Team SRK gets Eyeballs Maximus

Shah Rukh Khan's Kolkata Knight Riders might have lost the crucial match to Mumbai Indians at Eden Gardens, but the team still managed to emerge as winners.

His team got over 18.5 million eyeballs across India, which makes it the highest DLF IPL viewership ever, according to Audience Measurement and Analytics Ltd's overnight TV audience measurement system, aMap.

While this is not the first time that SRK's team has managed to get all this attention, what makes it even more interesting is that it's Shah Rukh Khan who is the vital link between IPL and his reality show Kya Aaap Paanchvi Paas Se Tez Hain.

It was a programme that was expected to lure viewers away from the Indian Premier League. But the verdict at least from aMap is out.

IPL is still the King, garnering an average rating of four per cent versus a 2.8 per cent for Paanchvi Paas on the opening night of the game show.

"IPL got 15 million viewership that day and it was a mere 9 million for Paanchvi Pass," said Jiniti Shah, Head, Client Services, aMap.

There seems to be one clear winner in all this, SRK who's brand equity has just sky rocketed.

According to market experts his market value has risen by 25-30 per cent post the DLF IPL and Paanchvi Paas launch.

"SRK is self made, he embodies the notion of the market, the glitter, the allure and the fact that everything is possible," said Santosh Desai, CEO & MD, Future Brands.

There's a reason why brand gurus say celebrity endorsements are critical for instant brand success-at least in India. And a perfect example of this is SRK.

He's endorsed the maximum number of brands in 2007- and is also the most recalled celebrity brand ambassador- ahead even of Amitabh Bachchan! Shah Rukh Khan epitomises every Indian's dream and in this case also every brand that is associated with him.

NDTV