MUMBAI: Star Plus ended rival Colors’ six-week run as the top Hindi general entertainment television channel in digital homes in the first week of 2013, riding high on the Bollywood obsession among Indians.

The telecast of Big Star Entertainment Awards, an annual event that honours the chosen best in Bollywood, for three-and-a-half hours on the New Year‘s eve helped Star Plus displace Colors from the No. 1 position in digital homes. Star Plus enjoys a leading position in the overall market (including both digital and analogue television homes).

In the first week of the new year ended 5 January, Star Plus notched 275 GRPs (up from 225 in the 52nd week of 2012) with 44 of those contributed by just the Bollywood awards show, according to TAM Media Research data sourced from a television channel. In the overall market, the Bollywood awards show garnered 41 GRPs. It helped Star Plus widen its lead to 34 GRPs from 7 GRPs in the 52nd week of 2012 against its immediate rival Colors, which remained in the second position.

Star Plus GM Nachiket Pantvaidya said, "It is indeed heartening to see a brilliant response from our viewers (to the Big Star Entertainment Awards show).”

In fact, Star Plus regained the top position in digital market (HSM, 4+) after a gap of seven weeks since the first week of November 2011. Apart from the previous six weeks where Colors was at the top, Zee had occupied the top position in week 46. In week 44 and 45, Star Plus was at the number one position in digital market, as it was in the overall market.

The government had mandated complete switchover to digital delivery of television channels in the top four metros from 1 November but the adoption of digitisation has happened almost fully in Mumbai and Delhi and to a great extent in Kolkata. Chennai is lagging far behind and is caught in a legal hurdle in the Madras High Court.

Colors could add just three GRPs (gross rating points) to gross 245 GRPs in the first week of 2013 (previous week 242 GRPs). The Viavom18 channel had aired Colors’ Golden Petal Awards, the channel’s in-house awards function, which notched 4.56 TVR in the digital market, same as in C&S market. The Golden Petals Awards contributed 32 GRPs to its total GRPs in the first week.

Colors CEO Raj Nayak had, on being consistently at the top in the digital market for several weeks, said, “….With the digitisation completed in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata (to a lesser extent though), these three markets put together contribute to a large proportion of the digital universe weightage. Hence, a strong base (of Colors) in the markets of Mumbai and Delhi helps.”

Sony Entertainment Television (Set) lost 22 GRPs in the digital market to end the first week with 188 GRPs while Zee TV followed with 183 GRPs (previous week 177).

Following Zee TV is Sab with 143 GRPs (previous week 149) and Life OK with 95 GRPs (previous week 105).