MUMBAI: The television channel share pattern in the skies of God's own country is a near replica of the way the state's top political rivals, the Congress lead UDF and the CPI (M) lead LDF, stand in the popularity charts - neck and neck!

While the latest exit polls from the state predict near 50-50 gains for UDF and LDF, the latest TAM figures (CS 4+) on the channel share from the combined Kerala market show that both Surya and Asianet are tied at 41%.

In the combined Kerala market, TAM ratings indicate that both Asianet and Surya are tied at 41% and Asianet news stands at 5%. Kairali TV and Jeevan TV stands at 9% and 3% respectively.In the 0.1-1 million market, Asianet tops the charts with 41% closely followed by Surya TV with 40%. In the region, Asianet News has 7% and Kairali TV has 9% channel share while the relatively new Jeevan TV is far behind with 3% share, according to the TAM data.

It is Surya TV who has got an edge over Asianet in the 1+ million markets. Surya TV has 43% channel share while Asianet has 42% and Asianet News has 3%. Kairali TV has 9% and Jeevan TV has 3% channel share in this region.

Asianet's horror saga Kadamattathu Kathanar has topped the list for the one week ending May 1 with an average weekly TVR of 20 while Surya's Sthreejanmam, which stands second, has a score of 12.5 TVR. Asianet's new serial Megham has also made it into the top spot with TVR 12.18.

In the closely fought segment of comedy programmes, Asianet's Comedy Show has managed to find a place in the TAM charts with a TVR of 11.79. Quite surprisingly, Surya's Comedy Time, which is their answer to Asianet's Comedy Show, has failed to find a place in the week's ratings. At the same time, Surya's relatively new comedy-oriented show Savari Giri Giri is present in the charts with TVR 8.56.