MUMBAI: Is the "Sabse se Pehla" (the first) news channel becoming "Sabse (bar one) aage"?

An official communiqué issued by Zee's news arm asserts that among affluent adults (TG AB 25+) it is ahead of rivals NDTV India, Star News, Sahara News, and DD News .

Quoting the latest TAM ratings for the week ended 31 July in Hindi speaking markets TG AB 25+, the communiqué informs that the channel has surged far ahead of its competitors with 18.9 per cent channel share.

The channel also claims that the stickiness quotient is high, what with the time spend per viewer on Zee News is more than that of NDTV India and Star News.

Zee News has three more programmes in the pipeline - a daily sports bulletin Action Replay, 40 news nuggets packed in a half-hour bulletin News Top 10+ and Mumbai Fast - one hour show of Mumbai unplugged.

It ascribes its resurgence to its alert bureaus, authentic facts and spot reporting much ahead of its rivals. That apart, the channel claims that analysis of the top news has helped put events in perspective and provide better understanding to its viewers.

Haunting pictures of Kumbakonam school fire, news from the remote site following the derailment of the Matsyagandha Express, live coverage of the Venus transit, special coverage by Javed Miandad of the Asia Cup 2004, are among the the highlights that helped the channel score over its rivals, the release states.

Zee News has also come out on top in the programming section with its Crime File, the release says. In addition, a daily crime bulletin Crime Reporter, Jawab Dehi, weekly fashion bulletin Yeh Raat Mastani have slowly gained popularity.