In the top 50 highest rated episodes, Colors dominated with 14 shows in the top 15 slots. All 14 are episodes of the channel’s hit soaps such as Uttaran, Balika Vadhu and Na Aana Is Des Laado. Only two episodes of Colors’ much talked about reality show, Bigg Boss, clocked enough ratings to figure towards the end in the top 50.

“Bigg Boss is getting us a lot of buzz and is bringing in new audiences. We use that opportunity to peak the story lines on our other shows, so that even the viewers who had dropped off the channel, come right back and stay glued to those shows. Bigg Boss is averaging about 3-3.5 GRPs, which is a lot of growth over last season, when it averaged at 2.5 GRPs. I think a healthy mix of fiction and non-fiction content is working for us,” said Colors CEO Rajesh Kamat.

Sony TV and NDTV Imagine followed Star Plus, with 151 and 129 GRPs, respectively.

“It remains to be seen if they (Colors) can stabilize this lead,” said Shubha George, COO, South Asia at Mediaedge:cia, a media planning agency that is part of the WPP Group. “I think the days of one channel having a clear lead are gone. May be two of the top three will be together. Both Zee and Star have fought competition and come back in the past so I wouldn’t write them off. Star hasn’t been able to crack the reality genre of late. That must worry them,” she added.

A Star India spokesperson did not comment for this story.