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ZEE TV VS SONY: THE ONE-UPMANSHIP
BATTLE
Who's No 1 in Indian television?
Zee would like us to believe it is ahead. It has released
an ad in the The Times of India with the headline: "Whichever
way you look at it, Zee TV is Number 1?" The ad then goes
on to tell us that Zee TV topped 17 out of top 20 programs
(IMRB peoplemeter in Mumbai), topped 18 out of top 20 programs
(Marg peoplemeter and IMRB Diary in Mumbai) in early August.
Why did Zee have to issue
such an ad? Slowly-creeping up rival Sony Entertainment
has been claiming that it has captured the Wednesday and
Thursday prime time slots. IMRB peoplemeter data shows that
it has 14.5% and 17.3% share of prime time on Wednesday
for Mumbai and Delhi in the week ending 23 August. The figures
for audience share for Thursday prime time are 20.2% and
23.7% for Mumbai and Delhi. Against this, Zee TV's figures
are 11%, 15.3% for Wednesday in Mumbai and Delhi and 10.8%
and 10.3% respectively for Thursday in the two cities.Says
Sony Entertainment's vice-president (marketing) Soumitra
Mukherjee: "Wednesday and Thursday have happened for us.
The next can't be far behind!"
By retaliating to these claims and posting the ad, it's
likely that Zee TV has played into Sony's hands. The possibilities
of Sony TV being positioned as the No 2 channel after Zee
TV in media planners' and viewers' minds have improved.
Reason: Zee TV is now battling Sony directly. Earlier the
Zee TV management had stated that its two channels --EL
TV and Zee Cinema -- were flanking Zee TV and battling the
others. Zee TV was not affected by the competition at all.
That apparently has not proved true now. But let not both
Zee TV and Sony forget: Big Brother DD is way ahead.
Article
appeared in a local newspaper in September, 1996
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