As BARC data for News channels resumes, tussle for No. 1 spot begins again

BARC India has started publishing data for News channels from today (March 17, 2022), after a gap of one and a half years. With this, the long pending demand of a large section of news broadcasters is now met.

With the resumption of ratings, what has also returned is the tussle for the top spot, especially in the English News and Hindi News genres.

Prior to the suspension of news channel ratings by BARC, there was an intense battle between Republic TV and Times Now for the numero uno spot. Republic TV has been positioned as the No. 1 English News channel since its launch in 2017. Times Now has been placed in the second spot.

Times Now

 Now, citing BARC India data for Week 10 of 2022 (March 5-11), Times Now in a release issued stated that it has emerged as the Number 1 English News Channel. The news channel had a 30% share as against its competitor Republic TV with 27% share. Closely following were India Today TV and CNN News18 with 14% and 13% share, respectively.

MK Anand, MD & CEO, Times Network, commented, “We are happy to note that our efforts to keep up with changing consumer preferences have been reciprocated by viewers. Times Now has seen a marked increase in Reach and Time Spent and our Gross Ratings has increased by 20%, vis-a-vis our performance in 2020 when the ratings were suspended. With renewed consumer appetite for news, the comparative ratings have been shaken up with Times Now shining as the true leader. Our Reach has increased across the Universal TG of 2+, which is an indicator of good health. Besides this, we are stronger in Prime Time than before, and are also showing a marked preference by the reigning TG of 15-60 years.”

Republic TV

On the other hand, Republic TV has claimed that it is 200% greater than the No. 2 channel, Times Now. Republic TV further stated that it dominated the super primetime band with a 44% share of the viewership. It also claimed that across India, Republic TV’s viewership was 270% greater than India Today, and 330% greater than CNN-News18.

Source - BARC India | Target Group:-NCCS 15+ | Period:- WK.10'22 | Market:- India | Days:- All Days

 

Commenting on the wide gap between Republic and the competition, Arnab Goswami, Editor-in-Chief, Republic Media Network, said, “We are 200% bigger than any other channel in the English News Genre. That is unmatched dominance. In Hindi, with Republic Bharat we have become the leading channel much ahead of AajTak in the most critical slots. In Bangla, we have created history by a thundering entry. We have become No. 1, beating ABP Ananda in primetime, which was the leading channel there. Today, with pride I can say that Republic is the largest News Network in India.”

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