Promoting soaps in Delhi!

General Entertainment Channels (GECs) are now choosing the capital city as the setting for their shows.
This and the fact that more promotions are happening in the city because it has now become an important segment – these are shows “Pavitra Rishta”, “KBC”, “Rakhi Ka Swayamvar”, “Laagi Tujhse Lagan” and “Na Aana Is Des Laado” are among the shows that have been popular in Delhi.
Danish Khan, vice president, marketing, Sony Entertainment Television maintains that Delhi is increasingly becoming more important for GECs. “Delhi is a close second to Mumbai when we talk of weightage of viewership base. While Mumbai accounts for 13% of the total TV viewership in India, Delhi follows closely with 11%. And Delhi combined with UP makes up one entire quarter of viewership in India. Delhi scores over Mumbai if we talk of viewership base in the Socio-Economic Class – A (SEC-A). Delhi has the highest number of homes in the SEC-A category. Also, Delhi is increasingly becoming important because the highest number of viewers in the age group 15-24 are from Delhi. These two categories are the most important for all GECs. All these factors combined make Delhi an important market for the TV industry and the advertisers. And this is also the reason why channels are thinking of generating Delhi-centric content and characters for their shows.”
In the morning time slot of 6-9am, Delhi contributes almost 11% of the total viewership across all channels. The city also rules in the 9am-12 noon time slot, registering 17% of the total viewership. Even in the primetime slot of 7-11pm, considered most important by all channels, Delhi is fast catching up – while Mumbai registers 33% of the viewership, Delhi is not far behind with 31%.
It is also interesting to note what Delhi prefers to watch across various time slots. Twenty per cent of those watching TV in the early morning slot of 6-9am watch Hindi News channels while 16% watch the Hindi GECs. In the afternoon slot of 12noon-4pm, 42% of the city’s viewers watch Hindi GECs and 16% Hindi Movie Channels (HMCs). In the time slot of 11pm-2am, the numbers change to 35% for GECs and 16% for HMCs.
Hindi GECs and movie channels, followed by English news channels, stand to gain in the Delhi region, all thanks to a negligible preference for regional content. Vijay Krishan Chaturvedi, director of shows like “Bhagyavidhata”, “Laagi Tujhse Lagan” and “Baba Aiso Var Dhoondho”, says that tapping the Delhi market is becoming very critical for all Hindi GECs for the strong hold that these channels have in the city. “This one of the most potent and important markets for channels. No channel can afford to neglect the city as it commands a large part of the viewership base,” he says.
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