Mazi
EntMnt Contributor
MUMBAI: “I have always gone by my gut feeling and that is the most important for me,” is what Zeel MD & CEO Punit Goenka had said when he first announced the launch of a new GEC, Zindagi, from the network’s cadre.
And seems like, Goenka’s gut feeling has once again hit the bulls eye.
Zindagi, the mass premium channel, was launched on 23 June with just four shows – Zindagi Gulzar Hai, Aunn Zara, Kash Mein Teri Beti Na Hoti and Kitni Girhain Baqi Hain – from Pakistan with a promise of ‘Jodey Dilon Ko.’
The shows were an instant hit amongst viewers especially the urbanites who went gaga over them on the social media. They struck a chord with viewers and the word of mouth had the social networking sites abuzz with tweets, wall posts and blog posts. The impact was such that the channel in a short span already has more than 4500 followers on Twitter and approximately 2.2 lakh likes on Facebook.
The same reciprocated in the TAM TV ratings, which were finally released after a weeks’ wait; the newbie took over even a 14 year-old channel, Sahara One. The channel witnessed 28,700 GVTs in week 29 and 27,013 in week 28.
The channel has received an overwhelming response from viewers across all age groups as it broke away from the stereotypes of ‘traditional TV viewing in India’. The media analysts believe that the numbers received by the channel are decent for a new entrant in the already cluttered and highly competitive market of Hindi general entertainment channels (GECs).
Zindagi: A bet that worked | Indian Television Dot Com