MUMBAI: The decline in the viewership pattern of sports broadcasters continued in week seven (15-21 February) of Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India ratings. Sports channels, this week, tumbled by over 60 per cent as compared to week six (8-14 February).
Star Sports 1 Hindi of Star India group dragged the viewership of overall sports channels to the lowest level this year. The channel alone fell substantially by over 76 per cent in the current week of BARC.
Despite significant fall in viewership, Star Sports 1 Hindi topped the list of top five sports channels. The channel received 78,298 weekly impressions in week seven as compared to 3,31,536 weekly impressions in week six of BARC.
Star Sports is the official broadcaster for all international matches played in India and New Zealand. It’s also an official partner to telecast limited over matches of the World Cup and Asia Cup across genres.
Cricket is the majorly favoured and watched sport by the Indian audience, followed by World Wrestling Entertainment, soccer, and tennis. However, week seven was dull in terms of any India-specific cricket matches except women’s T20 world cup and the domestic tournament Ranji Trophy.
Dethroning the government-owned channel, DD Sports, from the top five channels’ list completely, Star Sports First bagged the second position. The channel posted a positive show with a marginal rise in viewership of over 6 per cent, by securing 49,263 impressions in week seven as against 46,244 in the previous week of BARC.
Despite being low in numbers as compared to rival broadcasters, Sony Pictures Sports Network channels have put a tough fight in week seven. This week, the group’s two sports channels, Sony Ten 1 and Sony Ten 3, grabbed the third and fourth spots in the list of top five most-viewed channels.
Sony Ten 1 turned green after reeling under a negative space for the last two weeks. The channel improved its performance by gaining over 1 percent to 31,573 weekly impressions as compared to 31024 impressions in the previous week. The channel, in week six, was down by over 50 per cent.
Replacing Star Sports 3 from its position at number four, Sony Ten 3 has been featured for the first time in the top five sports channels list with 25561 weekly impressions in the current week. All thanks to the UEFA: Champions League – Round of 16, a football tournament that began from 19 February, the channel has successfully made a mark in week seven of BARC.
Meanwhile, Star Sports 2, for the first time this year, got featured at the fifth spot in the list of top five channels in terms of viewership. The channel secured at least 20,383 eyeballs in the week seven of BARC. The channel broadcasts the domestic cricket tournament, Ranji Trophy, which has come to its last leg of semis and features many important cricketers that represent Team India at the international level.
