MUMBAI: Raj TV seems to be in no mood to give up its claim as the second most popular channel in Tamil Nadu.

A few months ago, the channel had cited TAM data to indicate that it was the number two channel after Sun TV. The credit to this, Raj gave to its Friday night blockbuster movies. However, the claim had sparked off a scramble for the slot.

Eight months down the line, the big fight continues.
 
Pointing to a survey initiated by The Hindu and conducted by TNS Mode (the fourth largest market information group in the world), Raj TV has again asserted its number two position in Chennai.

This, of course, means that Raj is the most preferred channel after the undisputed leader Sun TV and its sibling KTV.

The TNS poll was conducted in Chennai among 230 men and women.

According to the survey, while a major chunk (77 per cent) respondents claimed to be loyal viewers of Sun TV and 5 per cent watched KTV, Raj was the hot favourite among four per cent television viewers.

Of the rest, viewership for Vijay TV and Sumangali Cable Vision (which also belongs to the Sun TV stable) was two per cent each. The other channels - including Jaya TV - put together figures for only 10 per cent viewership, Raj claims.

The survey indicated that 26 per cent respondents watched television for one to two hours. Only 13 per cent people said they watched the channel for more than four hours.

Raj TV backed its claim to popularity with another significant aspect that the TNS survey revealed. According to the survey, Raj TV is the only channel besides Sun, whose daily serial ranks among the top five most popular shows in Chennai.

The survey shows that Raj's Geethanjali is the fourth most popular serial in the metro. The number one serial Metti Oli, number two Annamalai, number three Kungumam and number five Appa are all aired on Sun.