Imagine TV Questions TAM Rating

Sees discrepancies in data released in 7^th week; asks for clarification and rectification.

Rajat Arora | Delhi | February 18, 2011

All was going well of Imagine as its Flagship Show Zor Ka Jhatka hosted by Shah Rukh Khan opened up really well with warm and heartening audience response. The channel was expecting better numbers for week 2, but in contrary to their expectations, the show got far less TVR than in opening week.

Baffled with the current data, Imagine has asked TAM to review its data and find out if something went wrong or miscalculated. The channel is awaiting clarification and rectification from TAM India.

Harsh Rohatgi, Head Content and Communications, Imagine TV, said, “The Week 2 numbers for Zor ka Jhatka come as a complete surprise and appear totally out of sync with market & consumer feedback. In week 2 there has been a sudden and sharp drop in certain markets which were rating strongly and growing over 4 episodes in week 1. At an individual market level, the fluctuations are even more bizarre with a more than 250% variation in successive episodic ratings. These numbers seem completely counter intuitive to how people actually watch TV and GECs in particular. We have brought these discrepancies to TAM India's notice and await their clarification and rectification.”

In week 1 Zor ka Jhatka opened up with stupendous numbers taking imagine to no 2 spot in 9 to 10 PM slot. Last week Imagine got 100 GRPs on the TAM people meter. Riding on the success of first week, the channel was anticipating better numbers for week two. The current TAM figure has surprised everyone.

Speaking with BestMediaInfo.com, Nikhil Madhok, Senior Director Marketing & Communication, Imagine TV says, “In some areas where the show performed well for the first 4 days in a row, it went down in a surprising wey. As for example, in some markets where the show garnered 4 TVR for 1st week, it has garnered 0.7 TVR in this week. Thus, in some areas, fluctuation has been between 400% to 500%.”

Does this mean that it is a case of the mass rejection of the show? On this, Nikhil has his say, “Even we can't accept this as a result of rejection of the show because apart from our own research and studies, overnight rating agency aMap has given constant ratings to the show in the second week also. Even, another media research company Ormax Media has found in its research the show is on the top of the mind of 36% people in the second week as compared to 31% in the launch week. Usually the program recall goes down in the second week or so.”

“We have always supported TAM but such discrepancies have forced us to ask for clarification and rectification in the data,” concludes Nikhil.

TAM releases the ratings every week and hence the research agency should revert to the channel soon. As of now, Imagine has not received any reply in two working days. If there is more delay, the result would be of no use because the channel would have suffered the losses by then in a big way.

Also read:

Imagine TV Gives Zor Ka Jhatka To Its Competition

Imagine 10 Crore To Give Zor Ka Jhatka!

Rajat.Arora@BestMediaInfo.com

Info@BestMediaInfo.com