Category: Viewership

ALTBalaji partners with sheroes, engages deeper with women content consumers

National: ALTBalaji, India’s leading homegrown OTT platform, has partnered with women-only social network SHEROES, to grow its engagement with women content consumers who form 55% of its viewership. The OTT platform has always portrayed strong empowered women with female protagonists breaking barriers and setting new benchmarks in shows like DEV DD, Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain, Tests Case and Haq Se.

Through this partnership with SHEROES, ALTBalaji aims to celebrate strong women-oriented narratives through conversations and campaigns that encourage the female audience to discover fresh, engaging content. SHEROES members will also have access to exclusive deals from the streaming platform, including discounts on ALTBalaji’s yearly subscription.

Speaking about the partnership, Nachiket Pantvaidya, CEO ALTBalaji and Group COO Balaji Telefilms said, “ALTBalaji’s legacy of entertaining the masses through strong women-centric shows is well-known and our collaboration with SHEROES further reinforces our relationship with our audiences. We truly believe that this partnership is an innovative opportunity, which goes beyond simple customer acquisition and aims to develop a stronger emotional connect with our audiences.”

In addition to the integration, ALTBalaji has launched a SHEROES profile through which the platform engages with the community’s members, creating visibility for offers, promotions, new launches and triggering conversations around its programming in relevant SHEROES communities. ALTBalaji will host exciting challenges and polls and explore meaningful engagement with a growing pan-India women audience via their SHEROES profile. Also, in the pipeline are features like champions and community chats with the cast of the originals and an ALTBalaji featured community on SHEROES platform.

Commenting on the partnership, Sairee Chahal, Founder, CEO – SHEROES said, "ALTBalaji has been the definitive content producer resonating with the diverse aspirations and interests of 15 million SHEROES members spread across geographies. Our members engage in multiple vernacular languages, around everything from entertainment, fashion and careers to finance and health. ALTBalaji’s programming has socially relevant themes that connect to the everyday lives of the SHEROES audience.”

Around 60% of SHEROES users come from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities and seek programming that is relatable and diverse in its mix. The SHEROES user is smartphone savvy and engages extensively around films, web content, music and other entertainment genres on the SHEROES app. ALTBalaji offers engaging content across originals and movies as well as social initiatives that appeal to the SHEROES audience.

July 17, 2019
BARC week 27: Middling impact on Hindi news ratings in budget week

BENGALURU: Like the English News genre, budget week (week 27 of 2019, week under review, Saturday, 29 June 2019 to Friday, 5 July 2019) did not spring too many surprises in terms of spurt in viewership for the Hindi news genre either. The Hindi news genre fared a little better than its smaller English sibling in terms of ratings. The combined ratings of the top 5 Hindi news channels in week 27 of 2019 as Broadcast Audience Research Council of India weekly data increased 7.8 percent or by 31.223 million weekly impressions during the week under review as compared to its immediate trailing week in the combined urban (U) and rural (R) Hindi speaking market or HSM (U+R). The list of channels in HSM (U+R) during week 27 of 2019 differed by one channel as compared to the previous week – ABP News entered BARC’s weekly list pf top 5 Hindi news channels in HSM (U+R) at the cost of the Arnab Goswami-led Republic Bharat.

Combined Ratings of the top 5 Hindi news channels in HSM (U) increased 6.4 percent or by 15.522 million impressions in week 27 of 2019 as compared to week 26. All the five channels in BARC’s weekly list of top 5 channels in HSM (U) were the same as in week 26 except for a slight shuffling of ranks. In the case of BARC’s weekly list of top 5 Hindi news channels in HSM (R), ratings of the top 5 Hindi news channels increased by 7.8 percent or 12.739 million weekly impressions in week 27 of 2019 as compared to week 26. Four of the 5 top Hindi news channels in week 27 of 2019 were same as those in week 26.

Hindi news in HSM (U+R)

The combined ratings of the top 5 Hindi news channels in HSM (U+R) in week 27 of 2019 was 433.197 million weekly impressions as compared to 401.974 million weekly impressions in week 26. As in the previous week, Aaj Tak led the HSM (U+R) list with 111.001 million weekly impressions in week 27 of 2019 which was 11.3 percent more than the 99.763 million weekly impressions in the previous week. Continuing on at second rank was India TV in week 27 of 2019 with 87.484 million weekly impressions which was 6.5 percent more than 82.126 million weekly impressions in week 26.

Also continuing on at its previous week’s third rank was News18 India with 83.750 million weekly impressions which was 7 percent more than the 78.254 million weekly impressions in week 26. ABP News entered BARC’s weekly list of top 5 Hindi news channels in HSM (U+R) at fourth rank with 76.631 million impressions. Dropping down a place to fifth rank was Zee News with 74.331 million weekly impressions which was 1.4 percent more than the 73.275 million weekly impressions in the previous week.

Hindi news in HSM (U)

The combined weekly impressions on the top 5 Hindi news channels in HSM (U) were 259.773 million weekly impressions in week 27 of 2019 which was 6.4 percent more than the 244.251 million weekly impressions in the previous week. All the channels in BARC’s weekly list of top 5 Hindi news channels list in week 27 of 2019 were same as in week 26, except with a slight reshuffling of ranks.

As has been the norm, Aaj Tak led the rankings with 64.168 million weekly impressions which were 12.8 percent more than the 56.871 million weekly impressions in week 26. Climbing up a place to second rank in week 27 of 2019 was News18 India with 54.426 million weekly impressions, 7.5 percent more than the 50.612 million weekly impressions in week 26.

Dropping down a rank to third place in week 27 of 2019 was India TV with 53.488 million weekly impressions which was 3.6 percent more than the 51.622 million weekly impressions in week 26. Continuing on at its previous week’s rank four was Zee News with 44.962 million weekly impressions which was 4.5 percent lower than 47.076 million weekly impressions in the previous week. Also continuing on at fifth rank in week 27 of 2019 was ABP News with 42.729 million weekly impressions which was 12.2 percent more than the 38.070 million weekly impressions in week 26.

Hindi news in HSM (R)

The combined weekly impressions on the top 5 Hindi news channels in HSM (R) were 176.034 million weekly impressions in week 27 of 2019 which was 7.8 percent more than the 163.295 million weekly impressions in the previous week. Four of the five channels in BARC’s weekly list of top 5 Hindi news channels list in week 27 of 2019 were same as in week 26, with a slight reshuffling of ranks. Zee News entered BARC’s weekly list of top 5 Hindi news channels in HSM (R), while News18 India exited it.

Continuing on at its previous week’s first rank was Aaj Tak with 46.883 million weekly impressions in week 27 which was 9.2 percent more than the 42.892 million weekly impressions in week 26 of 2019. Climbing up a place to second rank was India TV with 33.996 million weekly impressions in week 27 of 2019 which was 11.4 percent more than the 30.504 million weekly impressions in week 26.

ABP News also climbed up a place to third rank in week 27 of 2019 with 33.902 million weekly impressions which was 11.5 percent more than the 30.413 million weekly impressions in week 26. Dropping down two places was Republic Bharat with 31.934 million weekly impressions in week 27 of 2019 which was almost flat (up 0.28 percent) as compared to 31.845 million weekly impressions in week 26. Zee News entered BARC’s weekly list of top 5 Hindi news channels in HSM (R) in week 27 of 2019 with 29.369 million weekly impressions.

July 13, 2019
Dettol Liquid soap returns as top brand after a week’s gap in BARC week 27 rankings

MUMBAI: Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India has released its data for top advertisers and brands for the period between 29 June 2019 and 5 July 2019.

The data reflects the top 10 advertiser and brands across genre on Indian television, including OOH screen, (U+R): 2+, Individuals NCCS All, demonstrating ads that were inserted the most in week 26 of 2019.

Top Advertisers:

Week 26 rankings of BARC finally saw a change in the list of top three advertisers, which was running stagnant for the past couple of weeks. While Hindustan Unilever Ltd and Reckitt Benckiser India Ltd still held on to the top two positions with 160125 and 101766 insertions, respectively, ITC was replaced by Cadburys India Ltd on the third spot with 27587 insertions. It was fifth in the rankings last week.

The fourth spot was acquired by Amazon Online India Pvt Ltd, which climbed up four spots from last week’s eighth rank, with 26910 insertions. It was followed by Brooke Bond Lipton India Ltd, which slipped one spot from last week, with 24528 insertions.

Top Brands:

Dettol Liquid Soap claimed its top brand spot back after a one-week hiatus in the week 27 listings. It made 12094 insertions. Harpic 10/10 replaced Harpic Bathroom Cleaner in the second spot, climbing up three ranks, with 10194 insertions on TV.

Santoor Sandal and Turmeric ranked third with 9915 insertions followed by Harpic Bathroom Cleaner that made 9549 insertions. Colgate Dental Cream climbed up two ranks from last weeks to be in the fifth spot with 9517 insertions.

July 12, 2019
English movies emerges as most benefitted in Chrome DM week 27

MUMBAI: English movies genre has grown 1.28 per cent in week 27 of Chrome Data Analytics and Media. In this genre, Warner Brothers gained the highest OTS with 42 per cent in the six metro markets.

OTS is the actual census-based percentage connectivity of a channel spread across 81 million homes, as reported by Chrome DM, across analogue cable, digital cable, and DTH.

Kids genre secured the second position in gainers list with 0.94 per cent growth. Discovery Kids gained the highest OTS in the genre with 89.3 per cent in All India 1 Lakh+ market.

Following Hindi movies and kids genre, the business news genre grew by 0.2 per cent and infotainment genre grew by 0.1 per cent.

July 10, 2019
BARC week 26: Star Vijay back in across genres list

BENGALURU: Star India’s flagship Tamil GEC Star Vijay once again made an appearance in Broadcast Audience Research Council of India's (BARC) weekly list of top 10 channels across genres in week 26 of 2019 (Saturday, 22 June 2019 to Friday, 28 June 2019, week or period under review). As was the case in the previous week, Star Vijay was also ranked seventh in BARC’s weekly list of top 5 Tamil channels in the Tamil Nadu/Puducherry market.

Four Star India channels, two channels each from Sony Pictures Network India (SPN) and Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) and one channel each from Enterr 10 TV and Sun TV Network made up BARC’s weekly list of top 10 channels across genres in week 26 of 2019. From the genres' perspective, there were six Hindi GECs, two Tamil channels and one channel each from the sports and Telugu genres that comprised BARC’s weekly list of top 10 channels across genres in week 26 of 2019. Channels from rank one to six in week 26 of 2019 were the same as those in week 25.

Continuing on at rank 1 in week 26 of 2019 was Star India’s Hindi sports channel Star Sports 1 Hindi on the back of the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 in England and Wales. Two of the five matches during the week under review involved India, hence ratings pipped up for the channel. Star Sports 1 Hindi scored 1,263.932 million weekly impressions in week 26 of 2019 as compared to 1,186.783 million weekly impressions in week 25. Star Sports 1 Hindi was ranked first in BARC’s weekly list of top 5 sports channels and four of the top 5 sports programmes NCCS All : Prime Time (1800 – 2330 hrs) : 2+ Individuals featured on Star Sports 1 Hindi during the week under review.

Also maintaining its previous week’s rank 2 was Sun TV Network’s flagship Tamil GEC Sun TV with 904.751 million weekly impressions in week 26 of 2019 as compared to 851.935 million weekly impressions in week 26. Sun TV also headed BARC’s weekly list of top 5 Tamil channels in the Tamil Nadu and Puducherry markets and four of the top 5 Tamil programmes in this market based on NCCS All : Prime Time (1800 – 2330 hrs) : 2+ Individuals were aired on Sun TV.

At its previous week’s third rank was Enterr 10 TV’s Hindi GEC Dangal in week 26 of 2019 with 801.504 million weekly impressions as compared to 788.059 million weekly impressions in week 25. Dangal also headed BARC’s weekly lists of top 10 Hindi GECs in the combined urban and rural Hindi speaking market -HSM (U+R) and HSM (R). Dangal was ranked seventh in HSM (U). Indian mythology programme Mahima Shanidev Ki and a family drama Baba Aiso Var Dhundo on Dangal were in BARC’s list of top 5 Hindi GEC programmes based on NCCS All : Prime Time (1800 – 2330 hrs) : 2+ Individuals in HSM (R).

Continuing on at fourth rank was Zeel’s flagship Hindi GEC Zee TV in week 26 of 2019 with 701.711 million weekly impressions as compared to 701.670 million weekly impressions in week 25. Zee TV was ranked second in HSM (U+R) and HSM (U) and third in HSM (R) in BARC’s weekly list of top 10 Hindi GECs. The Balaji Telefilms-produced Kumkum Bhagya, its spinoff Kundali Bhagya and another drama Tujhse Hai Raabta aired on Zee TV were among the top 5 Hindi GEC programmes based on NCCS All : Prime Time (1800 – 2330 hrs) : 2+ Individuals in HSM (U+R), HSM (R) and HSM (U).

At fifth rank in week 26 of 2019 was Star India’ flagship Hindi GEC Star Plus with 688.432 million weekly impressions as compared to seventh rank and 682.166 million weekly impressions in week 25. Star Plus was also ranked third and fourth in BARC’s weekly list of top 10 Hindi GECs in HSM (U+R) and HSM (R) respectively and was ranked first in HSM (U). Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai on Star Plus was amongst BARC’s weekly list of top 5 Hindi GEC programmes on NCCS All : Prime Time (1800 – 2330 hrs) : 2+ Individuals in HSM (U+R) in HSM (U).

At sixth place was Star India’s flagship Telugu GEC Star Maa with 651.535 million weekly impressions as compared to 663.013 million weekly impressions in week 25. Star Maa was also ranked first in BARC’s weekly list of top 5 Telugu GECs in the Andhra Pradesh/Telangana markets and all the five programmes in BARC’s weekly list of top 5 Telugu programmes based on NCCS All : Prime Time (1800 – 2330 hrs) : 2+ Individuals in these markets were aired on Star Maa.

As mentioned above, Star Vijay re-entered BARC’s weekly list of top 10 channels across genres in week 26 of 2019 with 549.005 million weekly impressions at seventh rank. Star Vijay was also ranked second in BARC’s weekly list of top 5 Tamil channels in the Tamil Nadu and Puducherry markets.

Dropping a place to eighth rank in week 26 of 2019 was Zeel’s Hindi GEC Big Magic with 536.294 million weekly impressions as compared to seventh rank and 566.278 million weekly impressions in the previous week. Big Magic was ranked fourth and second in BARC’s weekly lists of top 10 Hindi GECs in HSM (U+R) and HSM (R) respectively. Big Magic was ranked eighth in BARC’s weekly list of top 10 Hindi GECs in HSM (U).

Climbing up a place to ninth rank was SPN’s flagship Hindi GEC Sony Entertainment Television (SET) with 529.078 million weekly impressisons in week 26 as compared with 479.487 million weekly impressions in week 25 of 2019. SET was ranked fifth and seventh in BARC’s weekly lists of top 10 Hindi GECs in HSM (U+R) and HSM (R) was ranked third in HSM (U). The talent reality show Super Dances Chapter 3 on SET was among BARC’s weekly list of top 5 Hindi GEC programmes NCCS All : Prime Time (1800 – 2330 hrs) : 2+ Individuals in HSM (U+R) and HSM (U).

Dropping down two places to tenth rank was SPN’s Hindi GEC Sony SAB with 525.403 million weekly impressions as compared to eighth rank and 536.918 million weekly impressions. Sony SAB was ranked sixth BARC’s weekly lists of top 10 Hindi GECs in HSM (U+R) and HSM (R) and was ranked fourth in HSM (U).

July 9, 2019
BARC to report viewership from free & pay platforms from week 27

MUMBAI: BARC India on Monday announced that it would start reporting viewership from free & pay platforms separately starting week 27 (29th June – 5th July), confirming what Indiantelevision.com had reported first on 5 July.

The systems at BARC India always evolve basis feedback from the industry. In the past 4 years BARC India has enabled granular reporting cuts basis feedback from various stakeholders to better understand viewership habits.

The new Pay & Free platform variable will be offered over and above the current Urban & Rural cuts that are reported by BARC India. It will be made available to all the subscribers for planning & analysis through its proprietary BARC Media Workstation Software. It will also be published on the website for select genres.

A Free Connection is one where the household incurs only a small one-time fee for installing the set top box. The major player in this area is DD Free Dish. The household does not pay any monthly subscription fee. Whereas a Pay connection is one where the subscriber invests an initial amount for installation and an on-going monthly subscription fee.

In the Hindi Speaking Markets, 2 out of 10 homes are Free Homes, accounting for almost 140 Mn TV viewing Individuals. The Pay & Free viewer differs significantly not only in terms of demographics, but also their characteristics, values, lifestyle and psychographics. A study done in these homes by BARC India explicates the personas of these two audience types.

Reporting viewership from Pay and Free platform separately would enable focussed targeting. Advertisers can plan more effectively by placing insertions on the channels available on these platforms in the respective regions. Broadcasters can also make more informed decisions pertaining to content and distribution.

“There has been a strong demand from the Market for separate reporting of viewership from homes with Pay & Free connection. We have taken the market feedback in consideration with the changes that have come about in the ecosystem post the implementation of the Tariff Order. We believe this move is a step in the right direction to empower the industry in understanding the distinct consumption patterns of this segment and plan more effectively” says BARC India CEO Partho Dasgupta.

July 8, 2019
Cartoon Network partners with Globecast for pop-up channel technical services in Asia

Singapore – Globecast, the global solutions provider for media, has announced that Cartoon Network has extended its longstanding partnership with Globecast for the launch of two innovative, market-leading pop-up kids channels.

Following discussions earlier this year with Globecast that explored the possibilities, Cartoon Network launched pop-up channels in Singapore with Singtel and in the Philippines with Cignal. In Singapore, the channel, called “Pop & Watch”, was available free on Singtel’s IPTV service, as well as its Singtel TV GO and Singtel CAST mobile apps from June 12-21. Cartoon Network Classics was available as a pay-per-view channel on Cignal TV from May 3 to June 2.

James Crossland, Senior Vice President of International Operations for Turner, a WarnerMedia company, said, “These pop-up channels were something new for us in Asia and we were really pleased with the results. We’re always looking to offer our broadcast partners innovative new platforms to showcase our content and it’s important to everyone that the technical services are seamless and hitch-free.”

Globecast augmented its existing media management, playout and content archiving agreement with WarnerMedia to provide technical services for the channels. WarnerMedia in London delivered content to Globecast’s ingest and playout system in Singapore. The content was then supplied as transmission-ready files and these were automatically ingested. Much of the content was already held in archive by Globecast and was restored to playout as required by the daily playlist, and any missing material was highlighted well in advance of playout. Distribution to the affiliates was handled using existing WarnerMedia satellite capacity.

Graphics were also added to the channels. Comprehensive testing was carried out before launch, including full trial runs, with Globecast providing complete pop-up channel monitoring, 24/7, while on air.

Shakunt Malhotra, VP of Operations, Globecast Asia, said, “This was an exciting project and we expect to see more of these requirements on a global basis. Cartoon Network leveraged our expertise to manage content and our optimized workflow, which was ideal for for quick launch and smooth operation. This project was an excellent way to maximize content use and therefore ROI, extending brand reach.”

July 8, 2019

BARC week 26: Lizol takes top spot among brands

MUMBAI: The Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India has released its data for top advertisers and brands for the period between 22 June 2019 and 28 June 2019.

The data reflects top 10 advertiser and brands across genre on Indian television, including OOH screen, (U+R): 2+, Individuals NCCS All, demonstrating ads that were inserted the most in week 25 of 2019.

Top Advertisers:

No changes were noted in the week 26 rankings of BARC when it came to top 5 advertisers. Like previous two weeks, Hindustan Unilever Ltd is in the top position, with 185861 insertions followed by Reckitt Benckiser (India) Ltd, with 98712 insertions.

The next in the list was ITC Ltd with 31591 ad insertions on TV. Brooke Bond Lipton India Ltd maintained its position in the fourth spot with 28255 insertions followed by Cadburys India Ltd that had made 27064 insertions.

Rank	Advertiser	Insertions
		Week 26
1	HINDUSTAN LEVER LTD	185861
2	RECKITT BENCKISER (INDIA) LTD	98712
3	ITC LTD	31591
4	BROOKE BOND LIPTON INDIA LTD	28255
5	CADBURYS INDIA LTD	27064
6	MARICO LTD	24824
7	COLGATE PALMOLIVE INDIA LTD	20907
8	AMAZON ONLINE INDIA PVT LTD	19120
9	PONDS INDIA	16658
10	SMITHKLINE BEECHAM	16223
*TOP 10 Advertiser Across Genre : All India (U+R) : 2+ Individuals.**

Top Brands:

Lizol once again claimed the top spot in the week 26 top brands ranking of BARC, with 12281 insertions. It was not a part of the top 10 brands in the previous week. The second spot was claimed by Harpic Bathroom Cleaner, which too was missing from the top brands past week, with 11642 insertions.

Dettol Liquid Soap slipped two positions from last week to rank third this time, with 10420 insertions. Amazon.in climbed down a spot to rank fourth with 9324 insertions. Harpic 10/10 once again entered the list, on fifth spot, with 9236 insertions.

Rank	Brands	Insertions
		Week 26
1	LIZOL	12281
2	HARPIC BATHROOM CLEANER	11642
3	DETTOL LIQUID SOAP	10420
4	AMAZON.IN	9324
5	HARPIC 10/10	9236
6	CLINIC PLUS SHAMPOO	9187
7	COLGATE DENTAL CREAM	9072
8	LIZOL KITCHEN POWER CLEANER	8861
9	GOODKNIGHT POWER ACTIV PLUS	8408
10	PHONEPE	8301
*TOP 10 Brands Across Genre : All India (U+R) : 2+ Individuals.**

July 5, 2019

BARC week 26: Dangal TV retains leadership position in Hindi GEC

MUMBAI: There has been no major change in Broadcast Audience Research Council India (BARC) data for week 26 of 2019. While &TV emerged as the new player in the space of Hindi Urban GEC in week 25.

Hindi GEC (U+R)

Dangal TV retained its first position this week and Zee TV and Star Plus stood at second and third positions respectively. Sony Entertainment Television has moved up the ladder to fifth position replacing Sony Sab while Colors also came down to seventh position. Star Utsav has come back to the chart at 10th position replacing &TV.

Hindi rural GEC

In rural areas, Dangal TV, Big Magic, Zee TV and Star Plus continued to be in first, second, third and fourth positions respectively. Colors, Sony Sab, Sony Entertainment Television, Star Bharat, Sony Pal and Star Utsav also retained earlier positions.

Hindi urban GEC

In urban areas, Star Plus retained its leadership position and Zee TV its second position. Sony Entertainment Television emerged in the third position replacing SONY SAB. Colors, Star Bharat, Dangal, Big Magic, &TV and Sony Pal retained their fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth positions respectively as compared to the last week.

July 5, 2019
BARC to now report viewership from pay, FTA platforms separately

MUMBAI: In what can be considered as a key new development, Broadcast Audience Research Council India (BARC) will now report viewership from pay and free-to-air (FTA) platforms separately. According to sources, the BARC board in its meeting on Thursday ratified the technical committee's proposal for the same.

BARC provides several cuts for its urban viewership, which tends to be heterogeneous in nature. Reporting free platforms separately can be regarded as the first step in breaking up rural viewership, which is more homogeneous.

BARC already provides separate urban and rural viewership of some key genres like Hindi GEC and news on its website. Now with pay/FTA reporting, the general public will get a more clear picture of leadership positions of channels in these two markets which have become more distinct after TRAI's tariff order implementation.

With DD Free Dish flourishing, FTA viewership is now a sizable chunk. BARC's move to segregate pay and FTA channels is a positive one, and is bound to be welcomed by the industry, in particular, broadcasters.

The new pay/FTA reporting format for viewership on the BARC website and in its BMW software could be in the offing as early as week 27.

Additionally, Indiantelevision.com has also been told by a broadcaster source that the much-debated landing page issue wasn't taken up for discussion by the board.

July 5, 2019