Trust & reliability of info is still why viewers tune into TV news channels: Pradeep Gupta

During the Karnataka exit poll elections, India Today Group channels Aaj Tak and India Today TV emerged as the leading Hindi and English news channels on YouTube Live on the results day, that is, May 10, 2023. The English news channel topped the charts with an average of 28.7K concurrent users and a peak of 37.9K concurrent users, while the Hindi news channel Aaj Tak was almost three times ahead of its competition, with an average of 75.3K concurrent users and a peak of 96.7K concurrent users during the two-hour telecast. This brings us to the undeniable impact of relevant content in driving channel viewership.

In this interaction with Adgully, Pradeep Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director, Axis My India, talks about the need for providing relevant content for driving channel viewership. Excerpts from the interview:

The remarkable success of Aaj Tak and India Today TV during the Karnataka Exit Poll elections brings to the fore the importance of content. Could you share your thoughts on the importance of relevant content in capturing the attention of audiences and driving channel viewership?

It is an old phrase by Bill Gates – ‘Content is King’, but it is still relevant and even more so in this age, where viewers have multiple mediums and channels to choose from, but with the same finite time at his/her disposal. What differentiates the final choice of which channel to watch is content. The content has to be meaningful and differentiated for the viewer. As far as the Exit Poll Day content on Aaj Tak was concerned, the quality and depth of exit poll analysis, the anchor and guests, the quality of debate, and trying to understand the reasons why people are voting for a particular party… All these factors played key role in garnering viewership for the channel.

In the context of news channels in India, what does “relevant content” mean to you? How do you define it, and how can channels ensure that they consistently deliver relevant content to their viewers?

If we look at news channels, broadly there are five large buckets of content – headlines/ news bulletins/ breaking news, debates/ discussions, in-depth reports and analysis, Interviews and Infotainment shows (yoga, astrology, movie reviews, etc.). The relevance of content for a viewer changes based on the audience type and time of day. For example, in the morning, an adult viewer would prefer watching a Yoga show, while in the afternoon, a female viewer may be interested in entertainment-related news. During prime time, debates and headlines might be preferred.

The success of any channel depends on finding the right ratio and slotting of that content at the right time. What is needed is like the way channels track viewership through ratings, they also keep a continuous track of the content preferences of viewers.

The success of Aaj Tak and India Today TV was not solely attributed to the accuracy of the exit poll data, but also to the in-depth analysis and engaging content provided during the telecast. How can channels strike a balance between delivering accurate information and presenting it in an engaging and insightful manner?

In the current news landscape, where real-time delivery and bite-sized content are crucial, channels can stay ahead by focusing on relevant and sharp content.

If you look at the exit poll day analysis, it is not just about delivering of exit poll numbers, but also about looking at the data by various demographic and geographic filters like gender, age, MHI, education, caste, occupation, regions, etc. This, along with quality anchors and guests, ensured high viewership for the channels. There is no substitute for good content. And similarly, there is no substitute for the accuracy of information when it comes to news channels. Trust and reliability of information is still why viewers tune into a TV news channel.

With the advent of digital platforms and social media, the news landscape has become increasingly competitive. How can channels stay ahead of the curve and ensure that they remain leaders in the industry in terms of viewership and positioning?

The reasons for liking a particular content depend on multiple factors, including the relevancy of the content to a specific audience, the story and characters of the show, the theme, the look and feel of the show, the element of unpredictability, and the user-friendliness of the medium. These factors vary by audiences, and time bands; hence designing content keeping your core audience in mind is critical.

What can help channels strike the right balance is the continuous research of what is India watching now and what it wants to watch next. Identifying current and future content preferences across platform TV, OTT, and cinema is critical. It can help channels decide future programming content, choice of actors or anchors, programme schedule, and other important parameters which drive viewership. Continuously tracking viewers will enable channels to deliver the content that aligns with their preferences, helping them stay ahead of the curve.

In today’s fast-paced world, attention spans are shorter, and audiences have multiple options for consuming news. How can channels tailor their content to cater to the changing preferences and habits of viewers while maintaining journalistic integrity?

Content has to be relevant to the needs of the viewer: what he/she is currently watching and what they would like to watch in the future. This relevance and preference can be gauged by market research. On journalistic integrity, the questions are: Should a media channel take a stand? Should journalists change the way they do their reporting? The answer is no. Doing so will reduce credibility and trustworthiness with the public in the long-term. Media has to be independent and unbiased. ‘Satya Dikhaye Bina Chupaiye’ has to be the motto.

The success of Aaj Tak and India Today TV on YouTube Live indicates the growing significance of digital platforms in news consumption. How can TV channels leverage digital channels to reach a wider audience and engage with viewers beyond traditional television broadcasting?

No matter what the nature of content is or the platform you watch it on, engaging with the audience is still the key. Stories that build real connections with the target audience are still the ones that succeed. Having said that, every platform has its strengths. If sharp, short-form content is preferred on digital, tailor your content accordingly. The biggest advantage of digital is personalisation; so a sports enthusiast can watch just sports-related content, and someone who likes politics can watch only that form. Hence, fulfilling the needs of this vast and varied audience is important.

Building and maintaining viewer loyalty is crucial in a competitive media landscape. How can channels cultivate a loyal audience base, and what steps can be taken to continually engage and interact with the viewers?

Loyalty is when viewers tune into your channel every day and spend significant time on it. Engaging and varied analysis, quality of anchors, presentation style, look and feel of the channel, quality of graphics, and refreshed and new stories all have to work together to create engagement and constant interaction with viewers.

Looking ahead, what do you believe will be the key factors shaping the future of news channels in India? Will news shift to digital completely?

India is a diverse country as we all know: 70% of India is rural; there are 6 lakh+ villages and 6,500+ cities/ towns, 23 official languages, and 1,000+ dialects, which change every 50 km. In such a diverse country, the evolution will also be varied. There will be media dark households that are just being exposed to TV; there will be households that are spending less time on TV and more on OTT; and some would be shifting from linear TV to connected TVs. So, if the question is: do TV news channels have a future, for sure it has! Having said that, digital has its own benefits.

Easy availability, flexibility to watch at a time that is suitable for you, anytime anywhere, and personalisation are some of the advantages. But will news shift to digital completely? Not in the immediate future; both will co-exist. What is important is quality and timeliness of information.