Hindi GECs attain all-time high viewership of 4 bn since 2015 in HSM Urban

BARC India and Nielsen Media have jointly released the 4^th Edition of their report on “Crisis Consumption on TV and Smartphones”. In Week 14, total TV consumption increased by 38 per cent at all-India level, while weekly viewing minutes were up 38 per cent over the pre-Covid-19 period [Week 2 to Week 4 (Jan 11-31)] at 1.2 trillion minutes. The number of people watching TV for all seven days of the week rose to 47 per cent.

Viewership growth was registered among all demographics, as viewership of male, young and ‘NCCS A’ audiences continued to grow in Week 14.

As far as genres were concerned, News and Movies continued to grow in Week 14, with News registering a growth of 219 per cent, followed by Movies at 73 per cent and Business News at 66 per cent.

Meanwhile, Hindi GECs attained an all-time high viewership with 4 billion impressions since 2015 at HSM Urban in Week 14, growing 26 per cent.

Non-prime time is still the driver for TV viewership growth in Week 14, registering 76 per cent growth at All-India, compared to 5 per cent growth of prime time. Rural India growth is driven by non-prime time only. Prime time in urban market has grown by 10 per cent, while rural market is stable.

In HSM, movie viewership has been surpassed/ equalised with GECs in corresponding markets. However, unlike HSM, GEC maintains its share and continued to rule across the 4 South markets of Andhra Pradesh/ Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu/ Pondicherry and Kerala.

The previous editions of the BARC-Nielsen had shown how the re-telecast of old classics on Doordharshan as well as some other GECs has got tremendous traction. The trend continues in Week 14 as well. The percentage of duplication for ‘Ramayan’ on DD National was the highest among all Hindi GEC shows. The report reveals that 22 per cent kids are watching ‘Ramayan’ with their grandparents/ senior person at home.

Meanwhile, the return of ‘Mahabharat’ has changed the viewer profile of DD Bharati, with viewership contribution from NCCS A shooting up to 43 per cent. DD Bharati is now among Top 5 Hindi GEC channels. 25 per cent kids are watching ‘Mahabharat’ with their grandparents/ senior person at home.

Key Highlights of Week 4 of lockdown:

Considerations:

1. COVID-19 is taking the most mind space with ~40% of top 100 Google searches last week being in COVID and 1 in 8 consumers accessing the AAROGYA SETU app 
2. PM’s address on Lockdown extension garnered 4 Bn viewing minutes - the highest of the 4 addresses on COVID-19 
3. TV consumptions grows 38% over pre-COVID period now at 2 Trillion minutes
4. Hindi GEC attains all time High Viewership of 4 Bn since 2015 inHSM Urban this week
5. Movies show an increase across HSM, while GEC maintains share and continues to lead in South markets
6. Top 5 content for digital audiences is a mix of Fiction, History, Mythology and Supernatural
7. Premium audiences on Digital clock remarkable growth in time spent on News, Chat, Fitness and Streaming
8. The News franchise on Digital is close to 50% now (+25% over PreCovid period) - Video News consumption shows a huge growth of 75% over the PreCovid period
9. COVID Lockdown  gives a big fillip to Education Apps , Surge by 30%+
10. Overall FCT on TV drops by 26% over the PreCovid period- however a 142% increase seen in FCT for Social Ads - Digital ads also showing a slowdown in last week