MUMBAI: Star Plus and Balaji Telefilms relationship goes way back. The shows from the production house’s banner captured almost all the slots and made the channel flourish on the TAM TV ratings chart.
Currently, Yeh Hai Mohabbatein (YHM), which was launched on 3 December 2013, had hit the television screens at a dead slot (11 pm) where no other broadcaster dared to experiment.
But the channel decided to take the bold move and was confident that one day the show will succeed. And today, if one goes as per the ratings, it ranks number four on Star Plus leaving behind even the older shows. In the week 37 of TAM TV ratings, it garnered 5,245 TVTs, down from 5,730 TVTs.
From 22 September, the show will occupy a dual time slot and will air six days a week at both 7:30 pm and 11:00 pm. The series will replace Saraswatichandra which has been struggling with low numbers at the ratings chart.
Star Plus SVP marketing Nikhil Madhok explains the reason behind the move. According to him, the move was made after audiences’ feedback that a certain section of viewers found the 11 pm slot too late in night.
He adds, “It has a very loyal audience with the highest time spent on Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC). The show is really popular but a lot of people kept telling us, especially youngsters, that it was too late for them to stay awake and watch considering they have their schools and colleges the next day.”
Madhok believes that prior to this, time slot movements were done by GECs usually when it wanted to shift a non-performing show to a competitive big show or early evenings or afternoons. But this is for the first time a top performer show is being shifted primarily to gain more viewership.
The channel feels that the advantage of doing this is twofold. One, a lot of people who were not able to watch the show at 11 pm can now watch it at 7:30 pm. And secondly, audiences who love YHM get two opportunities to watch the show.
“This was a show where repeat viewing the next day or viewing on online digital medium is very high. So the dual airing will not only help the existing viewers who love the show to watch it twice but also add a whole new set of viewers,” states Madhok.
The channel underwent a research where it stated that at 11:00 pm, the number of people available is far lesser than 7:30 pm and contributes only 60 per cent of the overall audience in the community.
Madhok and the makers are confident that since the content will remain same at both the slots, it will garner good ratings at both time slots. YHM has got India Gate Basmati Rice as its title sponsor.
