprises of all the states and Union Territories in India EXCLUDING the states and Union Territories in which the four South Indian languages – Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam are spoken – these are Tamil Nadu/ Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala.

Further this report tries to bring down publically available data to the lowest denominator – viewership per individual in the Hindi speaking urban and rural markets. It does not mean that each individual or household in that market watched only so much of a channel. Some people may have watched a lot of television, some none at all.

Based on BARC data for the first 31 weeks of 2018, rural audiences watch more Hindi GECs’ on television that urban audiences. Rural HSM prefers FTA channels, while urban HSM prefers pay TV. Also, rural markets tend to watch more of the first three ranked channels – the difference in viewership between the first three channels and channels of other ranks is bigger than in the case of HSM (U) as is obvious from the brown line in the figure below. HSM (U+R) – is the ratings of the overall market.

[[{“fid”:”835986″,”view_mode”:”default”,”fields”:{“format”:”default”,”alignment”:””,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:false,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:false},”link_text”:null,”type”:”media”,”field_deltas”:{“1”:{“format”:”default”,”alignment”:””,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:false,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:false}},”attributes”:{“height”:423,”width”:700,”class”:”media-element file-default”,”data-delta”:”1″}}]]

HSM (U+R) Trends during the first 31 weeks of 2018

There are ten channels that appeared in BARC’s lists of top 10 Hindi GECs’ in HSM (U+R) during all the first 31 weeks of 2018. Zee Anmol has been mentioned above as the most watched Hindi GEC in the combined urban and rural Hindi speaking markets or HSM (U+R) during the period under review. Two FTA channels followed Zee Anmol before Zee TV, the first pay TV Hindi GEC, entered our list of top Hindi GECs in HSM (U+R) at fourth rank.

Zee Anmol’s average weekly impressions in HSM (U+R) household were 6.2312 and 1.3853 per individual during the period under review. Of the 31 weeks of 2018 until the writing of this paper, Zee Anmol was ranked first for 23 weeks, second for six weeks and third for two weeks in BARC’s list of top 10 Hindi GEC channels in HSM (U+R).

The second most watched Hindi GEC channel in HSM (U+R) during the first 31 weeks of 2018 was Star India’s Hindi GEC Star Bharat. HSM (U+R) households each contributed an average of 5.4350 impressions each a week and each HSM (U+R) Individual contributed an average of 1.2083 impressions per week to Star Bharat’s ratings. During the first 31 weeks of 2018, Star Bharat was ranked first for six weeks, ranked second nine times, ranked third for five weeks, ranked fourth for eight weeks and ranked fifth for three weeks.

The third most watched Hindi GEC in HSM (U+R) was Sony Pictures Network India (SPN) women focused FTA Hindi GEC Sony Pal. Each HSM (U+R) household contributed a weekly average of 5.2100 impressions while each HSM (U+R) individual contributed a weekly average of 1.1583 impressions to Sony Pal’s viewership. The channel was ranked first in BARC’s weekly list of top 10 Hindi GECs in HSM (U+R) for one week, was ranked second for four weeks, was ranked third for 15 weeks, was ranked fourth for five weeks, was ranked fifth for four weeks, and ranked sixth and seventh for one week each. Please refer to the list of the top 10 Hindi GECs HSM (U+R) during weeks 1 to 31 of 2018.

[[{“fid”:”835987″,”view_mode”:”default”,”fields”:{“format”:”default”,”alignment”:””,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:false,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:false},”link_text”:null,”type”:”media”,”field_deltas”:{“2”:{“format”:”default”,”alignment”:””,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:false,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:false}},”attributes”:{“height”:385,”width”:700,”class”:”media-element file-default”,”data-delta”:”2″}}]]

HSM – Rural preferences of Hindi GECs’ during the first 31 weeks of 2018

Eleven channels were present, each at least once, in BARC’s weekly list of top 10 Hindi GECs’ in HSM (R) during the first 31 weeks of 2018. Of these, 9 were present during all the 31 weeks of 2018, one was present for 30 of the first 31 weeks of 2018 and one Hindi GEC was present in the list for one week. The most watched pay TV flagship Hindi GEC, Zee TV was ranked seven and another pay TV channel – Vaicom18’s flagship Hindi GEC Colors ranked nine in HSM (R). Only the nine channels that appeared in all the first 31 weeks of 2018 in HSM (R) have been given ranks in the chart below. The numbers mentioned in the chart for channels after rank 9 are just an indication of their performance when they were present in BARC’s Top 10 Hindi GECs in HSM (R) lists and DON’T indicate their overall performance during the period under consideration here.

The average ratings for each channel have been calculated by adding the ratings of each week for each channel that is was present in BARC’s weekly list of top 10 channels in Hindi GECs, dividing the sum by the number of weeks the channel was present in BARC’s weekly list and further dividing the result by the number of HSM (R) households/individuals to arrive at the viewership per household or individual respectively.

Zee Anmol was also the most watched Hindi GEC in HSM(R) during the first 31 weeks of 2018. Zee Anmol’s average viewership per household per week in HSM (R) was 8.9823 impressions, while weekly average viewership per individual was 1.9891 impressions. Zee Anmol was ranked first during all the first 31 weeks of 2018.

After Zee Anmol, HSM (R) preferred SPN’s Sony Pal – the channel scored a weekly average of 6.6119 impressions per household and 1.4642 impressions per individual during the period under review. The channel was ranked second for eighteen weeks and was ranked third for thirteen of the first 31 weeks of 2018 in HSM (R).

Star India’s Star Utsav was the third most watched Hindi GEC by HSM (R). Star Utsav’s average weekly impressions per household were 5.9685 per household and 1.3217 per individual in HSM (R). The channel was ranked second for six weeks, third for fourteen weeks and fourth for eleven weeks during the first 31 weeks of 2018.

Channels such as Dangal TV and Big Magic found a place in BARC’s weekly lists of top 10 Hindi GECs’ in HSM (R).They were not present in HSM (U+R) or HSM (U) weekly lists during the first 31 weeks of 2018. Please refer to the figure below for the Trends of the Hindi GEC channels when they were present in BARC’s weekly lists of top 10 Hindi GECs’ in HSM (R).

[[{“fid”:”835988″,”view_mode”:”default”,”fields”:{“format”:”default”,”alignment”:””,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:false,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:false},”link_text”:null,”type”:”media”,”field_deltas”:{“3”:{“format”:”default”,”alignment”:””,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:false,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:false}},”attributes”:{“height”:361,”width”:700,”class”:”media-element file-default”,”data-delta”:”3″}}]]

HSM – Urban preferences of Hindi GECs’ during the first 31 weeks of 2018

Urban HSM audiences seem to prefer pay TV channels. Eleven channels found a place in BARC’s weekly lists of top 10 Hindi GECs in HSM (U) during the period under review. There were three channels each from Star India, SPN and Zeel and two channels from Viacom 18. Only nine of the eleven consistently appeared in BARC’s HSM (U) lists during the first 31 weeks of 2018 and hence the author had ranked only these 9. Rishtey (24 weeks) and Zeel’s &TV (7) weeks have not been ranked. The same method has been used for obtaining the average ratings per person or household for HSM (U) as was for HSM (R). Average ratings for Rishtey and &TV have been obtained by adding their respective weekly ratings and dividing them by the number of weeks they were present in BARC’s HSM (U) lists and by the number of HSM (U) households or individuals.

Viacom18’s flagship Hindi GEC Colors was the most watched Hindi GEC in HSM (U) during the first 31 weeks of 2018, followed by Zee TV and Star Plus at second and third rank respectively. Star Bharat, has been ranked fourth, while the overall first channel in HSM (U+R) and HSM (R), Zee Anmol has been ranked eighth in HSM (U) in the list below.

Colors had average weekly viewership of 6.7908 impressions per household and 1.5166 per individual during the first 31 weeks of 2018 in HSM (U). The channel was ranked first for 22 weeks, second for 2 weeks, third for four weeks and fourth for three weeks in BARC’s list of top 10 Hindi GECs in HSM (U) during the period under review.

Zee TV was ranked second in HSM (U) during the first 31 weeks of 2018 with average weekly impressions of 6.2203 per household and 1.3892 per individual. Zee TV was ranked first for six weeks, second for seven weeks, third for eleven weeks, fourth for six weeks and fifth for one week during the first 31 weeks of 2018.

At third place in HSM (U) was Star Plus with weekly average impressions of 6.0673 per household and 1.3550 per individual. Star Plus was ranked first for one week, was ranked second for 13 weeks, was ranked third for nine week, was ranked fourth for six weeks and was ranked fifth and sixth for one week each during the first 31 weeks of 2018.

Please refer to the figure below for Hindi GEC Trends in HSM (U) for weeks 1 to 31 of 2018.

[[{“fid”:”835989″,”view_mode”:”default”,”fields”:{“format”:”default”,”alignment”:””,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:false,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:false},”link_text”:null,”type”:”media”,”field_deltas”:{“4”:{“format”:”default”,”alignment”:””,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:false,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:false}},”attributes”:{“height”:367,”width”:700,”class”:”media-element file-default”,”data-delta”:”4″}}]]

Note (1) The conclusions in this report are limited to the extent that only publically available BARC data has been referred to – BARC’s weekly lists of top 10 Hindi GEC channels in HSM (U+R); urban HSM or HSM (U); rural or HSM (R).

(2) The household and population numbers used in this report have been obtained/ calculated from BARC India Universe Estimate 2017. HSM (U+R), HSM (R) and HSM (U) household and population numbers have been calculated by deducting the like numbers for the four South Indian languages from the all India numbers, rural numbers and urban numbers.

(3) The average time spent per person per week is just an indicative number of the popularity of the channel in the respective market. It does not mean that each and every household or individual in that market perforce watched the channel or programme.

Up Next

MNX challenges legacy players in the movies category

Don't Miss

70-80% of ALTBalaji traffic from telco tie-ups: Sunil Lulla

Click to comment

Awards

Hamdard honours changemakers at Abdul Hameed awards

Published

1 week ago

February 7, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

NEW DELHI: Hamdard Laboratories gathered a cross-section of India’s achievers in New Delhi on Friday, handing out the Hakeem Abdul Hameed Excellence Awards to figures who have left their mark across healthcare, education, sport, public service and the arts.

The ceremony, attended by minister of state for defence Sanjay Seth and senior officials from the ministry of Ayush, celebrated individuals whose work blends professional success with a sense of public purpose. It was as much a roll call of achievement as it was a reminder that influence is not measured only in profits or podiums, but in people reached and lives improved.

Among the headline awardees was Alakh Pandey, founder and chief executive of PhysicsWallah, recognised for turning affordable digital learning into a mass movement. On the sporting front, Arjuna Awardee and kabaddi player Sakshi Puniya was honoured for her contribution to the game and for pushing women’s participation onto bigger stages.

The cultural spotlight fell on veteran lyricist and poet Santosh Anand, whose songs have echoed across generations of Hindi cinema. At 97, Anand accepted the honour with characteristic humility, reflecting on a life shaped by perseverance and hope.

Healthcare honours spanned both modern and traditional systems. Manoj N. Nesari was recognised for strengthening Ayurveda’s place in national and global health frameworks. Padma shri Mohammed Abdul Waheed was honoured for his research-backed work in Unani medicine, while padma shri Mohsin Wali received recognition for his long-standing contribution to patient-centred care.

Education and social development also featured prominently. Padma shri Zahir Ishaq Kazi was honoured for decades of work in education, while former Meghalaya superintendent of Police T. C. Chacko was recognised for public service. Goonj founder Anshu Gupta received an award for his dignity-centred rural development initiatives, and the Hunar Shakti Foundation was honoured for empowering women and young girls through skill development.

The Lifetime Achievement Award went to former IAS officer Shailaja Chandra for her long career in public healthcare and governance, particularly in the traditional systems under Ayush.

Speaking at the event, Hamdard chairman Abdul Majeed said the awards were a tribute to those who combine excellence with empathy. “These awardees reflect Hakeem Sahib’s belief that healthcare, education and public service must ultimately serve humanity,” he said.

Minister Seth struck a forward-looking note, saying India’s young population gives the country a unique opportunity to become a global destination for learning, health and wellness by 2047.

The ceremony also featured the trailer launch of Unani Ki Kahaani, an upcoming documentary starring actor Jim Sarbh, set to premiere on Discovery on 11 February.

Instituted in memory of Unani scholar and educationist Hakeem Abdul Hameed, the awards have grown into a national platform that celebrates those building a more inclusive and resilient India. For one evening at least, the spotlight was not just on success, but on service with substance.

MAM

Why the best campaigns today start with insights, not ideas

Published

1 week ago

February 7, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: For decades, creative storytelling has been the cornerstone of brand communication. The “big idea” amplified through catchy jingles, striking visuals, and memorable hooks was once the gold standard for relevance and recall. Creativity defined presence, and the loudest, boldest campaigns often won attention.

But the marketing landscape today looks very different.

Audiences are more exposed, more discerning, and far less patient. They are inundated with messages across platforms, formats, and creators, often encountering hundreds of brand touchpoints in a single day. In this environment, creativity alone especially when untethered from real consumer truths is no longer enough to move behaviour. Great ideas are abundant. Meaningful impact is not.

This is where insights matter.

The difference may seem subtle, but it is fundamental. An idea represents what a brand wants to say. An insight reflects what the audience is already thinking, feeling, or experiencing. The most effective campaigns emerge not from cleverness alone, but from the intersection of these two forces.

From creativity to relevance

As the marketing ecosystem becomes increasingly saturated, consumers are growing immune to inflated claims and surface-level storytelling. Even beautifully crafted campaigns can fail if they are disconnected from lived realities. The gap between a brand’s internal enthusiasm and the audience’s actual sentiment can be the difference between attention and indifference.

Insights help bridge this gap. They force brands to pause, listen, and observe to understand emotions, behaviours, cultural contexts, and contradictions. Instead of trying to be remembered through louder branding, insight-led campaigns allow audiences to see their own experiences reflected back at them. When a campaign articulates a problem that feels personal, relevance is created. Trust follows.

Insight is interpretation, not information

It’s important to distinguish between data and insight. Data tells us what is happening. Insight explains why it is happening. While data is measurable and structured, insights are interpretive and dynamic, shaped by real-time sentiment and human behaviour.

Modern consumers are full of contradictions. They demand authenticity while remaining deeply aspirational. They want brands to take a stand but expect nuance, not instruction. They seek transparency, yet are drawn to curated narratives. These tensions are not obstacles, they are opportunities. When understood correctly, they can shape communication that feels timely, credible, and human.

Some of the most effective campaigns today are born not in isolated brainstorm rooms, but through listening to audiences, creators, editors, online communities, and cultural signals. Insights often exist in blurred patterns, but once identified, they can redefine how a brand connects.

A recent campaign we executed for Domino’s illustrates this shift clearly. The brief wasn’t to make a pizza look bigger or louder. Instead, it was rooted in a simple behavioural truth: in Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets, sharing food is an emotional act tied to family, celebration, and value perception. The “Big Big 6-in-1 Pizza” became a canvas for this insight. The campaign leaned into regional voices and real sharing moments, allowing people to show how they experienced the product rather than being told why they should buy it. Influencers and celebrities amplified genuine usage, not scripted endorsements. The impact from engagement to footfall to sales came not from a clever idea, but from understanding how people relate to food in their everyday lives.

Shifting the starting point

Today’s consumer landscape demands a shift in perspective from “What should the brand say?” to “What does the audience need to hear right now?” This marks a move away from inward-led marketing toward communication shaped by behaviour, emotion, and cultural relevance.

Brands leading today are keen observers. They notice when perfection stops resonating. They sense when luxury shifts from aspiration to excess. They recognise when influencer content begins to feel repetitive and trust erodes.

Virality, too, is often misunderstood. It is not a strategy to chase, but an outcome. Campaigns rooted in insight do not aim to go viral; they aim to resonate. When content reflects something familiar, a shared truth, emotion, or tension, it travels organically because people see themselves in it.

Ideas attract attention. Insights build connection.

The evolving role of PR

For PR professionals, this shift has redefined success. Coverage volume alone no longer tells the full story. The more meaningful questions today are: Did the communication influence behaviour? Did it align with cultural conversations? Did it address a real consumer pain point?

Insight-first thinking allows these questions to be answered at the planning stage, rather than corrected midway through execution.

In a world where formats and platforms will continue to evolve, what remains constant is the power of authentic communication. The strongest campaigns today do not begin with a brainstorm, but with observation, interpretation, and empathy. That is not just better marketing, it is more responsible, resilient, and meaningful brand-building.

Brands

Ahmad Muneeb elevated to VP – HR centre of excellence at Zepto

Published

1 week ago

February 7, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Zepto has elevated Ahmad Muneeb to vice president – HR centre of excellence, placing him at the helm of the company’s total rewards, executive compensation and organisational effectiveness as the quick-commerce firm powers through a high-growth phase.

The move follows his stint as senior director of the HR COE, where he played a central role in preparing the company for IPO readiness while scaling its people analytics capabilities. During this period, Muneeb helped align complex performance management structures with more streamlined and scalable employee experience frameworks.

In his new role, he will steer the design of total rewards strategies, executive compensation planning and organisational design, while also overseeing performance management, employee experience initiatives and people analytics programmes.

Before joining Zepto, Muneeb spent nearly three years at Meesho, where he held multiple rewards and HR business partner roles. Earlier in his career, he worked as a senior rewards consultant at Mercer, advising high-tech clients on compensation benchmarking, pay structures and talent-focused reward frameworks.

He began his hr journey at Cognizant, where he supported compensation programmes for nearly two lakh employees across India and worked on m&a compensation alignment and skill-based pay initiatives. Prior to moving into HR, Muneeb started his career as a software engineer at Netcracker, bringing a technical grounding to his people strategy work.

With a mix of consulting rigour, start-up agility and enterprise-scale experience, Muneeb’s elevation signals Zepto’s continued focus on building robust people systems as it races towards its next phase of growth.