Despite the onslaught of the the Indian Premier League, top Hindi soaps seem to be holding their own against it and several myths have been broken.

There was a time when people believed the IPL season meant an eclipse for the the General Entertainment Channels (GECs) slowing their advertising revenues down.

According the industry insiders no sleep is lost over the assault of the T20 league on the daily soaps during these weeks and their viewership loyalty does not seem to have taken a hit.

It was considered that Lalit Modi's IPL is a bigger attraction than the top shows on Hindi GECs, but if raw data is to be believed it is found that the TVRs (Television Ratings) of IPL09, IPL10, Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai (YRKKH) on Star Plus and Pavitra Rishta on Zee TV (in 2009) during the same period are 4.3, 4.8, 6.1 and 4.6 respectively.

Other shows like Balika Vadhu on Colors and Bidayi on Star Plus also boast TVR ratings of 5.3 and 5.2 respectively during the same period in 2009.

If loyalty is to be considered, measured in Time Shift Viewing (TSV), it is found that in every 30 minutes of TSV, the scores of IPL09, IPL10, Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai and Pavitra Rishta (in 2009), remain as 14.6, 14.9, 16.9 and 15.6.

Last year the situation was a bit grim, but industry players attribute that to the economic slowdown rather than the assault of the cricket tournament.

This year both the auto sector and the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industries are looking at higher advertising spends and have bought slots over GECs as well.

One interesting thing to note is that it is a general conception the IPL attracts significantly more male viewers than the daily soaps, but according to the figures, it is found that the difference is not that gargantuan as one would expect.

With IPL 2010 scoring a 35.8 in 2010, YRKKH and Pavitra Rishta scored 34.9 and 31.7 respectively during the same period in 2009 among male viewers in terms of cumulative reach (in millions).

Even the advertising revenues don't seem to have taken a dip due to IPL fever. With significantly lower rates and good loyalty, investing in Hindi GECs seems to be working out for advertisers.

While a ten second slot during the IPL would cost approximately Rs 10 lakh, the same duration advertisement on a GEC prime time slot would cost around Rs 1.2 to 2 lakhs. With rates lower by up to five-six times according to some industry estimates, Hindi soaps remain a safe bet among the advertisers.

Busting some myths, it has been found that Hindi daily soaps deliver up to 30% higher TVRs than IPL and that loyalty to soaps continues to be strong even during the IPL season.

Perhaps the viewing habits of the men have raised the most eyebrows with the figures the figures pointing to the fact that men remain as committed to soaps as to cricket and that the cumulative reach of the top shows equal that of the T20 cricket league.