MUMBAI: Aaj Tak continues to reign supreme in the Hindi news channel stakes but the challenge posed by NDTV India is getting stiffer. On budget day - 8 July - Aaj Tak maintained its leadership position with a channel share of 32 per cent (CS4+ Hindi Speaking markets) for the whole day ahead of NDTV India, which notched up a market share of 29 per cent.
Looking at the whole day (9 am to 10 pm) however, both Aaj Tak and NDTV India were neck and neck at 31 per cent as far as channel share was concerned.
Star News, DD News and Zee News had a market share of 10 per cent each on 8 July in the above mentioned market for the whole day part. Whereas Sahara Samay managed a market share of 8 per cent.
According to Tam data, Aaj Tak and NDTV India were neck and neck with 31% market share on 8 July (Union budget) in the CS4+ Hindi speaking market during the whole day part    According to Tam, Aaj Tak gathers 32% market share on 8 July in the CS4+ Hindi speaking market between 9 am to 10 pm, whereas NDTV India manages 29% market share in the same market
On the day of the Railway budget (6 July), however, Aaj Tak had a solid lead over rival NDTV India by 12 per cent with a market share of 34 per cent. NDTV India was second in line among the Hindi news channels with a market share of 22 per cent. Star News gathered a market share of 14 per cent, followed closely behind by DD News with 13 per cent.
According to Tam data, on 6 July (Railway budget) Aaj Tak's market share was 34 per cent whereas that of NDTV India was 22 per cent in the CS4+ Hindi speaking market during the whole day part
According to an official release issued by Aaj Tak, its live and exclusive interview with the Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav on the day of the Railway budget pushed its market share to a phenomenal 54 per cent during that time.
Commenting on the channel's performance, Aaj Tak's marketing manager Rajesh Sheshadri was quoted in the release as saying, "Whenever there is an event of great importance, the nation tunes into the nations best news channel. We understand the needs of today's viewers and provide them with in-depth programming. Right from the policy-makers strategy to the common mans perspective - Aaj Tak was able to provide a complete picture of the budget."