Last year it was Amitabh versus Shah Rukh on Star Plus as KBC 2 battled it out with KBC 3. This year the war has turned more complicated, with entertainer Shah Rukh taking on entrepreneur Shah Rukh, as Kya Aap Paanchvi Paas Se Tez Hain ( KAPPSTH ) on Star Plus duels with the IPL match on the Sony Max channel on Friday.
An industry source says Star has invested over Rs 10 crore promoting KAPPSTH on and off air, excluding the ad spots the channel gives from the quota of its own on-air time. On Kaun Banega Crorepati?s (KBC) first launch, Star had spent Rs 5 crore on on-air promotion and Rs 2.5 crore on off-air promotion.
Media planners are putting their bet behind KAPPSTH, saying historically well-promoted programmes have managed a good opening, if not a sustainable viewership. ?It has been eight days of IPL already. After a great opening in terms of viewership that IPL matches registered, the TRPs have declined in the weekdays and the viewership is expected to stabilise around Saturday. If one has to predict about this weekend, KAPPSTH definitely has brighter prospects than its counterpart. Traditionally also, well-promoted programmes get good openings,? said Nandini Dias, COO of Lodestar Universal.
Another media analyst, who didn?t want to be identified, says although Shah Rukh is a reliable brand in himself, Star has taken a risk by introducing an almost similar format of KBC with him. Last year?s TRPs clearly showed that KBC 3 hosted by Shah Rukh could not connect to audience as well as KBC 2 hosted by Amitabh. He adds, ?Considering that Zee had almost closed in on Star in TRPs this February and Star?s Saas-bahu soaps have been seeing shaky TRPs, Star Plus must be pinning all its hopes around KAPPSTH . Undoubtedly curiosity will bring audience to get a good opening for KAPPSTH but viewership sustainability remains to be seen.?