MUMBAI: Lamhe proves its popularity as it comes in as third most viewed Asian channel in the UK in the latest round of BARB ratings.

The channel that was launched in the UK market in the mid-2013 has made its own place among viewers with its unique offerings. And the recent BARB rating just affirms that. Lamhe beat many other longer standing channels and programmes and even boasted the top most viewed slots across various times of the day amongst all channels.

The channel reaches an audience of over half a million each week, showcasing only the best of South-Asian entertainment, free, with classic Dramas, Bollywood Classics, lifestyle, travel, cookery and more. This offering is popular across a broad range of the audiences, with many of its slots topping amongst a young audience aged 16-34 years. The channel’s top show on 6 Jan was Astitva, attracting almost 50,000 viewers per minute at prime time 9:30pm, with over 25 per cent of these viewers being from the young age band.

Free-To-Air Channels business head Archana Kanade said in a release: “Lamhe has been successful in offering to today’s audience a viewing experience that they do not find elsewhere. For Lamhe to consistently come out top at certain time slots week on week is a tough feat in today’s saturated TV market. Many channels today have one-off properties that help them to gather their audience numbers, whereas Lamhe’s schedule draws in viewers throughout the day and across various shows.”

The line-up of the month includes critically-acclaimed shows including Amanat, Hasratein and Malgudi Days as well as classics celebrating the all-time sizzling actresses of Bollywood – such as Babita, Madhuri Dixit, Dimple Kapadia, Sridevi – on weekend movies at 7:30pm. Viewers can also watch out for new additions to the channel.

Lamhe is free to enjoy on Sky 798 and is also available on Virgin Media 811. It has also recently launched on Freeview channel 53 in the Manchester region.