'Our aim was to reach out to the youth through Mahabharat and with online receiving good traction, we have succeeded in our attempt.' The Mahabharat ratings have taken Star Plus overall viewership numbers to 534569 TVTs (53.4 million viewers), while Colors, the No. 2 player in the Hindi General Entertainment genre is a distant No. 2 with 479,902 TVTs (47.9 million viewers). Unlike most marquee properties for which broadcasters charge a premium for a 10-second ad spot, Star Plus chose to go with its usual 10-second rate of Rs 2 lakh to 2.5 lakh for Mahabharat.
Given the ratings, advertisers should expect a rise in ad rates. A 10-second ad spot on Sony TV's Kaun Banega Crorepati costs Rs 5 lakh to Rs 6 lakh.