Kyunki… to end, High Court says no stay

STAR has decided to scrap the serial following a drop in its television rating points between July and September. Ekta Kapoor, head of Balaji Telefilms, had moved the court last week, seeking a stay to the termination notice.

Balaji’s counsel Ram Jethmalani argued that the agreement stated that the show would run at least up to March 2009. He contended that STAR did not fulfil its obligation to promote the serial through advertising.

The agreement had been modified in August, allowing STAR to end the serial if its TRP should fall by 20 per cent since June 2008. But Jethmalani argued that when the contract was modified, the TRP was already 28 per cent down, so the benchmark TRP should be the one in August, and not that in June 2008. STAR’s counsel Ravi Kadam, on the other hand, submitted that the agreement specified that the June TRP was the benchmark, and it had fallen over 20 per cent since then.

Kadam argued, “The programme has outlived its life.” He added that the serial has to be taken off the air as the channel was losing viewers on the prime time slot to other channels.

Balaji gets Rs 27 lakh per episode. But STAR, Kadam said, would be a “bigger loser” if serial continued because the channel was losing out on advertising revenue.

Kadam said if at all STAR was at fault, the arbitration panel, to which the dispute will be referred soon, can award damages to Balaji eventually. Both parties have agreed to appoint arbitration panel if dispute arose.

Jethmalani denied that the serial was losing its pull. According to him, “A recent television audience measurement (TAM) report shows that the serial is in the top ten.”

However, the judge agreed with STAR’s stand, saying that prima facie Balaji could not be given any relief.

Kyunki… has been the forerunner among Saas-Bahu dramas on television for the last eight years.