Q4 2021 records highest ad volumes since 2019 with bumper festive spike: BARC

The year 2021 saw a bounce-back with an impressive 22% growth in ad volumes over 2020, garnering 1,824 million seconds ad volumes, as per BARC Think Report – December 2021. The year 2021 closed on a high with a 25% growth in December 2021 Ad Volumes over 2019.

Over 4,000 brands advertised on television in December 2021, which also witnessed 19% new advertisers and brands on TV. E-commerce, BFSI, Retail & Textiles witnessed the sharpest growth over previous years, which was more than 40% over 2019. Corporate/ Brand Image was up 42% over 2020.

Reflecting on the last quarter growth, Aaditya Pathak, Head – Client Partnership & Revenue Function, BARC India, said, “Post a rollercoaster ride in 2020 on account of the pandemic and lockdown, 2021 was a strong positive year for the broadcast industry. We witnessed increased attention from marketers towards television, across languages, while welcoming new brands to the medium throughout the year. Ad Volumes for digital native and e-commerce brands indicate that marketers continued to bet on television to establish stronger relationships and effective communication with their consumers. With a total of 155 million seconds of advertising volumes in December 2021, we can say with optimism that the broadcast industry ended 2021 on an encouraging note.”

December 2021 Highlights:

December 2021 recorded a total of 155 mn seconds of Ad Volumes, 25% higher than December 2019
Of 2,524 advertisers and 4,104 brands, there were 19% new advertisers and brands on TV in December 2021
Ecommerce, BFSI, Retail and Textiles sectors independently registered over 40% growth each when compared to December 2019
Ad Volumes for Corporate/ Brand Image category surged by 42% over December 2020
Ad Volumes on Hindi language channels continued to grow consistently with 15% and 22% growth over December 2020 and 2019 respectively
Ad Volumes for English language channels recovered with a 15% growth over December 2020
Ad Volumes for Bhojpuri language channelswitnessedhighest growth with 120% over December 2019 while Punjabi increased by 83% over December 2019
Oriya and Assamese Ad Volumes also recorded an impressive 50% growth over December 2019, while Marathi channels Ad Volumes grew by 47% as compared to December 2019
Advertisers beyond the Top 50 enhanced their presence on TV with 30% and 26% growth over December 2020 and 2019, respectively

Q4 2021 Highlights:

Q4 2021 showcased stronger growth than Q4 2020 and Q4 2019
Q4 2021 recorded 489 mn seconds of Ad Volumes, registering 27% growth over Q4 2019 and 6% over Q4 2020
Brands across BFSI, Ecommerce, Corporate/Brand Image and Personal Accessories categories led this growth in Q4 2021 over Q4 2019
Ad Volumes on South language channels, that is, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada, registered 25% growth in Q4 2021 over Q4 2019