How Shashi Sinha reacted to News18 India’s ‘More reach than GECs’ campaign

When it comes to the consideration set of media planners, News channels have usually been taking a backseat to the GECs, which are showcased to deliver higher reach. This equation changed recently when BARC weekly data showed a news channel trumping some leading Hindi GECs to register higher viewership.

As per BARC data (Cume reach ‘000: HSM; All 15+; Avg. Wk 37-40’22), News18 India outperformed top general entertainment channels such as STAR Plus, Sony and Zee TV with a cumulative reach of 8.7 crore.

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This feat was mentioned by Shashi Sinha, CEO, IPG Mediabrands India, and Chairman, BARC India, at a panel discussion on ‘Future of News Industry’ at the NBF’s national conclave on Future of News, being held in Delhi today (October 21, 2022).

While talking about the News genre and its relevance for advertisers and media planners, Sinha, while not naming News18 India directly, referred to the campaign done by the channel stating that its reach is more than GECs. He said, “I thought it was very good for the industry. If you look at our planners’ point of view, today media is volume game.”

He noted that today the youngsters, with 10-12 years of experience, take the decisions and who are making the media plans. “For them news has become a share game. News is never part of a plan in terms of building a curve. What is the share of each of these news channels?” he asked, adding that the planners normally take 4 or 5 channels in a genre, be it in Hindi, English or other languages.

Referring to the campaign, Sinha further said, “I thought it was a very interesting way of waking up our teams and our client teams and saying that News can be a reach builder.”

“Whether or not I like the idea of them comparing with the GECs is a separate matter, but I thought it was a very interesting way of looking at things,” he added.

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