Original programming helps TV viewership bounce back
This includes 24% growth in the Hindi-speaking markets and 17% in the south. Daily average reach is also 7% higher than pre-covid days
Television viewership in India improved as compared to the past few weeks as original programming, both fiction and non-fiction, have returned to the small screen. In the last report released by Broadcast Audience Research Council in July, TV viewership had seen a slump at 15% growth compared to its peak lockdown growth of 43%. But as new episodes came back to TV with shooting having been resumed, the viewership climbed up to 22%.
This includes 24% growth in the Hindi-speaking markets and 17% in the south. Daily average reach is also 7% higher than pre-covid days.
The findings are part of the 11th report by television monitoring agency BARC and data measurement firm Nielsen. BARC and Nielsen have taken January as the pre-covid period and compared it to data in mid-August.
Viewership for prime-time slots are up by 3% as compared to pre-covid but down by 7% as compared to the peak of the lockdown when most people were at home. BARC executives said current TV viewership is a reflection of both the economy opening up, people stepping out and fresh content being available again. Average daily time spent on television is 13% higher than pre-covid, a rise from 6% in July, while the number of channels watched per viewer per week is stable at 19.
GECs (general entertainment channels) continue to command 52% of the viewership pie while movies and news, the two genres that had benefited from the pandemic now make up 24% and 9% as compared to 29% and 21% respectively. Hindi GECs, in particular, have notched up 4% higher viewing minutes on prime-time as compared to pre-covid and 6% higher cumulative reach.
Further, as far as specific news events go, Prime Minister Narendra Modis’ address to the nation on Independence Day garnered 4.6 billion viewing minutes, higher than all his previous addresses. With 133 million viewers, however, it lagged behind some lockdown announcements.
The onset of original programming has also meant the return of advertisers. TV has seen a 36% increase in brand count in August as compared to the peak of the lockdown. Upcoming sporting events such as the Indian Premier League are expected to further help the advertising economy.
Video streaming and smartphone usage also show expected surge. In 2020, video streaming forms 25% of total TV usage among streaming-capable homes, as compared to 16% in 2019. One-fourth of the total time spent on streaming comes from the 55 plus category—a 37% increase in their contribution.
“There has been a complete behavioural change with OTT content viewing now having turned into an event," Sudish Balan, chief business officer at Tonic Worldwide, a digital-first creative agency had said in an earlier interview to Mint adding that now streaming content is being watched by people as old as 55 plus bringing them into the fold of what was considered a medium for the young.
Daily time spent on smartphones now stands at 3 hours 14 minutes with usage of online education, fitness, trading and video conferencing apps on the rise. As far as Bollywood’s direct-to-digital releases go, Sushant Singh Rajput’s Dil Bechara tops the chart.
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