MUMBAI: Cricket has done a number on Star Plus' Kaun Banega Crorepati, which opened with a big bang clocking 5.3 TVR, but saw a significant ratings drop on Wednesday.

In a downward trend, the ratings for the show have slipped by 1.8 per cent to 3.5 (aMap TG C&S4+ in the North West East India market) on its third day of telecast.

Clearly, KBC received a kick on 24 January due to the India Vs West Indies ODI match telecast on Neo Sports and DD1, which garnered a market share of 27.8 per cent on an All-India level.

Could this be a dampener for Star? Star India president advertising sales and distribution Paritosh Josh tells Indiantelevision.com, "I would not be too excited about the ratings generated on the first day, as it would be the outcome of the hype created by the enormous marketing and media coverage."

Date
Market Share
22 
Monday
24.1
23 
Tuesday
24.0
24 Wednesday
15.4

aMap's overnight television ratings system indicates that the market share for the show has dipped from 24 per cent on the first two days to 15.4 per cent on the third.

Although good opening ratings is not a bad thing, what is required is 'stickiness' that has to be built and sustained over time, says Joshi.

A point of note is that all genres suffered as a result of the cricket with the hardest hit being the regional satellite channels, which saw viewing plummet 31.9 per cent. GEC channels followed closely at 29.4 per cent while south satellite and cable saw a drop in market share of 20.4 per cent.

As opposed to what KBC set out to target, in terms of a more 'youth' based audience to be drawn in with SRK's charms, ratings suggest that the average age for the viewers is 32 years.
Joshi however is optimistic and says that he would not subscribe to the mentioned ratings, but instead await TAM's report on Monday 29 January to further comment on the response that KBC has garnered.