MUMBAI: For all those who have been wondering where regional channel Surya TV's primetime comedy programme Comedy Time has vanished, take note: it has been yanked off and is replaced with a comedy soap titled Ettu sundarikalum njanum (Eight beauties and me), which was having a good run in its previous slot as a weekend show.
Though the channel has been maintaining that Comedy Time has been taken off just for a change despite doing well, figures fail to back that theory.
"It is not that Comedy Time went down in the popularity charts. But everybody needs a change at times. The show had been going on for more than four years and now we have decided to replace it with something fresh, for a change," a Surya TV spokesperson told indiantelevision.com.
Still, the figures tell a different tale. The average television rating (TVR) of the show for the last four weeks, according to TAM (CS 4+ Kerala 1 million+ towns) stood at 0.83 per cent, while a rival show Comedy Show on Asianet recorded a superior 5.01 per cent during the same period.
Surya TV had been constantly changing the schedule of Comedy Time of late. Both Comedy Time and Asianet's Comedy Show were sharing the 10:00 pm slot until the former was shifted to the 10:30 pm slot. After some time, Iit was shifted to the 9:30 pm slot (approximately two months ago) before being taken off the air now.
The TAM figures of Comedy Time quoted above are of the 9:30 pm slot and it is evident that the programme couldn't do justice to the popular slot.
Talking to Indiantelevision.com, Comedy Time's star anchor Koottikkal Jayachandran said the decision was a collective one. When pointed out that a formal announcement regarding this was not made, he agreed that the audiences should have been informed about it.
He also expressed his ignorance about the 'decision' to telecast the final episode on 19 June.
Jayachandran, who won an award for best television anchor this year, has been taking up acting assignments in Malayalam films. His latest film, Freedom, is due for release this August.
Speaking about his future plans, he said he is currently ideating a show that will be co-produced by him. He revealed that he was in talks with some channels and would take some time to get it on air.
"Our aim is to come up with a different show altogether. So, naturally it is going to take some time," said Jayachandran.
Jayachandran was hopeful that he would be able to return to his viewers, who have made him what he is now, at the earliest.
