Aaj Tak garners 33 crore reach during the lockdown weeks

News and Movies genres continued to grow in Week 15, with News reporting a 185 per cent growth and Business News witnessing an 82 per cent growth. News & Movie consumption share has surged and now operate at a higher level. As per the 5^th edition of the BARC-Nielsen report, News stays strong in HSM, with over 200 per cent growth in Week 15 over the pre-COVID-19 period [Week 2 to Week 4 (11 Jan to 31 Jan)].

Hindi News

As per BARC data for Week 15 (Saturday, 11th April 2020 to Friday, 17th April 2020), AajTak continues its unbroken run as the numero uno channel in the Hindi News genre, garnering a gross viewership of 350,766(000) [HSM (U+R) : NCCS All : 15+ Individuals]. This is a dip from 372,688(000) recorded in Week 14.

ABP News follows at No. 2 with a gross viewership of 267,044(000), which is also a dip from 295,264(000) recorded last week. Same is the story with the other top 5 Hindi News channels, which have also seen a slide in their gross viewership this week, as compared to Week 14.

India TV is placed third in Week 15 with gross viewership of 249,898(000), down from 283,103(000) recorded last week. Republic Bharat follows in the fourth spot with a gross viewership of 244,655(000), compared to 272,602(000) recorded in Week 15. With a gross viewership of 242,763(000), Zee News is placed at the fifth spot. The channel had garnered a gross viewership of 270,066(000) in Week 14.

In terms of reach, AajTak garnered 33 crore reach during the lockdown weeks so far [BARC, India, 2+, W12-W15’20, Cum Reach in Cr]. The channel has registered a cumulative reach of 227,121(000) in Week 15 [BARC, India, 2+, W12-W15’20, Average Weekly reach in 000s]. ABP News follows at No. 2 with a cumulative reach of 204,349(000). The two news channels top the Hindi language space, ahead of Hindi movie channels. Republic Bharat is placed 6^th with a cumulative reach of 191,435(000).

The March 14, 2020 lockdown-2 Announcement Speech by the Prime Minister on AajTak is top rated slot in News Television History. (Previous top slot was Prime Minister’s Speech lockdown-1 announcement and Air Force officer Abhinandan Varthaman’s Return from Pakistan). [BARC, HSM, 15+, 14th March’20, 1000-1030 Gross Imp ’000s]