Ramayan
Did
NOT
Set
A
World
Record!
As
per
Livemint's
report,
the
final
episode
of
the
classic
American
series
M*A*S*H
("Goodbye,
Farewell
and
Amen")
on
February
28,
1983
had
grabbed
nearly
106
million
viewers,
which
is
considerably
more
than
Ramayan's
April
16th
(2020)
episode.
According
to
the
report,
Doordarshan
based
its
claim
(of
Ramayan
doing
better
than
other
shows
in
the
world)
based
on
a
report
on
Glance,
titled
'One
TV
Year
in
the
World'.
But
what
the
channel
didn't
observe
was
that
the
report
on
Glance
was
only
for
the
year
2018
and
did
not
include
the
shows
were
before
this
period
or
after
it.
M*A*S*H
Had
Made
106
Million
Viewers
Record!
Although
Ramayan's
April
16's
viewership
(77m)
beating
Game
of
Thrones
(17.4m)
and
The
Big
Bang
Theory's
(18m)
viewership
is
true,
it
hasn't
beaten
M*A*S*H's
106
million
viewers,
that
was
recorded
on
February
28,
1983.
But
again,
GoT
finale
did
not
hold
the
record
for
second-highest-viewed
TV
episode
of
all
time.
BARC
Has
No
Idea
On
What
Basis
Doordarshan
Made
Its
World
Record
Claim!
Broadcast
Audience
Research
Centre
(BARC)
also
claimed
that
it
has
no
idea
on
what
basis
Doordarshan
made
its
world
record
claim.
The
Chief
operating
officer
of
BARC,
Romil
Ramgarhia
was
quoted
by
the
portal
as
saying,
"We
hadn't
even
mentioned
Game
of
Thrones.
They
might
have
got
that
data
from
somewhere
else."
More
Than
200
Million
People
Tuned
Into
Ramayan
During
Lockdown!
Meanwhile,
the
CEO
of
Prasar
Bharti,
Shashi
Shekhar
Vempatti
stood
by
the
'world
record'.
He
said
in
a
text
message
to
the
portal,
"We
know
for
a
fact
that
several
more
have
watched
outside
the
TV
ratings
universe
through
mobile
TV
services
that
stream
DD
Channels
such
as
JioTV,
Mxplayer,
etc.
When
we
look
at
the
series
as
a
whole,
more
than
200
million
people
tuned
into
Ramayan
during
the
course
of
lockdown."
Shashi
Shekhar
Vempatti
Says…
When
asked
how
does
it
compare
to
the
record
made
by
M*A*S*H,
he
said,
"I
would
not
read
much
into
the
record
aspect
beyond
underscoring
how
families
came
together
during
the
lockdown
to
re-experience
the
epic
in
an
unprecedented
manner
and
that
the
public
broadcaster
was
effective
in
its
role
in
keeping
Indians
‘Stay
Home
Stay
Safe.'"