NEW DELHI: Hindi news channels Zee News may not rank very high on the "media noise" quotient but that is not to say it is out of the reckoning in the ratings stakes.

Quoting recent TAM data, an official release claims that daytime viewers spent more time on Zee News than on its rivals (source TAM week ending 12 June, All India, TG C&S AB Male 25+, TB - 6 am to 5:59 p.m.). In terms of channel shares Zee News is ahead of NDTV, Star News and DD News, the release states.

Zee News' coverage of planet Venus' rare transit across the sun - Shukra Hai Suraj Hai, made it the first choice of the viewers with a leading channel share of 3.84, ahead of Aaj Tak (3.64,) Star News (2.7), NDTV India (1.94), Sahara Samay (1.04), DD News (.76) (source TAM 8 June, All India, C&S AB M 25+ TB - 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.), the release states.

As regards the venus transit, Zee News asserts leadership in time spends as well. Viewers spent 27 minutes on Zee News as against Star News' 18 minutes, Aaj Tak's 16 Minutes, NDTV India's 13 Minutes and DD News' 11 minutes. Zee News covered the Venus transit from a specially created studio, with reporting from across the country including the observatory in Nainital and from Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi and other regional centers, the release says.

Among the channel's other big stories was anchor Ashok Singhal's exclusive interview with former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee that led to a churning within the BJP. Zee News also claims to have had the lead on its rivals vis-a-vis its coverage of last week's Matsyagandha Express rail tragedy.