MUMBAI: "It's no longer a fight for the third slot," affirms Vijay TV programming head Suresh Iyer. Vijay TV, relaunched in October 2001 with the joint blessings of Star India and UTV, has inched past Sun's sibling KTV to claim the number two slot in prime time.

KTV, an exclusive Tamil blockbuster film channel, launched in the last quarter of 2001 to counter the formidable competition posed by the revamped Vijay, has thus far stood firm at number two in the stakes, while cannibalizing a part of Sun TV's redoubtable leadership in the Tamil market. Ratings agency TAM's figures for August 2002 however paint a slightly dour picture for KTV. Vijay has surged ahead of KTV in the 7.30 pm - 9 pm slot, in the C&S 4+, AB 4+ and ABC 4+ categories on weekdays. While Vijay's channel share in the CS AB 4+ category is 21.5, KTV's corresponding figures are 7.1, says Iyer. In the CS ABC 4+ category, Vijay's share is 17, as opposed to KTV's 8.8.

Iyer admits that while Vijay's weekends need to be beefed up, its afternoon programming too has beat KTV's. Newly launched show Kadhai Alla Nijam contributes in a big way to Vijay's hold over audiences. Iyer is clear that Vijay's focus today is on the SEC A,B and C 15+ females, who contribute a large part of the channel's viewers. In the afternoon band (12 pm to 2 pm), Vijay TV's share in the CS AB 4+ category is 10.6, while KTV's share is 3.6. In the ABC 4+ category, Vijay TV stands tall with a channel share of 10, while KTV has a share of 5.5.

In the larger prime time band of 7.30 pm to 11 pm, Vijay claims to have caught up with KTV with a channel share of 13 as opposed to KTV's 10.3 in the CS AB 4+ category. Thanks to the Star network, Vijay now reaches 70 per cent of Tamil Nadu and is now concentrating on weaning away viewers from Sun. Apart from Kadhai Alla Nijam, a reality show that capitalizes on human emotion, and is aired in the afternoons as well as nights, the channel has launched three new shows in the last two months, all aimed at women viewers. Says Iyer, " Vijay has also given a new dimension to the packaging of channels and on air promotions in south India."