MUMBAI: The Indian Telly Awards has hit the sweet spot yet again on the ratings front for Sony.
The three-hour awards show had a 3.54 TVR (CS 4+, HSM), making it the number one show on the channel for the week 3 to 9 December, well ahead of the other two Sony shows in the Top 100 – CID and kids dance talent show Boogie Woogie.
The top three markets for the awards show were Orissa with a TVR of 6.44, Gujarat (4.63) and Mumbai (4.46) respectively.
The Sixth Indian Telly Awards presented by Sony Entertainment Television, which was held on 24 November, was telecast on 3 December from 8 pm to 11 pm. It ranked 63rd in the Top 100 charts for shows across all channels. The chart topper for the week was Star Plus' Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki with a TVR of 12.45 , followed by Kyuunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi with a TVR of 12.06 (both on 6 December). The top rated Zee TV show was Saath Phere with a TVR of 5.75 on 8 December.
The evening was marked by dance performances by TV stars including Sangeeta Ghosh, Eijaz Khan and Akaashdeep Saigal, Mona Singh, the Left Right Left cast (Arjun Bijlani - Alekh), Gazal Rai (Pooja), Vikas Manattala (Huda), Priyanka Bhassin (Naina), Harshad Chopra (Ali), Kunal Kapoor (Yudi).
A stand-up comic act from Great Indian Laughter Challenge runner up Naveen Prabhakar brought down the house. Another performance by debutantes of last year and this year - Barkha Bisht, Sanjeeda, Daljit Kaur - and by television couples - Surveen Chawla and Manish Goel (together on a Sony show), Mouni Roy and Pulkit Samrat (the hot new couple of Kyunkii's new generation), Divyanka Tripathi and Sharad Malhotra (the couple from Dulhan on Zee TV).
A special award was presented to Sun Network chairman Kalanithi Maran for his contribution to Television by Sony Entertainment Television CEO Kunal Dasgupta.
The award was an acknowledgement of his effort in enabling the growth of cable and satellite television market in south India through his Sun Network, television broadcasting group.
Balaji Telefilms creative head Ekta Kapoor, the creative brain behind the runaway success that is Balaji Telefilms, was inducted into the Hall of Fame, a category for young professionals in television for their contribution to the industry.
The function was hosted by popular faces of television - Kiran Karmakar, Juhi Parmar, Anuj Saxena, Mona Singh and Manav Gohil, Shweta Kawatra, Ayub Khan, Renuka Shahane and Gaurav Chopra.
Billed as the Indian equivalent of the Emmys, the Indian Telly Awards is the brainchild of founder Anil Wanvari, who is also a board member of the International Emmy Academy in New York. One of the few Indians to have achieved that status. Says Wanvari, "Television is evolving and so will the awards. Our sincere effort is to make The Indian Telly Awards the industry's benchmark because the awards have been created for the industry to recognize the excellence in the creative, business and technical spheres."
The ground partners for the event were CNN IBN, IBN7, Zee Cinema and Times Now; the Radio partner Radio City 91.Fm; Outdoor Partner Bright Advertising; Multiplex Partner Fun Cinema; Print Partner Rajasthan Patrika and Mid-Day; Party Venue Partner Some Place Else; and PR Partner CMCG.