Tag: BARC India

Nakul Chopra appointed as CEO of BARC India

Mumbai: Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India has appointed Nakul Chopra as the chief executive officer of the TV audience measurement agency, effective 25 August. Chopra succeeds Sunil Lulla, who is moving on from the organisation to pursue his ambition as an entrepreneur.

Chopra joined the BARC India Board in 2016 and was subsequently appointed the chairman of the company from 2018 to 2019. In January 2020, he was appointed a member of its Oversight Committee.

“A marketing and media veteran of nearly four decades, Chopra brings with him a rich repertoire of experience in financial & general management, process management as well as navigating the corporate legal environment,” said BARC India in a media statement. “He has been an integral part of the Advertising and Media fraternity, and BARC India will benefit from his wealth of knowledge and experience of over four decades.”

On his new role, Chopra said,“I have had the benefit of a long association with BARC. The organisation has grown in measure and strength. TV continues to be the definitive screen of the Indian home – its strong reach and connect continues to elicit the trust of advertisers. I look forward to working with the very capable BARC team in further building on TV measurement and continuing the journey toward screen agnostic measurement.”

He has also held the position of CEO, India & South Asia, Publicis Worldwide, from 2004-17. Prior to that he served as EVP, Trikaya Grey Advertising from 1989 to 1995. Chopra has also been the President, Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) from Aug 2016 – July 2018.

Meanwhile, the outgoing CEO, Sunil Lulla said he is looking forward to embarking upon an entrepreneurial journey after four decades of an exciting career in professional services. “I am privileged to have been able to contribute to BARC and this has been possible only because of the excellent team of professionals, a very supportive Board and the gold standard of Board-appointed committees. I wish Nakul Chopra all the success,” said Lulla, who had taken over the reins at the TV measurement company from Partho Dasgupta in 2019.

BARC India chairman, Punit Goenka said, “I thank Sunil for his stewardship of BARC and his efforts to enhance the strength of the BARC currency. I am very happy to welcome Nakul as the natural and unanimous choice of the Board for the continuing journey of adding robustness to the BARC currency and strengthening the governance of the world’s largest television audience measurement body”.

August 20, 2021
HUL most prolific advertiser in week 32: BARC

Mumbai: The top-ten advertisers list for BARC week 32 (7 August to 13 August) was led by Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) with ad volume of 4445.94 (‘000 secs). The FMCG giant’s last week’s score was 5487.39 (‘000 secs).

Reckitt Benckiser (India) Ltd maintained its hold at the second position. The consumer goods company, unlike HUL, saw an increased ad volume of 3939.47 in week 32 compared to 3213.56 in week 31.

Rest of the list was dominated by other FMCG players, namely, Cadburys India Ltd, Reliance Retail Ltd, Brooke Bond Lipton India Ltd, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd, Procter & Gamble, ITC Ltd, and Colgate Palmolive India Ltd, in that order, with the only exception being Asian Paints Ltd – at the seventh place.

Leading the top ten brands tally across genres were RB’s Dettol and Dettol toilet soaps with ad volume of 795.76 and 574.43 respectively.

Horlicks, Vimal Elaichi Pan Masala, Lizol, Asian Paints Royale Glitz, Jiomart, Veet Cold Wax Strip, Harpic Bathroom Cleaner, and Clinic Plus Shampoo followed.

August 20, 2021
Sunil Lulla steps down as CEO of BARC India, say reports

Mumbai: Sunil Lulla has put in his papers as chief executive officer of Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India, according to multiple media reports.

Lulla took over the reins at the TV measurement company from Partho Dasgupta in 2019. In his previous stint, he was the group chief executive officer at Balaji Telefilms.

He is a veteran in the media and entertainment industry with a career spanning three decades. He was associated with Grey Group India as chairman and managing director and Times Television Network as managing director and chief executive officer. Lulla, who began his career with HMV/Sa Re Ga Ma, has also been associated with Sony Entertainment Television, MTV, J Walter Thompson.

There is no statement or confirmation on the development by Lulla or BARC India at the time of filing this report.

August 19, 2021
Tokyo Olympics reached 69 million TV viewers in the opening week

Mumbai: The Tokyo Olympics 2020 television broadcast was viewed by 69 million viewers and clocked 5.8 billion viewing minutes, according to data provided by Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India. (India 2+/Live Events Only/ Share% of viewing mins)

Assam/NE (27.7 per cent), Maharashtra/Goa (11.5 per cent), Tamil Nadu/Puducherry (8.8 per cent), Uttar Pradesh/Uttarakhand (6.3 per cent), and Kerala (5.8 per cent) were the top regions contributing to the viewership for the Tokyo Olympics. (India 2+/Live Events Only/ Share% of viewing mins)

The Olympic games were broadcast on Sony Pictures Networks India TV channels Sony Six, Sony Ten 2, Sony Ten 3, Sony Ten 4 and their HD channels. Prasar Bharati’s sports channel DD Sports also broadcast the event.

The previous Rio Olympic games pulled in 191 million viewers, according to BARC data for that period. Star India was the official broadcaster for the 2016 games. (India 4+/cable and satellite homes/urban market)

The Indian contingent for the Olympics made a strong showing by bringing home seven medals including one gold, two silver and four bronze. The athletes that won medals at the recently concluded games included Neeraj Chopra, Saikhom Mirabai Chanu, Ravi Kumar Dhahiya, PV Sindhu, Lovlina Borgohain, and Bajrang Punia and the men’s hockey team.

August 13, 2021
BARC India’s new campaign reinforces importance of TV in Indian households

Mumbai: Building on the famous saying, “People hear statistics, but they feel stories”, Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India has launched its latest ad campaign called ‘#MeasuringMoments – Where Data Does the Storytelling’ to reaffirm the importance of television in Indian households.

The campaign, conceptualised and executed by BARC India’s internal team and its agency partner AGENCY09, showcases the accuracy in viewership trends through a series of narratives backed by data and insights.

The campaign also highlights the fact that while BARC is capturing data to ‘What India Watches’ report, this data is also measuring and is reflective of moments that touch viewers’ lives and emotions and further reinforces the fact they are deeply connected and engaged with the medium.

“BARC India is an organisation that is deeply rooted in measurement science and technology and over the last six years we have been able to ascertain the fact that television continues to be the screen of the household,” BARC India, MarComm, Rafiq Gangjee said. “While the result of all we do lies in the dependable weekly currency we deliver to the industry, there are always greater stories to tell that depict the power that television has over viewers. Our campaign reflects these numerous stories that lie within various folds of data and insights. We hope to bring life to these moments and establish a deeper connection with viewers.”

The campaign is currently live on BARC India’s social media channels.

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August 6, 2021
Bangla TV viewership sees sustained rise; Assembly polls insulate from Covid blow

New Delhi: Even as the TV markets across the country reeled under the second wave, the regional Bangla market was insulated from its severe blow. The high-octane Assembly elections, which were also the longest-ever state polls to be held so far, kept the industry abuzz with a sustained rise in viewership.

Overall, the viewership of Bangla news increased by 30 per cent during week 13-17 when the election process was underway, according to Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) data. The number of active advertisers on Bangla news channels also rose by 11 per cent during the election period, coupled with a 12 per cent growth in ad volume, as some national news networks also expanded their footprint into Bangla news to cash in on the election fervour.

The data was presented by Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India, head, client partnership & revenue function, Aaditya Pathak during the inaugural edition of the Tele-wise Bangla – the power of television organised by Indiantelevision.com on Tuesday. The day-long event was organised in partnership with Zee Bangla and witnessed insightful discussions with representatives from the field of television, advertising, marketing, and media.

Impact of Second-wave & elections

According to BARC, the overall television viewership across markets was subdued during the second wave. However, West Bengal witnessed less severe impacts, according to BARC. The state saw an eight per cent drop in viewership compared to last year, while the impact was much more severe in neighbouring Odisha, where the viewership declined by 18 per cent and north-eastern states of Assam and Sikkim where it dropped by 22 per cent.

“In terms of Genres, the viewership for GECs sustained well during the second wave, with minimal disruption of original content. But, Bangla news and movie channels recorded higher viewership than the pre-Covid levels of 2020, partly on the back of tailwinds from elections,” said BARC India, head, client partnership & revenue function, Aaditya Pathak.

West Bengal TV Market

West Bengal contributes roughly 15.3 million TV households (6.6 per cent) to the overall national TV market of 210 million TV households. This share has increased over the last three years, from 5.9 per cent in 2019 to 6.6 per cent in 2021, contrary to the viewership trends seen in Maharashtra/Goa, south, or the Hindi-speaking markets (HSM). (All India, 2+, Total TV viewership in AMA ‘000, weekly avg). Also, while the daily tune-ins fell across markets in 2021, they remained higher in West Bengal vs 2019 levels, showed BARC data.

As of 2021, the state has 35 channels on air that are part of the BARC ecosystem, out of which 21 channels are free-to-air (FTA), while 14 are on pay platforms. This includes 13 GECs, 10 news channels, six movie channels, four for music, and one each for kids and sports. The free platform contributes to 1.9 per cent of the TV viewership, while the share of the Pay platform stands at 98.1 per cent.

However, unlike other regional markets like Maharashtra where Hindi rules TV viewership, the West Bengal TV market is dominated by its local language, Bangla which contributes 65 per cent to the overall TV viewership in the state, while Hindi’s share is 33 per cent. “In fact, Bangla is the fifth largest language in terms of TV viewership in the country, closely followed by Marathi,” said Pathak, “The average time spent on TV in West Bengal is also quite comparable to the Hindi-speaking market (HSM) average.”

Since 2019, the overall ad volume share for Bangla channels has not wavered much since 2019 and remained in the 8-9 per cent range compared to the all-India levels. “It’s a GEC-driven market and the ad volume shares for Bengali GEC and movies have demonstrated growth over the years of 13 per cent and 22 per cent, respectively. However, news channels have witnessed a decline in ad-volume of almost 13 per cent compared to 2019,” said Pathak.

June 30, 2021
TV advertising shows record growth in Jan-Mar 2021: BARC

NEW DELHI: The overall growth in television ad volumes during the first two months of the year has further consolidated in March, said Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) on Friday.

According to the television monitoring agency, 456 million seconds of ad volumes was recorded during the January to March period, the highest since 2018.

The latest data offers a glimmer of hope to the television industry which has been struggling to get back on its feet amid the second wave of Covid2019.

The growth in ad volume was observed across all genres. While the news genre recorded a growth of 25 per cent, the surge in the GEC space was 21 per cent. The movies genre saw an uptick of 23 per cent.

According to BARC, growth of ad Volumes on TV observed in Jan-Mar 2021 was broad-based, with advertisers across the spectrum accounting for the higher levels. The top 10 advertisers, as well as the next 40, registered healthy growth at 37 per cent and 31 per cent respectively.

E-commerce sector continued to show a healthy growth of 13 per cent in January to March 2021 compared with the same period in 2020.

The digital-native brands under education (3X growth), pharma/health care (7X growth) and BFSI (55 per cent growth) categories also continued to propel growth of the ECOM sector in Jan to March 2021 compared to 2020. The top 20 advertisers drove more than 50 per cent of ad Volumes during this period, showed the data.

Festivals and special events like Sankranti and Republic Day in January garnered the highest ever ad volumes in 2021 since 2018, reported BARC.

With a promising start to the year, the expectations for higher ad spends have definitely gone up for the coming months.

April 23, 2021
TV-owning households grew 6.9% to reach 210 million: BARC report

MUMBAI: Television measurement body Broadcast Audience Research Council India (BARC India) has revealed TV owning households have continued to grow, reaching 210 million in 2020. Home to over 1.3 billion people across 300 million households, India’s television viewing universe has expanded across several metrics, according to the TV Universe Estimates 2020 (TV UEs) report released by BARC.

Findings of the study play an important role in the structuring of BARC India’s sample design and in ensuring the selected panel represents a true microcosm of India. Equally important is that TV UEs also serve to properly project audience estimates to the population.

Households and individuals

According to BARC India’s TV UEs 2020, 210 million Indian households now own a TV set, an increase of 6.9 per cent from 197 million in 2018. Simultaneously, TV viewing individuals also surged 6.7 per cent, reaching 892 million from 836 million in 2018, an increase of 57 million individuals in 2020. TV-owning female population grew by seven per cent, while male population grew by six per cent. In terms of age-groups, the highest growth was witnessed in the “kids” category (age two to 14) at nine per cent.

Markets

TV households in Urban markets grew by four per cent from 87.8 million in 2018 to 91 million, whereas Rural markets have grown by nine per cent, up from 108.9 million to 119.2 million in 2020. While TV households across India grew by 6.9 per cent, Hindi-speaking markets grew by eight per cent, outpacing All India as well as the south states which grew by five per cent.

NCCS

As the Indian population continues to move up the socio-economic pyramid, changes have been observed in the NCCS profile of TV households. The TV UE-2020 indicates that the proportion of NCCS A and B has increased to 27 per cent and 31 per cent respectively while NCCS DE has further contracted to nine per cent of TV households in the country.

BARC India CEO Sunil Lulla said, “As a body that is deeply rooted in data science, BARC India is committed to providing its stakeholders with a true representation of the television universe. We are happy we have been able to ascertain that television continues to be the screen of choice for Indians. With an additional 13 million TV households and an opportunity for another 90 million households that are yet to own a TV set, India’s broadcast ecosystem continues to have a significant potential for growth in the years to come.”

BARC India measurement science & business analytics chief Dr. Derrick Gray, said, “UE 2020 aptly sums up India’s linear TV ecosystem and highlights that TV owning households continue to grow. Given the global pandemic scenario, the updated estimate is robust and is developed with the help of data and findings based from various previously validated field studies. We are certain that these estimates will help the industry to a great extent. We will continue to provide the industry with a currency that is reliable and of global standards.”

TV UE 2020 has been developed by computing the linear growth of TV Households and TV Individuals from Broadcast India (BI) studies conducted in 2016 and 2018 at geographic and demographic levels. The distribution of the TV population by NCCS was taken from the most recent Indian readership survey (IRS). BARC India will implement the findings from the TV Universe Estimates 2020 for its data starting week 14, 2021, which will release on 16 April 2021. The updated estimates will reflect for BARC India subscribers in the YUMI Analytics platform with immediate effect.

April 15, 2021
BARC week 11: Zee TV slips to sixth spot in urban market.

MUMBAI: Star Plus, Sony Sab and Zee TV have continued to remain as top three channels in urban market and pay platform (Saturday 13 March 2021 to Friday 19 March 2021) of Broadcast Audience Research Council of India (BARC) data. Zee TV has slipped down to the sixth spot in urban market.

Pay Platform

In week 11 of BARC India ratings, the top ten channels on pay platform were Star Plus, Sony Sab, Zee TV, Colors, Sony Entertainment Television, Star Utsav, Sony Pal, Star Bharat, Dangal, and Colors Rishtey.

Urban Market

In the urban market, the top ten channels were Star Plus, Sony Sab, Colors, Star Utsav, Sony Entertainment Television, Zee TV, Sony Pal, Dangal, Colors Ristey, and Zee Anmol in week 11 of BARC India ratings.

Rural Market

Star Utsav, Zee Anmol, Sony Pal, Dangal, Colors Rishtey, Star Plus, Zee TV, Sony Sab, Big Magic, and Colors were the top ten channels in the rural market in week 11 of BARC India ratings.

Free Platform

On the free platform Star Utsav, Zee Anmol, Sony Pal, Dangal, Colors Rishtey, Big Magic, Shemaroo TV, DD National, DD Retro and DD Madhya Pradesh were the top ten channels in week 11 of BARC India ratings.

March 27, 2021
BARC week 10: Star Plus, Sony Sab & Zee TV reign pay platform

MUMBAI: Sony Sab has continued to maintain its hold on the second position in urban market and pay platform(Saturday 6 March 2021 to Friday 12 March 2021) of Broadcast Audience Research Council of India (BARC) data. Colors Rishtey has replaced &TV for the tenth spot on pay platform.

Pay Platform

In week ten of BARCIndia ratings, the top ten channels on pay platform were Star Plus, Sony Sab, Zee TV,Colors, Sony Entertainment Television, Star Utsav, Sony Pal, Star Bharat, Dangal, and Colors Rishtey.

Urban Market

In the urban market, the top ten channels were Star Plus,Sony Sab, Colors,Star Utsav, Zee TV, Sony Entertainment Television, Sony Pal, Dangal, Colors Ristey, and Zee Anmol in week ten of BARCIndia ratings.

Rural Market

Star Utsav, Zee Anmol, Sony Pal, Dangal, Colors Rishtey, Star Plus, Zee TV,Sony Sab, Big Magic and Colors were the top ten channels in the rural market in week ten of BARCIndia ratings.

Free Platform

On the free platform, Star Utsav, Zee Anmol,Sony Pal,Colors Rishtey,Dangal, Big Magic, Shemaroo TV, DD National,DD Retro and DD Madhya Pradesh were the top ten channels in week ten of BARCIndia ratings.

March 20, 2021