The changing landscape of news and sports broadcasting on TV

Authored by Ritu Dhawan, Managing Director, India TV.

Television broadcasting, especially in news has changed a lot lately due to new technologies like Mixed Reality (MR) and advanced graphics. These changes offer great marketing opportunities for news organizations because they help them connect with their audience in most engaged manner. MR makes interactions more engaging by creating experiences that gains more viewers’ attention. A survey conducted by Deloitte revealed that 78% of viewers reported feeling more positively towards a brand after experiencing MR-enhanced content.

For news, MR lets journalists take viewers right into the middle of breaking stories, making the news more understandable and engaging. This technology has the power to help people understand complex issues better. News broadcasters can create virtual news sets that look and feel real. Instead of traditional studio backgrounds, anchors appear to be reporting from different locations, providing a dynamic and visually appealing backdrop for the news. News networks are also using MR to make their coverage more interactive, which keeps viewers engaged.

During election coverage, MR can be used to create interactive charts and graphs that show polling data and demographic trends, helping viewers make sense of the information. For example, during a story about a natural disaster, news networks can use MR to take viewers on a virtual tour of the affected area, providing a firsthand look at the devastation. During a story about historical events, AR can be used to overlay archival footage onto present-day locations, giving viewers a sense of how things have changed over time watching for longer.

The integration of MR and graphics technology has revolutionized television broadcasting, offering immersive experiences, enhancing storytelling capabilities, and increasing audience engagement in news content. In upcoming Lok Sabha elections 2024, India TV has planned to bring up better essence of MR reality in more modified and better way to make our audience experience more engaging.

According to Nielsen, viewers who engage with MR elements during live events (Election Live) exhibit longer viewing durations, with an average increase of 20% in watch time. Some news networks, like India TV, have integrated augmented reality (AR) into their coverage of major News events, offering viewers interactive storytelling experiences. Furthermore, Research conducted by media analytics firm ComScore found that broadcasts incorporating MR elements experienced a 15% increase in viewer retention compared to broadcasts without MR. Graphics and visualizations powered by MR have transformed how news are presented on television.