BARC Wk 33 News: Republic Bharat is new No. 1

After being in the second spot for the last two weeks, Republic Bharat overtook Aaj Tak to claim the numero uno position among Hindi News channels, as per BARC data for Week 33 (Saturday, 15th August 2020 to Friday, 21st August 2020). The channel garnered a gross viewership of 223,101(000), a further increase from 197,780(000) recorded last week. The channel has been relentlessly covering the Sushant Singh Rajput death case over the last few weeks, which has helped the channel gain huge traction.

Commenting on the channel’s performance, Arnab Goswami, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Republic Media Network, told Adgully, “Republic Bharat has redefined the Hindi news market and is more closer to the Hindi heartland than any other news brand. We have delivered on our promise to be a 100 per cent news channel that has national interest at the core of its offering. We are constantly pushing hard on delivering the most detailed and incisive news which is unparalleled. We don’t want to dilute our brand by focusing on astrology, saas-bahu, entertainment and viral videos to build the channel. We are delivering performance and impact and that’s a combination that no other news brand can offer.”

Also read:
We’ve redefined rules of Hindi journalism & people are loving it: Arnab Goswami

Meanwhile, Aaj Tak slipped a notch to No. 2, after being the leader in this genre for several consecutive months. However, the channel saw an increase in its gross viewership to 200,678(000), from 199,284(000) recorded in Week 32.

India TV, which had slid a notch to No. 4 last week, climbed up a notch to be back at No. 3 in Week 33, garnering a gross viewership of 159,136(000), a decline from 166,196(000) recorded in Week 32.

On the other hand, TV9 Bharatvarsh slid a notch to the fourth position in Week 33. The channel registered a gross viewership of 151,856(000), as against 169,068(000) recorded last week.

News18 India remained unchanged at No. 5 with a gross viewership of 138,001(000), a decline from 143,760(000) recorded in Week 33.

English News

Republic TV further widened the gap with Times Now at No. 1. Republic TV reported a gross viewership of 7,069(000), while Times Now’s gross viewership stood at 3,318(000) in Week 33.

DD India remained at No. 3 with a gross viewership of 1,845(000), while CNN News18 followed at No. 4 with a gross viewership of 1,755(000). India Today Television was placed in the fifth spot, garnering a gross viewership of 1,103(000).