Aaj Tak dominates digital + linear reach with 343.07 mn: Chrome Data Analytics Report

A large percentage of India's population is comprised of younger audiences. The region has therefore been driven by a mega market of primary internet consumers. The ever-growing use of smart devices and the fast-reducing data costs are a direct result of the increasing internet penetration along with the availability of 3G and 4G services. 

Moving away from the TV and other multi-level schemes and towards digital channels is how Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) models are advancing quickly. These business strategies can sell, market, and distribute their services without going through the usual gatekeepers since they have direct access to clients. As a result, services can be provided at a lower cost and with more ease, giving them an advantage over traditional channels that impose middlemen between their services and their customers.

While broadcast TV still has a huge audience at scale and is very effective, stakeholders must adjust their marketing strategies to take advantage of the impending digital renaissance. Incremental reach provides a distinct audience that engages with OTT platforms in addition to the audience exposed to linear TV campaigns, rather than only differentiating between TV and internet watching. In some instances, the additional reach across all platforms for the "News genre," for instance, is almost as high as 60% of linear broadcasts. Because the actual reach of content is substantially bigger than the usually reported linear broadcast, incremental reach is essential for advertisers and publishers to analyze and assess.

Live Content (News): Cable + Digital

When it comes to Live content (News), Aaj Tak dominates overall reach with 343.07 million individuals, which translates to a reach of  29.21% across all end points, that is, digital and linear, as per Chrome data. The report further reveals that Aaj Tak ranks on top in digital reach at 12.43%, with 145.95 million individuals having access to the content. YouTube dominates the digital medium by targeting over 112.12 million viewers.

Linear (C&S)

With 1456 channels beaming into Indian homes, there are two primary factors that impact consumption:

1. Content
2. Distribution

Opportunity To See or OTS determines the amount of exposure or opportunities at which a particular audience can see a certain content. 

Pay OTS

Aaj Tak ranks first in the Pay OTS category across the Hindi News genre at 89.7% connectivity (availability) in TV households, factoring the off-take of packages across all reported distribution platforms in urban HSM.

CNN-News18 ranks first in the Pay OTS category across the English News genre at 78.0% connectivity (availability) in TV households factoring the off-take of packages across all reported distribution platforms in urban India.

Free-to-air (FTA) OTS

India TV ranks first in the FTA OTS category across the Hindi News genre at 99.83% connectivity (availability) in TV households across all reported distribution platforms in urban HSM.

Republic TV ranks first in the FTA OTS category across the English News genre at 96.8% connectivity (availability) in TV households across all reported distribution platforms in urban India.

About Video Content Delivery, OTT services have gained a significant market cap owing to the rise of major players such as MX Player, Amazon Prime, Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar, and so on. As of 2023, the expansion of 4G bundled with the ever-growing access to internet services has thereby reduced the overall cost of digital services worldwide.

There has been a shift in gears in the market once again! With its focus on 'digital', the coin is sure to bring forth the long-promised online revolution.

The world is rapidly moving to digital, and rightly so - no wires, no cables, no geographic boundaries, and to a great extent no intermediaries. It is imperative that C&S be transitioned to digital in an equitable manner. To mark a reasonable transition for this industry, TV creatives on digital should be billed on ERs against CPMs.