MUMBAI: The television channel share pattern in the skies of God's own country is a near replica of the way the state's top political rivals, the Congress lead UDF and the CPI (M) lead LDF, stand in the popularity charts - neck and neck!

While the latest exit polls from the state predict near 50-50 gains for UDF and LDF, the latest TAM figures (CS 4+) on the channel share from the combined Kerala market show that both Surya and Asianet are tied at 41%.

In the 0.1-1 million market, Asianet tops the charts with 41% closely followed by Surya TV with 40%. In the region, Asianet News has 7% and Kairali TV has 9% channel share while the relatively new Jeevan TV is far behind with 3% share, according to the TAM data.

It is Surya TV who has got an edge over Asianet in the 1+ million markets. Surya TV has 43% channel share while Asianet has 42% and Asianet News has 3%. Kairali TV has 9% and Jeevan TV has 3% channel share in this region.

In the closely fought segment of comedy programmes, Asianet's Comedy Show has managed to find a place in the TAM charts with a TVR of 11.79. Quite surprisingly, Surya's Comedy Time, which is their answer to Asianet's Comedy Show, has failed to find a place in the week's ratings. At the same time, Surya's relatively new comedy-oriented show Savari Giri Giri is present in the charts with TVR 8.56.