Newcomers into the Indian TV market - 9X and Bindass have begun eating to the shares of long-running channels like Sony Entertainment Television Asia, Sahara One, MTV and Channel V, according to latest data.

Business Standard is reporting that while 9X, within a month of its launch, has managed to penetrate nearly 30 per cent of the 76 million cable homes, Bindass, the youth channel from UTV, is generating higher ratings than MTV and Channel V, the two established youth-centric television channels.

According to online rating generated by Audience Measurement and Analytics Ltd for the 10th December (Monday)-16th December (Sunday) period for the prime-time television (8pm-11pm), 9X is generating comparatively similar ratings at various time bands as Sony TV, the general entertainment channel (GEC) running for nearly a decade.

Similarly, UTV’s Bindass has managed to outdo MTV and Channel V on several of the weekdays at prime time shows. For example, on 14th December (Friday) between 9pm-10pm, Bindass generated a rating of 0.21, which is 10 times the ratings generated by Channel V and MTV.

In the GEC space, 9X generated a rating of 0.41 in the 8:30pm-9pm slot, similar to Sony TV on December 15 (Saturday).

Analysts feel that this is because of a high cable household penetration achieved by 9X within a month of its launch coupled with interesting shows like 'Missing Ustaad' and others.

In the long-term, these new channels (including ZEE Next launched on 17th December) may eat into the ad revenue of the big three GECs — STAR Plus, ZEE TV and Sony TV, says an industry source.

The higher ratings of these newly launched channels will have an adverse impact on channels like Sahara One, STAR Utsav and SAB TV among others in the short run.

Among the big three GECs, Sony TV has been at the third place for a long time both in terms of ratings and channel share, with STAR Plus being the numero uno followed closely by ZEE TV.

Both STAR Plus and ZEE TV generate average television ratings of 3.9-5 during weekdays in the prime time viewing band. While Star Plus on most occasions gets the highest viewership ratings, ZEE TV has started displacing STAR Plus shows on several occasions, says the source.

Related links:
ZEE Next confirmed for launch in India
New channel 9X opens to a mixed response
INX Network to launch channel in India this month