Star Plus extends two daily fiction shows to Saturdays

MUMBAI: Star Plus is extending the telecast of its leading fiction shows ?Diya Aur Baati Hum? and ?Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai? to Saturdays as part of its ploy to combat against non fiction properties on other Hindi general entertainment channels.

The shows, which air at 9 pm and 9.30 pm respectively, will compete on Saturdays against Colors upcoming show Bigg Boss-6, Zee TV‘s ?Sa Re Ga Ma? and Sony Entertainment Television‘s ?Kaun Banega Crorepati-6?.

Star Plus is not looking at reality programming to contend against these shows and is banking on daily soaps that are slot leaders during weekdays.

"India is a single TV household. Star Plus is extending its fiction programmes to Saturdays. Bigg Boss is coming with a different format this time but Star Plus is taking two very strong properties to Saturdays. KBC and Sa Re Ga Ma are also there. It will be interesting to observe how audience fragmentation takes place," a media agency executive said on condition of anonymity.

The shows will be replacing ?Teri Meri Love Stories? which will end on 7 October. The show, which launched on 11 August and narrates love stories from urban India, has averaged around 1 TVR.

In the past too, channels have aired ?mahaepisodes? (mega-episode) of their fiction shows during weekend to attract eyeballs. Star Plus had once increased the airing-time of its popular show ?Bidaai? from 30 minutes to one hour. The show was a leader in the genre for quite some time and worked well for the channel. It was produced by Director?s Kut, the producers of ?Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai?.

Talking about the extension of the airing of ?Yeh Rishta?? to six days a week, producer Rajan Shahi said: ?Extra content is needed by the channels at times. We have done that in the past with shows like ?Bidaai?, ?Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai? and ?Kuch To Log Kahenge? (Sony). It is the channel?s call; they must be having some strategy in mind.?