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Tag: Dangal

  • BARC week 30: Dangal pips pay channels to head all platforms across genres list

    BARC week 30: Dangal pips pay channels to head all platforms across genres list

    BENGALURU: Enterr 10 Television’s free to air (FTA) Hindi GEC headed Broadcast Audience Research Council of India’s (BARC) list of top 10 channels across genres on all platforms in week 30 of 2019 (Saturday, 20 July 2019 to Friday, 26 July 2019, week under review).  As a matter of fact, Dangal was the only FTA channel in BARC’s weekly list of top 10 channels on all platforms across genres, a list which quite obviously was a skewed image starting rank 2 onward of BARC’s weekly list of top 11 pay channels across genres for the first nine ranks. BARC also lists out the top 11 free channels across genres every week. This report covers the former two lists.

    Top 10 channels on all platforms and Top 11 pay channels across genres

    Six Hindi GECs, two Tamil GECs and one channel each from the Hindi movies and Telugu genres comprise BARC’s weekly list of top 10 channels across genres on all platforms. There were three channels each from the Star India Network and Sony Pictures Network India (SPN), and one channel each from Enterr 10 Television, Sun TV Network, Network18-Viacom18 and Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) in BARC’s across genres on all platforms for week 30 of 2019.

    In comparison, there were five Hindi GECs, two channels each from the Tamil and Telugu genres and one channel each from the Hindi movies and Kannada genres in BARC’s weekly list of top 11 pay channels across genres. From the networks’ perspective, there were three channels each from Star India and SPN, two channels each from Zeel and Netwrok18-Viacom18 and one channel from the Sun TV Network.

    As mentioned above, Dangal headed BARC’s weekly list of top 10 channels on all platforms across genres in week 30 of 2019. The channel climbed up one place to first rank with 866.547 million weekly impressions in week 30 of 2019 from second rank and 781.501 million weekly impressions in week 29. Dangal retained first spot in BARC’s weekly list of top 11 free channels across genres in week 30 of 2019 with 665.082 million weekly impressions as compared to 589.591 million weekly impressions in week 29. Dangal was ranked first in BARC’s weekly list of top 10 Hindi GECs in the combined urban and rural Hindi speaking market HSM (U+R) as well as in HSM (R) and was ranked sixth in HSM (U). Dangal also headed BARC’s weekly list of top 8 free Hindi GECs during the week under review.

    Slipping to second rank in BARC’s weekly list of top 10 channels on all platforms across genres and retaining first rank in BARC’s weekly list of top 11 pay channels across genres in week 30 of 2019 was the Sun TV Network’s flagship Tamil GEC Sun TV with 852.575 million weekly impressions as compared to 863.550 million weekly impressions in week 29 in both the across genres lists. Sun TV also headed BARC’s weekly list of top 5 Tamil channels in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

    Climbing up to third place in BARC’s weekly list of top 10 channels on all platforms across genres and to second spot in BARC’s weekly list of top 11 pay channels was Star India’s flagship Telugu GEC Star Maa in week 30 of 2019 with 789.084 million weekly impressions as compared to 683.816 million weekly impressions in week 29 in both the across genres lists. Star Maa was ranked fifth and fourth in BARC’s weekly lists of top 10 channels on all platforms across genres and BARC’s weekly list of top 11 pay channels across genres respectively in week 29. Star Maa also headed BARC’s weekly list of top 5 Telugu channels in the Andhra Pradesh/Telangana market.

    Dropping a place to fourth rank in BARC’s weekly list of top 10 channels on all platforms across genres and to third spot in BARC’s weekly list of top 11 pay channels was Star India’s flagship Hindi GEC Star Plus.  The channel garnered 775.771 million weekly impressions in BARC’s weekly list of top 10 channels on all platforms across genres in week 30 of 2019 as compared to 708.740 million weekly impressions in week 29. Star Plus scored 773.598 million weekly impressions in week 30 of 2019 BARC’s weekly list of top 11 pay channels across genres as compared to 708.740 million weekly impressions. Star Plus was ranked second in BARC’s weekly list of top 10 Hindi GECs in HSM (U+R) market list, fourth in the HSM (R) list and was ranked first in the HSM (U) list in week 30 of 2019. Further, Star Plus headed BARC’s weekly list of top 10 Hindi pay GECs during the week under review.

    Also dropping a place to fifth rank in BARC’s weekly list of top 10 channels on all platforms across genres and falling a place to fourth spot in BARC’s weekly list of top 11 pay channels across genres was Zeel’s flagship Hindi GEC Zee TV. Zee TV scored 728.652 million weekly impressions in BARC’s weekly list of top 10 channels on all platforms across genres in week 30 of 2019 as compared to fourth rank and 693.440 million weekly impressions in the previous week. Zee TV had 726.127 million weekly impressions in week 30 of 2019 in BARC’s weekly list of top 11 pay channels across genres as compared to third rank and 691.204 million weekly impressions in week 29.  Zee TV was ranked third in BARC’s weekly list of top 10 Hindi GECs in HSM (U+R), HSM (R) and HSM (U). Zee TV was ranked second in BARC’s weekly list of top 10 pay Hindi GECs in week 30 of 2019.

    SPN’s Hindi GEC Sony Sab climbed a place to sixth rank from seventh rank in BARC’s weekly list of top 10 channels on all platforms across genres and to fifth place from sixth spot in BARC’s weekly list of top 11 pay channels across genres. Sony Sab garnered 581.451 million weekly impressions in BARC’s weekly list of top 10 channels on all platforms across genres during the period under review as compared to 551.715 million weekly impressions in week 29. Sony Sab had 577.502 million weekly impressions in week 30 of 2019 in BARC’s weekly list of top 11 pay channels across genres as compared to 547.408 million weekly impressions in week 29. Sony Sab was ranked fourth in BARC’s weekly list of top 10 Hindi GECs in HSM (U+R), second in HSM (U) sixth in HSM (R). Sony Sab was ranked third in BARC’s weekly list of top 10 pay Hindi GECs in week 30 of 2019.

    Star India’s flagship Tamil GEC Star Vijay also climbed a place to seventh rank from eighth rank in and BARC’s weekly list of top 10 channels on all platforms across genres and from seventh to sixth rank in BARC’s weekly list of top 11 pay channels across genres in week 30 of 2019. The channel garnered 554.680 million weekly impressions in week 30 of 2019 in BARC’s weekly list of top 10 channels on all platforms across genres as compared to 531.446 million weekly impressions in the previous week. In BARC’s weekly list of top 10 pay channels across genres, Star Vijay scored 554.672 million weekly impressions in week 30 of 2019 as compared to 531.446 million weekly impressions in week 29. Star Vijay was ranked second in BARC’s weekly list of top 5 Tamil channels in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

    Viacom18’s flagship Hindi GEC Colors dropped to eight place from sixth rank in BARC’s weekly list of top 10 channels on all platforms across genres and from fifth to seventh rank in BARC’s weekly list of top 11 pay channels across genres in week 30 of 2019. Colors garnered 552.502 million weekly impressions in BARC’s weekly list of top 10 channels on all platforms across genres as compared to 563.058 million weekly impressions in week 29. In BARC’s weekly list of top 11 pay channels across genres in week 30 of 2019, Colors scored 550.042 million weekly impressions as compared to 558.873 million weekly impressions in week 29.  Colors was ranked fifth in BARC’s weekly list of top 10 Hindi GECs in HSM(U+R), HSM (R) and HSM (U). Colors was ranked fourth in BARC’s weekly list of top 10 pay Hindi GECs in week 30 of 2019.

    SPN’s flagship Hindi GEC Sony Entertainment Television or SET climbed a rank to ninth place from tenth place in BARC’s weekly list of top 10 channels on all platforms across genres and to eighth rank from ninth spot in BARC’s weekly list of top 11 pay channels across genres in week 30 of 2019.  SET scored 532.703 million weekly impressions in BARC’s weekly list of top 10 channels on all platforms across genres as compared to 504.481 million weekly impressions in week 29. In BARC’s weekly list of top 11 pay channels across genres in week 30 of 2019, SET scored 531.357 million weekly impressions as compared to 502.417 million weekly impressions in week 29. SET was ranked sixth in BARC’s weekly list of top 10 Hindi GECs in HSM (U+R), seventh in HSM (R) and fourth in HSM (U). SET was placed fifth in BARC’s weekly list of top 10 pay Hindi GECs in week 30 of 2019.

    SPN’s Hindi movies channel Sony Max dropped a place to tenth rank from ninth in BARC’s weekly list of top 10 channels on all platforms across genres and to ninth rank in BARC’s weekly list of top 11 pay channels across genres in week 30 of 2019 from eighth spot  in week 29. Sony Max scored 501.292 million weekly impressions during the period under review as compared to 504.481 million weekly impressions in week 29 in BARC’s weekly list of top 10 channels on all platforms across genres. Sony Max garnered 499.359 million weekly impressions in week 30 of 2019 in BARC’s weekly list of top 11 pay channels across genres as compared to 519.990 million weekly impressions in week 29. Sony Max was ranked first in BARC’s weekly list of top 5 Hindi movies channels in HSM (U+R) and HSM (U) and second in HSM (R). Sony Max was also ranked first in BARC’s weekly list of top 5 pay Hindi movies channels in week 30 of 2019.

    Entering BARC’s weekly list of top 11 pay channels across genres at rank 10 was Zeel’s flagship Kannada GEC Zee Kannada with 467.511 million weekly impressions in week 30 of 2019. Zee Kannada was ranked first in BARC’s weekly list of top 5 Kannada channels in the Karnataka market.

    The Network18-Viacom18 related Telugu GEC ETV Telugu also entered BARC’s weekly list of top 11 pay channels across genres at rank 11 with 450.861 million weekly impressions in week 30 of 2019. ETV Telugu was ranked second in BARC’s weekly list of top 5 Telugu channels in the Andhra Pradesh/Telangana market.

  • BARC India week 29: Sony Sab moves to 2nd position in urban HSM

    BARC India week 29: Sony Sab moves to 2nd position in urban HSM

    MUMBAI: In the week 29 of BARC India ratings, Sony Sab became the second leading channel in urban HSM of Hindi GECs. The channel was seen at 4th position of the pay platform. Last week the channel was at third position in urban HSM. 

    Dangal continues to lead the rural HSM and was number one channel on the free platform of Hindi GECs. The channel was followed by Big Magic, DD National, DD Bharati, DD Arunprabha, DD Uttar Pradesh, DD Rajasthan and DD Madhya Pradesh on the pay table of BARC India ratings.

    Top 10 Hindi GECs on free platform 

    Star Plus continues to lead in urban HSM and pay platform of Hindi GECs. On the play platform the channel was followed by Zee TV, Colors, Sony Sab, Sony Entertainment Television, Star Bharat, Dangal, Star Utsav, &TV and Sony Pal

    Top 10 Hindi GECs on pay platform

    There were no changes in the pecking order of the Hindi GECs channels in rural HSM

    Hindi GEC Rural

    In urban HSM, Sony Sab moved to second position and Zee TV moved down to third position.

    Hindi GEC Urban

  • Higher numbers push up financials; ‘Padmaavat’ top grosser for PVR

    Higher numbers push up financials; ‘Padmaavat’ top grosser for PVR

    BENGALURU: Higher box office, food and beverages (F&B) and sponsorship revenues, higher occupancy, higher average ticket prices (ATP) have helped push up Indian exhibitor PVR Ltd’s (PVR) overall numbers for the quarter and year ended 31 March 2018 (Q4-2018, quarter under review, FY-2018, year under review) as compared with the corresponding year ago quarter (Q4-2017) and financial year (FY-2017) respectively. Net box office collections (NBO) at Rs 75.15 crore for Padmaavat, the top grosser for PVR in Q4-2018 were more than double the NBO of the Q4-2017 top grosser Dangal, which had netted Rs 32.23 crore. This was despite lower theatre admits in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Gujarat which were impacted due to non-release of Padmaavat in these states, says the company.

    PVR reported 19 per cent yoy increase in consolidated revenue for the quarter under review at Rs 572.88 crore as compared to Rs 483.01 crore in Q4-2017. Profit after tax for Q4-2018 increased to Rs 25.89 crore as compared to Rs 0.01 crore in Q4-2017. EBITDA (including other income) in the quarter under review increased 60 per cent to Rs 101.93 crore from Rs 63.84 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter.

    For FY-2018, the exhibitor reported an eight per cent increase in revenue at Rs 2365.45 crore as compared to Rs 2181.68 crore in FY-2017. PAT for FY-2018 was 29 percent higher at Rs 124.02 crore as compared to Rs 95.84 crore in FY-2017. EBITDA for the year under review increased 15 per cent to Rs 433.17 crore from Rs 375.87 crore in FY-2017.

    Q4-2018 revenue numbers

    Total NBO collections increased 18 per cent yoy in Q4-2018 to Rs 312.40 crore from Rs 264.60 crore. Revenue from F&B increased 22 per cent yoy to Rs 157.10 crore from Rs 128.49 crore. Advertising revenue increased 37 per cent yoy in Q4-2018 to Rs 72 crore from Rs 52.74 crore in Q4-2017. Convenience income declined two per cent yoy to Rs 14.46 crore from Rs 15.72 crore. Other operating income declined 19 per cent yoy to Rs 13.95 crore from Rs 17.24 crore. The company says that other operating income in Q4-2017 included government subsidy of Rs 7.62 crore provided by various state governments. In Q4-2018, this component has not been accounted for on due to lack of clarity on refund mechanism for the tax exemptions under GST regime claims the company in it investor presentation. Other income declined 43 per cent yoy to Rs 2.97 crore from Rs 5.22 crore.

    FY-2018 revenue numbers

    Total NBO collections increased 11 per cent yoy in FY-2018 to Rs 1248.06 crore from Rs 1125.64 crore. Revenue from F&B increased 10 per cent to Rs 607.66 crore from Rs 550.54 crore. Advertising revenue increased 20 per cent in FY-2018 to Rs 294.86 crore from Rs 245.02 crore in Q4-2017. Convenience income increased three per cent to Rs 59.71 crore from Rs 58.15 crore. Other operating income declined 14 per cent to Rs 55.14 crore from Rs 64.26 crore. Other income declined 45 per cent to Rs 10.22 crore from Rs 18.58 crore.

    Box-office numbers

    Admits in Q4-2018 increased by five per cent to 1.90 crore from 1.82 crore in corresponding quarter of fiscal 2017. Occupancy was fractionally lower in Q4-2018 at 31.5 percent as compared to 31.6 percent in Q4-2017. ATP increased by Rs 19 during the year under review to Rs 209 as compared to Rs 190 in Q4-2017. The company says that the top five movies in Q4-2018 contributed to 52 percent of the gross box office with an occupancy rate of 38 per cent.

    Admits in FY-2018 increased by one per cent to Rs 7.61 crore from Rs 7.52 crore in fiscal 2017. Occupancy was up at 32.9 per cent in FY-2018 as compared to 31.3 per cent in the previous year. ATP increased by Rs 15 during the year under review to Rs 210 as compared to Rs 196 in FY-2017.

  • Biopics & sports-based films help popularise sporting culture in India

    Biopics & sports-based films help popularise sporting culture in India

    MUMBAI: “Sattar minute, sattar minute hai tumhare paas … shayad tumhari zindagi ke sabse khaas sattar minute … (Seventy minutes, seventy minutes is what you have … may be the most important seventy minutes of your life..)”.

    These famous lines spoken in true Shah Rukh Khan style and many other such nuggets woven into a drama with various twists and turns, and ups and downs went on to make the 2007 Hindi film Chak De India — loosely based on real life incidents highlighting the Indian women’s hockey team’s journey from outcasts to gold and glory having being coached by a disgraced goalkeeper — one of the biggest hits of that decade. It also gave India an iconic phrase: ‘chak de India’, denoting winning against odds.

    Though India is primarily a cricket-crazy nation and success of sports theme based films like Chak De and later Pan Singh Tomar (a national athlete’s life story from the sports tracks to that of an outlaw ultimately shot down by police) notwithstanding, the local film industry put more faith in action and romantic flicks. Unlike Hollywood that always turned to the sports field to get inspiration for gut-wrenching and raw drama. Remember Raging Bull, the Rocky series or flicks based on boxing legend Muhammad Ali’s life and footballer Pele? Or, for that matter, Escape to Victory?

    However, India has witnessed a trend of late: movies being made on both popular and not-so-popular sports and sports personalities. The rationale being viewers convert into fans boosting the popularity of non-cricket sports desperately needed in India. 

    Bollywood suddenly discovered that biopics of sports personalities do get the cash registers ringing in theatres and, later, when the rights were sold to TV channels. Stars who won medals to empty stands or forgotten are now getting the glory they deserve.

    If Chak De India pitchforked the much-neglected-in-need-of-a-boost hockey into limelight and also conceiving of fast-paced hockey leagues with foreign and domestic players, films like MS Dhoni, Sachin: A Billion Dreams,Azhar and Jannat capitalised on popular cricketers and the darker side of betting and match-fixing, respectively. Dangal and Sultan (wrestling), Mary Kom (boxing), Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (athletics) not only turned out to be box-office hits, but also did a lot of good to lesser followed sports, creating newer fan bases.

    “Sports biopics have played an important role in inspiring generations of youth not just in India, but globally. They help in channelising youth’s energies positively and in a way that contributes towards society building. It also drives home a deeper message on life and showcases the pain and toil that go behind the achievement of fame, popularity and, above all, respect,” says Sportscomm Co-Founder Abhoy Chattopadhyay.

    In recent years Dangal, undoubtedly, is the most popular sports films, highlighting the travails and glory of Haryana’s Phogat sisters, trained by their former national champ wrestler-father for the big stage and medals. Launched in December 2017 with a budget of Rs 70 crore, the box office collection went to clock Rs 2,122 crore worldwide, out of which more than Rs 1,300 crore was made only from the Chinese market where most viewers saw sub-titled versions to experience the true flavour and energy of the local language. The film has also been watched over 345 million times on Chinese streaming platforms.

    The Broadcast Audience Research Council viewership of some of the top sports biopics premiered on TV includes Dangal (16.2 million impressions) followed by MS Dhoni (8 million impressions).

    The movie Mary Kom helped boxing increase its reach and popularity in India as people started watching and following the game more fervently as they connected with players like Mary Kom and now-turned pro boxer Vijender Singh.

    According to Chattopadhyay, by reproducing the life journey of a successful athlete on the silver screen, the target audience is “taught to appreciate the years of dedication and hard-work behind all that glitz and glamour” and the fact that there are no short-cuts to success – and in life.

    Said a sports executive: “In a country bereft of a sports culture, sports biopics help in creating an ecosystem for the future where parents encourage children to take up a particular sport as a career option — a support system so vital to producing sporting champions — simply because movies play a huge influencing role in society.”

    Chak De, for example, gave women’s hockey a new lease of life as well as contributed towards the growth of women sports in the country. Dangal too played a very critical role in helping wrestling reach out to various corners of the country and encourage many more girls to take up the sport in what is still a patriarchal society. Movies like MSD may not have boosted the popularity of cricket, already a craze, but, according to the sports executive, it helped many youngsters from smaller towns gather the courage to take up sports as a career option, including cricket that was earlier looked upon as an urban game with most cricketers coming from big cities and metros.

    Speaking to Hindustan Times newspaper in September last, the 43-year-old actor Farhan Akhtar, who essayed the role of the Flying Sikh Milkha Singh in  Bhaag Milkha Bhaag admitted that the film was a “turning point” for him with the rigorous training and strict diet for the shoot having positive side effects. “I have not been able to go back to the way I used to eat or drink before I started training for the film,” Akhtar explained, adding, “Working on the movie made me realise the true meaning of fitness and the value of getting enough rest.”

    More biopics and sports-based films in the pipeline include Gold and Soorma on some now-forgotten Indian hockey stars, flicks based on the life and times of Indian badminton stars Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu, and the country’s lone individual Olympics gold-finger shooter Abhinav Bindra.

    A three-language biopic is also being readied on former badminton champ P Gopichand, the mentor of quite a few current sensations like Sindhu, Nehwal and K. Srikanth, in Telugu, Hindi and English. Another movie is dedicated to the great all-rounder and India’s first cricket World Cup lifting captain Kapil Dev.

    Viacom18 Motion Pictures last year announced that it had acquired the rights of a film on the life and times of Indian woman cricket team captain and legend Mithila Raj, who also happens to be the highest run-getter in the world. It was under her captaincy that India went to reach the final in the women’s cricket World Cup 2017.

    While Viacom18 Motion Pictures COO Ajit Andhare said the studio had always showcased content with strong women characters and was proud to be collaborating with the “young and inspirational” Raj, Varun Chopra, Director, Medallin Sports, who facilitated the Raj-Viacom association, went a step further to opine the proposed film would inspire and motivate future generations [of young girls]. 

    Sports biopics nudge people’s interest in newer sports in a cricket-crazy nation. However, the sport on which no biopic has been made yet, but the game itself is a hit on TV (Pro Kabbadi League on Star Sports) is kabbadi. We hope that too will happen soon.

    Also Read :

    The year of big switch in sports broadcasting

    PKL season 6 and 7 dates announced

    Star ushers in IPL’s new era with a bang

    Launch of 1st indian sports radio channel – sports flashes 

  • Innovative I-Day ‘Dangal’ on Zee with audio description & subtitles

    MUMBAI: Innovation in presentation and telecast seems to be continuing phenomenon. Versatile actor Aamir Khan’s ‘Dangal’, which is having its television premiere on Zee Cinema on 15 August, will be a special Independence Day treat for the visually impaired and hearing viewers: it will have subtitles for those who cannot hear and audio description for those who cannot see.

    Marking its silver jubilee this year, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd is launching a “Zee For All” initiative with strong content and technology support. ZEE covers 172 countries and it has reached over one billion viewers, driven by its philosophy of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” – The world is one family. The film is being telecast on 15 August at 12 Noon.

    The telecast of ‘Dangal’ was long awaited for its emotional resonance, technical artistry and compelling performances. Director Nitesh Tiwari’s sports biographical drama features Aamir Khan, Sakshi Tanwar, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Sanya Malhotra, Suhani Bhatnagar, ZairaWasim, Aparshakti Khurrana, Ritvik Sahore and Girish Kulkarni. It is based on the true story of a former Indian national wrestling champ who battles the existing social order to train his two young daughters to be world-class contenders in the otherwise male dominated sport of wrestling.

    According to World Health Organisation 2010 Report, India accounts for eight million blind, 54.5 million people with low vision and 62.6 million people with visual impairment – which makes India home to the second largest visually challenged population globally.

    The objective of ‘ZEE For All’ is to ensure that the large population of the Visually and Hearing Impaired receives access to what is truly world class, inspiring entertainment. Zee Cinema has also associated with the National Association For The Blind (Mumbai, Indore, Chandigarh and Lucknow), National Association For The Blind – The Workshop for the Blind in Mumbai, Institution For The Blind in Delhi and Patiala School of Blind & Deaf in Punjab. Zee Cinema will host preview screenings with audio Description and subtitles to sensitize the visually Impaired with the technology of audio description to bring entertainment within their reach,

    The audio description feed will be available on Dish TV, Videocon, Tata Sky and Airtel. The subtitles will be in English on HD and in Hindi on SD.

    Zee Entertainment (ZEEL) CEO – domestic broadcast business Punit Misra said, “On India’s 70th Independence Day, ZEE redefines the ‘freedom to see’ and offers all our audiences a superlative movie watching experience in the comfort of their homes. We hope that the premiere of Dangal reaches out to the maximum number of visually and hearing Impaired audiences in India. We are also exploring adding audio description in other Indian regional languages in the future. Just like Aamir gave us the audio description assets for Dangal, we will reach out to all our content partners requesting for the same as we expand the initiative. ‘ZEEForAll’ will surely be a milestone in the history of TV broadcasting in India.”

    Zee Hindi Movie Cluster Business Head Ruchir Tiwari said, “It is wonderful to associate with Aamir Khan on this pioneering initiative with Dangal – a film that is inspiring, emotional and entertaining. I am personally very happy that Dangal has inspired our team to do what is needed to make the movie accessible to all our viewers.”

    Aamir Khan said, “It is with great anticipation that I look forward to the television premiere of Dangal on 15th August on Zee Cinema SD. I instantly agreed to the idea of premiering Dangal with audio description for the visually impaired and it is a matter of absolute pride to associate with ZEE on this Independence Day premiere of my film.”

    Essentially, audio description conveys the most important visual aspects of the story by providing commentary during natural pauses and moments of quiet. It is a voice-over narration that explains what is happening on the screen, including physical actions made by various characters and other important visual elements. The narration is inserted between lines of dialogue. This audio description is recorded and made available as a separate audio track that can be selected by the audience on their remote.

  • Zee TV continues to dominate urban weekend ratings

    BENGALURU: Over the past few weeks Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (Zeel) flagship Hindi GEC Zee TV has been dominating urban viewership during weekends. Programmes such as the world television premier (WTP) of the Aamir Khan starring biographical sports drama ‘Dangal’ and anti-prohibition film Raees; the airing of Zeel’s reality shows ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Little Champs’ and the launch of ‘India’s Best Judwaah’ and ‘Fear Factor’, have drawn more urban eyeballs for it than other channels in the genre on weekends.

    Please refer to the figure below for Zee TV and its peer Hindi GECs’ weekend performance  for the past 10 weeks (between weeks 21 to 30 of 2017). Data in this report has been sourced from Broadcast Audience Research Council of India (BARC), TG: HSM (Urban), 2+

    public://F1_17.jpg

    Dangal was a big draw when it was aired in week 21 and then again in week 22 of 2017 as was Raees when its WTP was aired in week 26 followed by a re-telecast in week 28 of 2017. Dangal rated 11.009 million impressions in the three hours 45 minutes slot and the repeat airing on 28 May evening 5:00pm rated 2.963 million impressions, according to BARC data.  Aired on 25 June at 12:00 noon, Raees rated 3.850  million Impressions in the three-hours slot, whereas the second airing on 9 July evening 18:00hrs rated 1.714 million impressions in the same duration.

    Further, the fresh airing of ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Little Champs’ has beendoing well in the urban space andhas been on an increasing trend.As compared to week 21 of 2017 the non-fiction singing reality show has seen a 50 percent increase in viewership in the latest week for which BARC data is available – (Week 30 of 2017).There has been a big jump in ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Little Champs’ from week 26 as the channel increased number of repeat airings of the show. Please refer to the chart below:

    public://F2_8.jpg

    Another broadcast – that of an event which witnessed good viewership was the telecast of the Zee Gold Awards that honour the best performers in the Indian television industry. These were first awarded in the year 2007 and Emami’s Boroplus has been the title sponsor for the first nine editions of the show. The awards were first aired in 2017 in week 29 followed by a re-run in week 30. The Red Carpet part of the show on 16 July at 17:00 hours rated 1.082 million impressions followed by the main event at 17:30 hours which rated 2.968 million impressions. The repeat telecast of the Zee Gold Awards was on 22 July (Week 30) at 16:30 hours which rated 1.425 million impressions.

    Zee TV launched two new reality programmes in the 800 pm and 1030pm primetime slots in week 30 – ‘India’s Best Judwaah’ and Fear Files. Both have performed well in the launch week. How they fare in the coming weeks remains to be seen. Here below are the ratings tables of the two shows.

    public://F3_2.jpg

    Zee TV has been performing well. In week 30, the channel was second in BARC’s list of top 10 channels across genre, just behind the Sun TV Networks flagship Tamil GEC Sun TV in terms of rank. In the Hindi GEC (Urban+Rural) market, three of its programmes – two Balaji Telefilms productions – Kumkum Bhagya and its spinoff Kundali Bhagya and Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Little Champs were among BARC’s top five programmes list in week 30 of 2017.

  • Dangal & programmes catapult Zee TV’s week 21 ratings

    BENGALURU: Zee TV, the flagship Hindi GEC channel of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (Zeel) topped the HSM (U+R) : NCCS All : 2+ Individuals market ratings for the first time in in 2017 in week 21 – Saturday, 20 May 2017 to Friday, 26 May 2017. The channel garnered 679.456 million weekly impressions according to Broadcast Audience Research Council of India (BARC) data, the ninth highest ratings by a channel in 2017 until week 21 for the HSM (U+R) market.

    Zee TV was placed second in BARC’s weekly list of top 10 channels across genre – NCCS All India (U+R) : 2+ Individuals with 735.093 million weekly impressions. This was the eight highest ratings by any Hindi GEC channel in the across genre ratings. It may be noted that no Hindi GEC channels has ever topped the viewership across genre – that is a place that Sun TV reserved for itself (except during 5 of the 8 weeks during IPL 10). Hindi GEC’s have been ranked second for only14 of the first 21 weeks of 2017 in BARC’s lists for the most watched channels across genre.

    So what catapulted Zee TV to the top of the ratings chart among its peers in the HSM (U+R) and the across genre All India (U+R) charts?

    Zee TV’s success in week 21 can be attributed in part to the viewership of the world television premiere of Dangal; the viewership of its programme – Kumkum Bhagya and the viewership of the launch episode of a new soap opera – Aisi Deewangi Dekhi Nahi Kahi.

    The Aamir Khan starrer Dangal had an average viewership of 16.254 million on the day it was aired. Please refer to the chart below for the ratings garnered by the world television premiere of Dangal:

    Pragya and Abhi’s story – Kumkum Bhagya has taken the fancy of primetime viewers. It has been among BARC’s weekly top five most watched programmes list in the HSM (U+R), sometimes behind the Balaji Telefilms production – Naagin 2, for most of the first 21 weeks of 2017. However, Kumkum Bhagya has topping BARC’s weekly list of top five programmes (HSM (U+R) : NCCS All : Prime Time (1800 – 2330 hrs) : 2+ Individuals) for the past few weeks. In week 21, the programme had raked in 11.905 million weekly impressions, far ahead of Naagin 2’s 9.459 million impressions in the HSM (U+R) market.

    The launch episode of a new Indian Hindi soap opera on Zee TV – Aisi Deewangi Dekhi Nahi Kahi, improved the channels viewership in week 21 on launch day (Monday, 23 May 2017) 19:30 to 19:59 primetime slot by 72 percent as compared to the previous week. Please refer to chart below.

    The Eseel group television broadcast companies had a few more reasons to cheer in week 21 of 2017.

    The Zee News: Interview With UP CM “Yogi on Zee” improved viewership by 63 percent during the Wednesday – 19:55 – 20:48 slot as compared to the previous four weeks average. Please refer to the chart below:

    The Essel group celebrated its Ninetieth anniversary recently. The event was aired on 47 of the group’s television channels – it reached 75.96 million and attracted 27.65 gross impressions.

  • Bahubali continues to rule the box office as it pushes aside others in third week

    The fact that films and cricket remain its dominant entertainers on television was evident when the Zee TV premiere of Dangal on 21 May and the final of the IPL T20 on Sony Max took the toll at the box office.

    Last Friday saw the release of two totally different genre films – Hindi Medium and Half Girlfriend.

    Hindi Medium is an entertaining family fare that also tackles a social issue relating to the education system in India; showing how every educational institution brands itself as ‘international’ and,while even the poor want their children to get English education, it is gradually going out of their reach. This is a small budget film with not much wasted on artistes while the limited locations help curtail the budget.

    Half Girlfriend, on the other hand, is youth oriented romance. It used all the traditional stuff that a love story has been using through the history of storytelling: taming of the shrew, rich vs poor, chamcha friends around and, as a side attraction, it also touches on the Swachh Bharat issue stressing on the need for toilets in mofussil area schools so girl students do not shy away from enrol!ing. Sadly, all these elements were badly and predictably strewn together handled with inept direction.

    Of the films released last week, Ram Gopal Varma’s idea of The Godfather, Sarkar 3, backfired yet again. Why is RPG trying to sell the same idea again if it was not accepted the first time? In filmmaking, you can’t be third time lucky with the same stuff!

    Of the already running films, only Bahubali (Dubbed-Hindi) is sustaining. It is no secret that no dubbed film has ever done this kind of business while, it is also no secret that no Hindi films has reached such box office height either, be is a Salman Khan or an Aamir Khan starrer despite their being known to break barriers.

    Box Office status wise:

    *Half Girlfriend opened reasonably well but the word of mouth was mostly against its content. The film collected 29.1 crore over the weekend and may fall short of its target. The price at which its Indian theatrical rights have been sold, the film will need to reach a target of little short of 100 crore.

    *Hindi Medium opened to an indifferent response on Friday, a good word of mouth helped the film as it gained on Saturday and Sunday to end its opening weekend with Rs 109 million. It should sail safe.

    *Sarkar 3 has been very poor managing to collect barely Rs 82 million in its first week and is a loser.

    *Meri Pyaari Bindu, with lesser number of screens compared to Sarkar 3, has been a slow starter but, being a mini budget enterprise, should not offset the producers’ balance sheet. The film collected Rs 86 million.

    *Bahubali 2: The Conclusion (Hindi-Dubbed) maintains strong trends as the film collects a whopping Rs 676 million in its third week taking its three week total to Rs 4.495 billion – the highest box office collections ever for a film in the Hindi belt.

  • New films fail to attract viewers

    *The poor run of films at the box office continues unabated save for an odd Dangal or a reasonable entertainer in Badrinath Ki Dulhania. Not that any of these films can sustain a multiscreen cinema complex for more than a few weeks

    The week saw two new releases, Phillauri and Anaarkali of Aarah, both female-oriented and also off the beaten track. Phillauri saw actor Anushka Sharma turn producer launching her production banner, Clean Slate Films. The sustainability of such a films is grossly limited and they draw footfalls, albeit in limited numbers, barely for a weekend.

    A lot of actors are turning to production activities. But, Anushka, rather than take cue from her peers such as Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan, and make a commercially viable film, chose an abstract theme, that of superstition and supernatural. The intent seems to be awards rather than rewards; probably for the protagonist, Anushka herself, as well as for some technical aspects like special effects. What good is an award if the people have not taken to your film?

    What raises a question, besides the choice of subject, is that what was the logic of making a film almost entirely in Punjabi?

    *Phillauri, counting on only Anushka Sharma to draw the crowds could not quite manage that. The film’s opening was not encouraging, with Punjab where the film’s lead actor, Diljit Dusanjh is a big star, faring little better. The film colledted Rs 13.9 crore for its opening weekend

    *Anaarkali Of Aarah, though a local story of Bihar, and with rural background, found some appreciation as the film offered some great performances by its main actors, Swara Bhaskar, Sanjai Mishra and Pankaj Tripathi. However, these factors did not reflect on the film’s box office collections as the film remained in the range of a few lakh.

    *Director duo Abbas Mustan, who gave many successful films with various actors in their career as directors, failed badly when it came to launching their family scion, Mustafa. A totally outdated story idea and patchy script were not the right recipe to launch an actor. The film managed to collect Rs 3.25 crore in its first week.

    *Trapped collected Rs 2.1 crore in its first week.

    *Aa Gaya Hero proves to be the swan song for Govinda’s career. Must hurt more because this also happened to be his home production. The film struggled to cross the one crore mark to end its first and last week with the figures of a little over one crore.

    *Badrinath Ki Dulhania, made the most of poor crop of new releases. The film collected Rs 26.6 crore in its second week and is still holding steady in its third week. The film has taken its two week total to Rs 99.2 crore.

    *Commando 2 added Rs 35 lakh in its third week to take its three week total to Rs 23.95 crore.

    *The Ghazi Attack has added Rs 40 lakh in its fifth week taking its five week tally to Rs 19.3 crore.

  • Tax concessions would have boosted ‘Attack On Ghazi’

    The past week saw a variety of new releases. `The Attack On Ghazi’, was a rare war film for the Indian audiences and an underwater film about war between an Indian and Pakistani submarine, Ghazi. The film, based on the 1971 war, was painstakingly made.

    The other film, `Irada’ — film’s title did not reveal much about the product — was on an ecological problem faced by the State of Punjab as some vested interests involved in reverse boring draining water and causing ground water to turn poisonous for farm lands as well as for drinking purposes.

    The third was the usual run of the mill romantic comedy about a couple on the run.

    Though ‘The Attack On Ghazi’ emerged as the best of the three releases at the box office, it was not enough as the film registered just over Rs. 1 crore or Rs 10 million on its opening day. The film deserved much better and the initiative to attract more footfalls should have rested with multiplexes, which could consider reducing the admission rates for this kind of film that is made with sincere intentions.

    The film narrates a chapter from Indian history, not very far long, though. If multiplexes increase admission rates at will with big star cast films, reducing the rates for a film like `The Attack On Ghazi’ is the least they can do to promote honest cinema.

    The film deserved entertainment exemption but many States did not do so under election’s model code of conduct and the film stayed deprived of this advantage. The film showed a decent rise on Saturday in collections doing better on Sunday to end its opening weekend with Rs. 6.6 crore or Rs. 66 million (excluding Telugu and Tamil versions).

    `Irada’, a film with a message on environment, takes the thriller route to present and make interesting the issue of how ecology of the bread basket of India, Punjab, was compromised. The problem with the thriller part, that is the investigations, is that you just witness conclusions and not told how they were arrived at. Also, if the film really wanted to take the message across the States, the use of heavy Punjabi language could have been avoided.
    The opening day collections as well as the weekend remained very poor. The film collected approximately Rs. 60 lakh or Rs. 60, 00000 for its opening weekend.

    `Running Shaadi’, a routine love story about a couple in love on the run, fails to convince on counts of comedy as well as romance. Launched a couple of years back, the film did take its own time hitting the screens. Another drawback is that the film is almost entirely in Punjabi language. To what purpose one can’t fathom?
    The film is poor all over from one day one. The film fell far short of even Rs. 1 crore or Rs 10 million mark and collected Rs. 70 lakh or Rs. 70, 00000 for its first weekend.

    `Jolly LLB 2’ that had a tepid opening response picked up on Saturday and Sunday. Though the film dropped on Monday, it had a healthy Tuesday, thanks to Valentine’s Day. Being a solo release in the comedy genre, it maintained Rs. 10 crore or Rs. 100 million per day average to end its first week with Rs. 72. 1 crore or Rs. 721 million. It will get some benefit in its second week in the absence of any strong film releases.
    `Raees’ added Rs. 2.1 crore or Rs 21 million for its third week, taking its three-week tally to Rs. 130.4 crore or Rs. 134 million.

    `Kaabil’ collected Rs. 3.8 crore or Rs. 38 million in its third week taking its three week total to Rs. 92.2 crore (Rs. 922 million).

    `Dangal’ comes at the end of its glorious run. The film added about Rs. 50 lakh (Rs. 50, 00000) in its eighth week, taking its eight-week total to Rs. 387.9 crore or Rs. 3879 million.