India ratings: ‘Bigg Boss’ opens up averagely

he new series of the Indian version of ‘Big Brother’ has opened up with an average figure on Colors.

According to data from aMap, the overnight ratings agency, ‘Bigg Boss’s’ launch episode aired on Sunday 4th October generated an average television rating point (TRP) of just 3.

This is not only less than what media agencies had anticipated, but also lower than the opening ratings of other popular reality shows, those that are running or have just concluded.

The first-episode ratings of reality shows like ‘Rakhi Ka Swayamvar’ on NDTV Imagine (TRP of 3.7), ‘Aap Ki Kachehri’ anchored by ex-policewoman Kiran Bedi for the second season (TRP of 3.4) and Akshay Kumar-anchored reality show ‘Khatron Ke Khiladi-2’, also on Colors, was at 3.

However, aMap says the ratings of ‘Bigg Boss 3’ are double those of ‘Bigg Boss 2’ last year when actor Shilpa Shetty was the anchor, or ‘Bigg Boss 1’, which aired on Sony Entertainment Television Asia three years ago.

Colors was quick to defend ‘Bigg Boss 3’ ratings. Talking to Business Standard, a spokesman said, “The first episode was for nearly one-and-half hours compared to some other shows so the comparison with a 45-minute show is not fair. If aMap data shows a TRP of 3, it will be higher when the TAM numbers come out.”

Only time will tell how ‘Bigg Boss’ is performing when official data from TAM releases next week.