The most significant early trend is that the show has the potential to become a channel driver and push up other programmes. Boogie Woogie, which was shifted from 8 pm to the slot after the game show on Fridays, has seen a sharp increase in ratings. The programme's television rating points (TRP) has shot up from 3.6 in December 15, 2000, to 6.6 in February 2, 2001, according to Television Audience Measurement (TAM) data in all cities excluding south for all individuals in cable and satellite homes. While it was hovering around 3-5 TRPs a month before the launch of Jeeto Chappar Phaad Ke, it touched a high of 7.5 TRP on January 26, the day of the game show's launch.

"The programme is having a halo effect. Boogie Woogie, the only show which follows JCPK, has already gained. On the other two days, there are movies. If Sony decides to shift the movies by 30 minutes and replace it with programmes, its gross ratings point (GRP) and channel share can go up immediately," says Mr Sandeep Singh, a media analyst.

Sony TV's GRP (overall rating of the channel) has improved drastically from 244 on the week ending January 20 (preceding the game show's launch) to 323 for the week ended February 3. Zee TV, on the other hand, saw a fall from a GRP of 238 to 203 during the same period. Star Plus continued to lead, though it dropped from 404 to 378 GRPs, according to TAM data. For the week ended January 27, Star Plus was at 399, while Sony touched a GRP of 320 and Zee TV 201.

The channel share shows a similar trend. Sony's share went up from 17 per cent for the week ended January 20 to 19 per cent on the week ending February 3. Star Plus fell from 28 per cent to 23 per cent while Zee dropped from 16 per cent to 12 per cent. For the week ended January 27, Star Plus was at 26 per cent, Sony at 20 per cent and Zee at 13 per cent.

JCPK is among the top 10 rated shows. On the first day of launch, it was the most-watched show in the week ending January 27 with a TRP of 14.8 for all cities excluding the south, according to TAM data. While it dropped to 9 TRP on the second day, it found the tenth spot for the same week. "We were affected by the steep fall in our ratings in the rest of Uttar Pradesh. This was due to load-shedding and is not the right indication to the popularity of the show," said a Sony official. The ratings in the rest of Uttar Pradesh fell from 21.4 to 4.3 on the second day (January 27).

For the third day, Sony's game show got a TRP of 10.7 for all cities excluding south and was ranked the third programme of the week beginning January 28. It fell on the fourth day (February 3) and was rated the sixth show for the same week with a TRP of 9.8.

Sony does not have any other programme in the top 10, according to TAM data for all the cities excluding the south. Star Plus' Kyunki Saans Bhi Kabhi is doing better than its game show Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) while Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki is going strong. Meanwhile, KBC has stabilised and has become a national show, with ratings showing moderate improvement in the south. JCPK however, is faring relatively poorer in the south and is still to evolve as a national property. But there is potential for the show to have a more wide geographical spread. "It is early days yet to draw any conclusion. Like other shows, it is having a stronger response from the north. We have to wait for the show to mature," said Mr Singh.