BARC Wk 19 News: Aaj Tak leads Hindi News; India TV sees big gains

The share of News and Movies genres in overall TV viewership has started to stabilise, but continues to operate at higher levels. As per BARC data for Week 19 (Saturday, 9th May 2020 to Friday, 15th May 2020), Aaj Tak continues to lead the Hindi News genre, while Republic TV maintains its unbeaten run as the numero uno English News channel [All India (U+R) : NCCS All : 2+ Individuals].

Hindi News

Aaj Tak saw an increase in its gross viewership this week at 366,896(000), compared to 344,731(000) recorded in Week 18 [HSM (U+R) : NCCS All : 2+ Individuals].

Meanwhile, India TV, which was placed in the fifth spot in Week 18, moved up to the second spot this week, garnering a gross viewership of 247,635(000), as against 229,358(000) last week.

Zee News, too, saw gains in Week 19, reporting a gross viewership of 236,353(000), which pushed the channel up a notch to No. 3 from No. 4 last week. The channel had recorded a gross viewership of 231,835(000) in Week 18.

On the other hand, Republic Bharat slipped a couple of notches in Week 18 to move from No. 2 to No. 4, reporting a gross viewership of 230,501(000), as against 251,655(000) in Week 18.

ABP News, too, slipped a couple of notches – from the third spot in Week 18 to the fifth spot this week. The channel garnered a gross viewership of 229,844(000), compared to 236,660(000) recorded last week.

English News

Republic TV continued its unbroken hold on the numero uno position in the English News genre in Week 19 as well. The channel has seen a decline in its gross viewership this week too – from 4,594(000) in Week 18 to 3,941(000) this week.

On the other hand, placed in the second spot, Times Now saw a slight increase in its gross viewership this week at 2,905(000), compared to 2,619(000) last week. India Today Television remained unchanged in the third spot, garnering a gross viewership of 2,082(000), a decline from 2,540(000) reported in Week 18.

DD India climbed up a notch to No. 4 this week, buoyed by the Prime Minister’s fifth address to the nation during the COVID-19 times on May 12, 2020. The channel garnered a gross viewership of 1,817(000), which slightly higher than 1,417(000) recorded in Week 18.

On the other hand, CNN News18 slipped a notch to the fifth spot with a gross viewership of 1,725(000), as against 1,841(000) last week.