MUMBAI: Move over Balaji Telefilms, here comes BAG Films. The production house's soap Kumkum - Pyara Sa Bandhan which airs on Star Plus at 1 pm is taking afternoon viewership to new heights as it is slowly but steadily making its presence felt in the ratings game.

The serial has climbed into the Top 20 serials behind only the big daddies of soaps like Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii and Kasautii Zindagii Kay (all from the Balaji stable).

In the Hindi speaking C&S 4+ segment Kumkum notched all time high TRPs of 13.1 and that of 18.9 in the C&S Females 15+ segment on 22 March. The serial's viewership has been climbing bit by bit since some time now. Star India senior vice president, content and communications Deepak Segal said, "Kumkum has been the No 1 afternoon soap for some time now, in fact overtaking some of the prime time shows on competition. The protagonist, Kumkum, has appealed to viewers from the very first episode. The storyline, the look of the show, the stars, everything makes the show a complete viewing experience. In fact Kumkum-Sumeet pairing has become very popular among the masses. There has never been a dull moment in the storytelling, which keeps the viewers wanting more. The recent introduction of Aman Verma (as Abhay) is yet another big attraction to the story of Kumkum."

Kumkum takes afternoon viewership to new heights

Kumkum has been gaining more eyeballs in the last few weeks than ever before. In the week starting 21 March, the serial was firmly perched at the 13th spot with a TRP of 9.2 in the C&S 4+ market as compared to the previous week's 19th as per the TAM data. Says Segal, "The soap began as the story of the young and lovable bahu of the Wadhwa family. The relationship of the protagonists has gone through a whole lot of changes, all of which were very appealing and real. The show is constantly adding new tracks and storylines to keep the viewer attention."

Kumkum's female audience increasing by leaps and bounds

Kumkum which airs from Monday to Thursday and has rightly managed to grab female attention thus providing a huge female audience in the afternoon band.

Kumkum - The Kyunki… of afternoons

Touted as the Kyunki... of the afternoon, Kumkum touched an all time high TVR of 13.12 (C&S 4+) on 25 March leaving behind Sony's Kkusum and for that matter even Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahi. Kkusum got an average TVR of 4.8 during the same week and Jassi... managed 4.9, while Kumkum stood tall with a TVR of 12.6. Well, there seems to be a lot happening in the serial. "The story is yet to reach a climax and hence there's a lot more excitement and high drama coming up soon," promises Segal. While BAG Film's new show Koie Jane Naa which launched on Star Plus in March hasn't yet figured among the Top 100. Says Segal, "The show is in a new slot. Sunday evenings are generally for films and Bollywood events and viewers just come and go. For a supernatural soap like Koie Jane Na it will take some time to establish the slot." Fingers surely crossed!

Star Plus afternoons delivers more ratings than Sony & Zee Mon-Thurs primetime ratings combined together!

It is no secret that Star Plus has been ruling the roost of the general entertainment channels since the last three years, and hence it comes as no surprise that the channels' afternoon slot alone garners more TRPs than Sony and Zee's Monday to Thursday primetime ratings combined together! Where on one hand, Sony's average ratings in 2004 has been 2.4 in the prime time slot (8 - 11 pm), Zee's average ratings have been a mere one in the same slot. Star Plus on the other hand, boasts of an average rating of 5.6 and that too in the afternoon band of 12.30 - 3.30 pm.