MUMBAI: Media research and consulting firm Ormax Media has predicted that the television premiere of Salman Khan starrer Dabangg may surpass the ratings of TV premiere 3 Idiots.

3 Idiots, which was aired on Sony Entertainment in July this year, had broken all previous records with a 10.9 TVR. Whereas Dabangg will premiere this Sunday on Colors at 8 pm. 
 
As per Ormax Media’s pre-launch awareness tracking tool Showbuzz, Dabangg has 44 per cent unaided awareness and 74 per cent total awareness, while 3 Idiots had 31 per cent and 87 per cent unaided and total awareness in the week of its premiere.
 
Ormax Media CEO Shailesh Kapoor said, “Showbuzz numbers indicate that the Dabangg’s world TV premiere has the buzz around it to give 3 Idiots a run for its ratings. While Colors is a stronger platform today, Sony has been traditionally very strong on their film premieres.”

Also, Dabangg is premiering within three months of release, vis-a-vis six months for 3 Idiots. 
 
“This should definitely give Dabangg an edge. Having said that, movie viewing is eventually about time spent, implying that the stronger content will deliver. Our understanding suggests that while their genres and markets will be different, both the films are equally strong on content from a television viewing perspective,” Kapoor added. “If I have to stick my neck out, I’d imagine Dabangg should rate around 9-10 TVR on its premiere given the Showbuzz numbers and the film itself.”

Kapoor added that anything lower than 9-10 TVR will surprise him, but a higher number is not entirely ruled out.