Kyunki's return: Can reboots breathe new life into TV's prime time?

With Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi delivering record-breaking viewership on its comeback, and other classics like CID also returning, broadcasters are doubling down on nostalgia-driven reboots to revive engagement among linear TV audiences.

- Lata Jha

While some attempts, such as Sarabhai vs Sarabhai, failed to strike a chord in the past, experts remain divided on how far nostalgia, combined with fresh storylines and characters, can help fiction TV regain viewership in an era where audience engagement continues to wane.

Ekta Kapoor's Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi clocked 1.6 billion minutes of watch time across Star Plus and JioHotstar in its first week, drawing 31.1 million viewers on TV and millions more online. According to JioStar, it became the biggest-ever fiction launch on both platforms.

Sumanta Bose, head of cluster, entertainment (Star Plus and Bharat, Bengali, Marathi and Gujarati), at JioStar, said, "The return of