GEC Genre: Star Jalsha claims No. 1 place in Week 16

Anurag Basu - Televisionpoint.com | Kolkata
GenY is the current flavour of the season. Be it sports, politics and entertainment, the young brigade is making all the right noises. It comes as no surprise then that Star Jalsha, the Bengali general entertainment channel (GEC) from Star Entertainment Media, too would cash in on the youth quotient. And the verdict is out on the wall. Barely seven months old, this channel is already the new numero uno.

Star Jalsha has garnered a 34 per cent relative channel share among all Bengali GECs, thereby claiming the number one position in the region, according to the latest TAM data for the West Bengal market, (C&S, 4+, Week 16).

Commenting on the overwhelming popularity of Star Jalsha among Bengali audiences, JC Giri, executive vice-president, Star Entertainment Media, said, "Jalsha promised to entertain its viewers with superlative content and we have lived up to the promise. It has been a tremendous achievement for the entire team working on Star Jalsha and this is a moment of pride."

For the last four weeks, Zee Bangla, the GEC from Zee News Ltd, was number one channel, while ETV held the number two place. But, in Week 15, Zee Bangla claimed 30 per cent channel share, while Star Jalsha and ETV Bangla were at number two and three respectively.

In Week 16, Zee Bangla has been pushed to number three position with a share of 24 per cent, and the channel lost 71 GRPs to get only 251 GRPs. Star Jalsha garnered 361 GRPs this week, a gain of 55 GRPs from Week 15; while ETV Bangla has garnered 274 GRPs, a loss of 12 GRPs.

Launched on September 8 last year, Star Jalsha is the latest entrant in the GEC space in the region. It has fiction shows, romantic shows and family drama, apart from non-fiction shows and movies.

Star Jalsha has five shows in TAM's Top 10 list of programmes for this region. Bou Kotha Kou on Jalsha, with a TVR of 7.31, was the most watched show; followed by Sa Ra Ga Ma Pa Lil Champs on Zee Bangla with a TVR of 4.32.

The third most watched programme was Bengali feature Film, Permer Kahani on Jalsha, with a TVR of 4.3. Other shows of Star Jalsha that were in the Top 10 list include Durga and Ekhane Aakash Neel. The Saturday movie Chore Chore Mastuto Bhai delivered 4.2 TVR to clock 28 GRPs for Jalsha.

For ETV Bangla, Sonar Horeen remained the top fiction programme with 3.4 average TVR. While Dada na Didi Ganer Big Fight garnered an average TVR of 1.8 on Wednesday and Thursday, the Sunday movie Shap Mochan delivered 3.3 average TVR.

Giri adds, "Star Jalsha has grown organically with its innovative fiction band and selective movie offering. We understand the Bengali culture very well and have delivered compelling and relevant content, which has made us the leader today."

Other players in the area include Aakaash Bangla, DD7 Bangla, NE Bangla and R-Plus, who have commanded 106 GRPs, 29 GRPs, 18 GRPs and 16 GRPs respectively for the Week 16.

Jalsha Factor
In keeping with the Chalo Paltai theme, Star Jalsha has lived up to its promises of youthful entertainment through megaserials like Bou Kotha Kou, Durga, Ekhane Akash Neel, Bandhan, Neer Bhanga Jhor, Ichhedana, and non-fiction programmes like Ghosh & Company, I Laugh You, You Laugh Me and Enjoy Guru.

With its first musical show, Gaan Bhalobeshe Gaan, taking off on Monday, the channel is widening its horizon. With variety on the platter, it's easy to lure youngsters. Even the easily-relatable female-oriented plots add on to a huge female viewership.

Names like Victor Banerjee juxtaposed with young leads and fresh faces like Sandipta, Manali, Mouli, Riju Biswas, come as a bonus. Keeping the young tastes in mind, even the channel had briefed directors to accordingly shape their projects.

"Ekhane... has a Mills & Boon feel to it," says director Anindya Banerjee, while adding that he takes inputs from the young cast about college lingo and tries incorporating it in the show through colloquial dialogues.

Even in a socio-mythological programme like Durga, the director attempts to contemporise Shiva-Parvati tales. "We've tried to be experimental," says director Soumik Chattopadhyay.