ITV

Tag: Times now

  • Republic TV continues to lead English News viewership

    Republic TV continues to lead English News viewership

    BENGALURU: There is rarely any middle ground as far as Republic TV Editor Arnab Goswami is concerned. Either you like him or you hate him. On his ‘debates’, which sometimes include long monologues by Goswami who is supposed moderator of the ‘debates’ either you agree with him or you disagree with him. But then this is what India seems to like – his completely nationalistic brouhaha, his often brutal coercions that often fail to impress the coerced, his interpretations of the statusco, his interruptions – this is what sets him a class apart – no other news anchor on Indian News Television has ever gained the admiration, the hatred, the fame, the popularity and the notoriety that Goswami has. And that is what has won his English Television News channel the eyeballs, the sticky eyeballs that make it the most watched Indian English Television News channel in the country in terms of weekly impressions. Except for a handful of exceptional weeks, Republic TV has retained leadership of the genre, right from the week that it launched about 3 years ago on 6 May 2017 – right in the middle of an ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season when a majority of Indians are glued to the channels that air the cricketing bonanza.

    Earlier, Broadcast Audience Research Council of India limited publishing data for English News channels to NCCS Males 22+ Individual for the Top 5 English News channels in the public domain. Of late the ratings agency has started reporting data for ratings for Top 5 English News channels on a demographic of All India (U+R): NCCS All : 2+ Individuals. In either case, as mentioned above, Republic TV has been the genre leader.

    Please refer to the chart below. Only 3 channels have been present in BARC’s weekly list of top 5 English News channels during the first 22 weeks of 2020. In alphabetical order, they are India Today Television, Republic TV and Times Now. Since Week 17 of 2020, Network18’s English News CNN News18 has also been present in BARC’s Weekly lists of Top 5 English News Channels. As a matter fact, during the first 22 weeks of 2020, CNN News18 was absent from BARC’s weekly top 5 English News channels only once – in Week 15 of 2020.

    Top 5 English News Channels in Week 22 of 2020

    Overall, the combined weekly impressions of BARC’s list of Top English News Channels increased 4.2 percent as compared to the previous week. Only one channel changed in BARC’s weekly list of Top 5 English News channels in Week 22 of 2020 (Saturday, 30 May 2020 to Friday, 5 June 2020, week or period under review) vis-à-vis the previous week. Pubcaster Doordarshan’s DD India exited the list and was replaced by the Radhika and Pronnoy Roy headed group’s NDTV 24×7 at rank 5 which made its sixth entrance into the list during the first 22 weeks of 2020.

    The first four channels in the list retained their ranks in Week 22 of 2020 as compared to the previous week. Republic TV at first rank saw its weekly impressions increase to 9.6 percent to 4.034 billion in Week 22 of 2020 from 3.682 billion in Week 21. At second rank, Times now saw 17.9 growth to 3.208 billion weekly impressions in the week under review from 2.722 billion impressions in Week 21 of 2020.

    CNN News18 at third rank saw an 8.3 percent decline to 1.955 billion weekly impressions in Week 22 of 2020 from 2.131 billion weekly impressions in the previous week. India Today Television at rank 4 saw an increase of 0.3 percent to 1.582 billion weekly impressions in Week 22 of 2020 from 1.578 billion weekly impressions in the previous week. NDTV 24×7 entered BARC’s weekly list of Top 5 English News Channels in Week 22 of 2020 with 0.839 billion weekly impressions. DD India at rank 5 in Week 21 of 2020 had garnered 1.032 billion weekly impressions.

  • The news must go on! How news channels work during lockdown

    The news must go on! How news channels work during lockdown

    MUMBAI: A deft usage of virtual technology means is helping news broadcasters to stay afloat and produce the round-the-clock fresh content amid the spectre Covid2019 pandemic. Be it getting a live link from reporters or getting a guest for a live debate show, news channels have taken recourse to various video calling applications or broadcast-friendly video transmission software tools such as TVU and LiveU.

    With TV production coming to a halt, news is the only genre that has been generating fresh content for viewers. It has also been placed under the essential services category by the government during the lockdown so as to inform and create awareness.

    Tools like TUV indeed have come to the rescue of broadcasters in these unprecedented times. 

    The TVU Anywhere mobile app has seen a large increase in global use recently as TV reporters and anchors have migrated from traditional studios to reporting from living rooms, balconies and shared living spaces within their homes and apartments. The app's ease of use and fast set up – requiring just a download to the user’s mobile phone – allows anyone needing to do safe remote reporting to go live instantly. 

    TVU Anywhere can also be used remotely for non-live interview reporting. It’s PiP feature supports the use of prerecorded video. A reporter can comment live while the recorded video is playing. TVU has been working with news stations and government offices in different countries. 

    “TVU is committed to work with all broadcasters across India to support their efforts to deliver crucial updates and information to their viewers during this unprecedented time. We are providing our cloud and IP based solutions free at this time to help broadcasters transition as seamlessly and as quickly as possible to remote production to minimize disruption,” said Sushant Rai, VP, sales – South Asia, Middle East and Africa, TVU Networks. “In addition, TVU will continue to provide its renowned 24/7 global service and all support personnel are fully mobilized to support customers as well as the larger broadcast community.”

    The news channels have started taking the help of technology to keep the business running. And video calling applications have become a saviour for broadcasters along with video transmission software tools that they had already been using, such as TVU and LiveU. Most channels rely on Skype, Zoom and WhatsApp applications to bring panellists on TV screens virtually.

    Times NOW’s editor-in-chief Rahul Shivshankar says: “In the current scenario where social distancing needs to be practised as a norm, connecting with guests and experts via video (calling) applications is the most suitable option. Apart from Whatsapp and Skype, we rely on Microsoft teams.”

    “Our producers talk the guests through the procedures well in advance and even offer technical solutions to ensure that they adjust to them,” says Shivshankar. He says that the channel will also continue to largely engage with guests and viewers virtually as a means of practising social distancing.”

    Apart from video calling apps, the channel has also been using video transmission software called LiveU. All the reporters of the channel have been given access to the mobile app of the software for either a live reporting or sending a recorded link to maintain the broadcast quality.

    Malayalam news channel Mathrubhumi News has also been using the LiveU mobile application to get information from reporters. The channel uses it as per guests’ convenience for connecting them virtually to a live show or debate.

    Mathrubhumi News chief executive officer Mohan Nair says: “Each guest has their preference and understanding for a video calling application; hence we have been using the video-calling application as per their choice such as Zoom, Hangout, Google Duo, WhatsApp, etc.”

    A source close to a leading Hindi news channel also agrees that the channel is majorly dependent on Skype and LiveU. However, the channel, lately, has also been trying a video calling app called Zoom. “Not just reporters but we have given the access of LiveU application to guests, who join our debate shows. And, if need be we also send a camera crew to the guests’ place while ensuring precautions.”

    The reporters are also using the LiveU mobile application to report a story from the field. The application allows the producers to connect the reporter and other panellists without disturbing the broadcast quality.

    Echoing a similar view, Nair says: “In pre-pandemic period, the virtual connections used to take place on a smaller scale but lately this crisis has forced everyone to be connected virtually. People watch new channels for information and they do so irrespective of whether a guest comes to the studio or connected from his/her home.”

    Asianet News assistant executive editor Sindhu Sooryakumar explains that the current lockdown situation has also forced the reporters to multitask; they not only report the story but also have to fit into the shoes of the cameraman by ensuring proper video frame setting, background, and sound.  

    “The reporters and anchors of the channel use TVU mobile application to report and present news stories; a person sitting at the production control room in a newsroom patches everyone to give a flow to the show,” says Sooryakumar, who anchors a show called Cover Story on the news channel.

    What about the broadcast quality?

    Indeed, the two major issues facing the news channels while connecting guests through video calling applications are: Internet connectivity and video quality. The latter is somehow either adjusted by the producer, but the former has been the major concern of the news broadcasters.

    The broadcast quality is somewhat maintained due to the TVU mobile application as compared to other video calling software tools, Sooryakumar adds. News channels are taking extra effort to bring information to the audience and ensure that they give disclaimer about the fact that they are working from home.

    “Bandwidth issues and call drops definitely act as deterrents as it does affect the audio and visual experience. However, these challenges are beyond anyone’s control and in the current scenario, video calling is the best way to work with. We are also glad that both our guests and viewers are cognizant and accommodative of intermittent lags,” says Times NOW editor-in-chief.

    Echoing the same view, Mathrubhumi News CEO says: “The internet connectivity issue is major hindrance during a live show; however, to be flawless in our programming we do a multiple trail with guests, who are connected through a video call before going live. We ensure video quality is good, bandwidth is uninterrupted as well as the sound and background of the video frame is appropriate.”

    Another source close to a leading English news channel says: “All our reporters and guests use LiveU application for video transmission as it helps maintain the broadcast visual quality and the app also helps the producer to patch the call quite quickly and smoothly, be it a single or multi-windows.”

    He adds: “Internet being the primary issue for every news channel, we are not much concerned about the video quality as the panellists already occupy meagre space on screen as we, generally, never had less than eight experts for a live debate show on both of our news channels.”

    It is likely that the Covid2019 crisis is likely to give birth to advanced virtual connections for guests and reporters joining a show on news channels. Such technological means may become the new normal for broadcasters in the days to come just like the work-from-home phenomenon.

  • Times Network unveils Times Fact India Outbreak Report for COVID-19

    Times Network unveils Times Fact India Outbreak Report for COVID-19

    MUMBAI: Times Network in partnership with a global consulting firm Protiviti unveiled Times Fact India Outbreak Report, a comprehensive analysis that highlights the impact of the pandemic in India and projects the possible number of active cases in the weeks ahead.

    Aligned with the Network’s umbrella campaign — Fighting Fear with Facts — the report was featured across network’s news channels – TIMES NOW, ET NOW and Mirror NOW – on 17 April with an exclusive two-hour-long programme that discussed the emerging COVID-19 scenario and its implications with leading experts and policymakers.

    “Times Fact India Outbreak Report is based on three different models, the percentage model, which involves mapping trends from Italy and the United States onto India; the Time Series Model, which involves factors in data across time periods in China and South Korea in addition to two polynomial regression models adapted to Indian data, and the Susceptible Exposed Infected Recovered (SEIR) model which is based on an estimation of a reproduction rate of the epidemic,” reads the official statement of the network.

    Drawing critical information from central government data, state government bulletins, and daily updates provided by the health ministry, the report is a holistic COVID-19 projection for the nation. It also takes into account the healthcare capacity of the nation and its states, to understand shortfall of beds and availability of ICUs, in the event of an escalation.

    Based on a predictive model which leverages verified big data and new technologies for effective decision-making, the report aims to empower the administrative authorities to spot possible hotspots, critical gaps and build capacity to meet the arising situation.

    It captures six national projections and includes individual analysis for eight states and four cities. The study also provides a projection of what could happen if the lockdown is lifted within a certain time-frame.

    Times Network chief executive officer and managing director MK Anand says: “The Times Fact India Outbreak Report is a step aimed to dispel the uncertainty with facts, ably backed by a scientific approach that analyses the impact of COVID-19 in India and throws light on potential lethal gaps in infrastructure which can be a lead indicator of social unrest and disruption in specific geographies.”

    He further says that the current pandemic disruption is probably the most significant event of our lifetime with socio-economic implications. we believe in taking the onus and proactively responding with timely and high-quality information that assists in arresting the adversity.

    “I am confident that this report will act as an important enabler to navigate the evolving scenario of the pandemic with a systematic approach and help in building decisive strategies to flatten the curve,” exhorts Times Network’s CEO and MD.

    Protiviti India director – data and digital transformation Dhrubabrata Ghosh Dastidar says, “The study is an example of how with the help of data, technology and sophisticated analytical algorithms, we can analyze a ‘black swan’ – in this case, a global pandemic, monitor the same on a regular basis to see the various possible paths it can take, and provide insights based on strong modelling outcomes. This will help the nation face the future with confidence.”

  • India Today becomes most-watched channel in megacities in week 13 of BARC

    India Today becomes most-watched channel in megacities in week 13 of BARC

    MUMBAI: For the first-ever time this year, India Today has become the most-watched channel in the megacities, clinching number one spot in week 13 of Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India. The channel has secured second spot in the previous week in the same category.

    The channel has grown by over 12 per cent to 657,000 impressions in megacities among NCCS 22+ Male AB in week 13 as compared to 583,000 impressions in the last week. Republic TV has fallen by around 19 per cent to 619,000 impressions this week from 763,000 in the last week.

    Republic TV has been leading the chart in megacities in terms of viewership. However, India Today reaching a new high is something that was speculated considering last week’s stellar performance of the channel in terms of viewership.

    In the same category, Times Now, being at the third spot, garnered 386, 000 impressions, and CNN-News18 with 195,000 impressions has been ranked at the fourth position.

    The viewership of news channels has grown exponentially in recent weeks due to the COVID-19 situation. Moreover, except news, all other genres have stopped producing fresh content, which could be termed also one of the reasons for the rise in the viewership of news broadcasters.

  • News channels fail to retain shine; tumble substantially in week 7 of BARC

    News channels fail to retain shine; tumble substantially in week 7 of BARC

    MUMBAI: The viewership of  news broadcasters is very much dependent on events. And, this has become quite evident in week seven of Broadcast Audience Research Council of India (BARC) as news channels failed to maintain the shine, tumbling largely in impressions compared to  week six.

    In the current week, Hindi news channels declined by over 20 per cent, whereas  English news channels fell by nearly 40 per cent in terms of weekly impressions as compared to the past week.

    News channels saw a rise in viewership by over 14 per cent in week six specifically due to the Delhi Legislative Assembly elections.

    Dominating the chart for the  seventh week straight,  TV Today Network’s Hindi news channel Aaj Tak has declined by over 30 per cent to 101399 weekly impressions in week seven as compared to 146178 impressions in week six. The channel had gained over 25 per cent of impressions in the past week.

    Despite the slump in viewership by over 11 per cent, Network18’s News18 India has climbed one spot up to grab the second position in the list of top five news channels with 90255 weekly impressions as against 108032 in week six. The channel had grown by 7 per cent in terms viewership in the past week.

    Following the footsteps of News18 India, both the news channels in Hindi genre – India TV and Zee News, despite a decline in weekly impressions, have ranked at third and position. In week seven, the former fell by over 10 per cent to 88603 weekly impressions versus 99364 in week six, whereas Zee News slowed down by around 19 per cent to 80122 impressions as against 98654 in the previous week.

    The most drastic shift was shown by ABP News Network’s Hindi news channel ABP News that fell to fifth from the second position in terms of viewership. The channel tumbled by over 30 per cent to 74713 weekly impressions in week seven as against 108032 impressions in the earlier week of BARC.

    ABP News had given a cut-throat competition to Aaj Tak in week six by gaining almost as same as the size of viewership in terms of percentage. It had grown by 25 per cent last week. The channel made into the list of top five channels as it successfully maintained its rural viewership.

    Failing to make into the final list of top five, Republic Media Network’s Hindi news channel somehow got featured in the urban section of the Hindi news channels' list. However, Aaj Tak has continued to maintain the top position in both urban and rural segments of Hindi news channels in week seven.

    The decline continued in the English segment too as all the five channels in the list fell substantially in terms of viewership. And the most affected channel out of all news channels across genre is Republic Media Network’s Republic TV, which fell by near 50 per cent in the current week as compared to the last week. The channel reported 585 weekly impressions in week seven as compared to 1141 in the previous week.  

    This week, the other four channels in English news genre maintained their spots. Times News Network’s Times Now ranked at second position fell by 38 per cent to 413 impressions in week seven as compared to 664 weekly impressions in the previous week of BARC.

    TV Today Network’s India Today TV, Network18’s CNN News18 and NDTV 24×7 have been ranked at third, fourth and fifth positions respectively on the list. India Today fell by over 30 per cent to 288 impressions as against 415 in week six, CNN News18 by over 23 per cent to 202 impressions versus 263 in the earlier week and NDTV 24×7 by over 29 per cent to 182 weekly impressions from 258 in the last week.

  • English news records highest ratings in 2020 during Delhi elections, results week

    English news records highest ratings in 2020 during Delhi elections, results week

    BENGALURU/MUMBAI: Runup to elections and election results announcements are big viewership drivers for news channels in India. Assembly elections on 8 February 2020 and announcement of the election results of the New Delhi legislative assembly in week 6 of 2020 (Saturday, 8 February 2020 to Friday, 14 February 2020, week or period under review) boosted the combined viewership of the Top 5 English News channels by 49.5 percent as compared to the previous week. Broadcast Audience Research Council of India (BARC) reported a total of 2.741 million impressions for the top 5 English News channels in the week under review. The combined total of the top 5 channels during the previous week (week 5 of 2020) was 1.835 million weekly impressions.

    Combined impressions of the top 5 English News channels in week 6 of 2020 was the highest ratings to date in 2020. The previous highest combined total of the top 5 English News channels in 2020 was in week 4 at 2.582 million weekly impressions. Further, the average combined weekly impressions of the top 5 English News channels during 41 weeks of the previous calendar year was 2.271 million weekly impressions. It must be remembered that BARC had stopped publication of ratings in the public domain to allow viewership to stablise after the implementation of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) New Tariff Order (NTO) for the weeks 6 to 12 of 2019. Hence, average of the remaining 41 weeks of 2019 (weeks 13 to 53 of 2019) or post week 12 of 2019 average has been considered.

    Top 5 English News Channels in week 6 of 2020

    Four of the channels in BARC’s weekly list of Top 5 English News channels for week 6 of 2020 were the same as in the previous week. Pub-caster Doordarshan’s English News channel DD India exited the list during the period under review, while the Radhika and Pronnoy Roy headed NDTV 24×7 made a rare appearance into BARC’s weekly list of Top 5 English News channels in week 06 of 2019.

    At its normal numero uno position was the Arnab Goswami headed Republic TV with a phenomenal 74.5 percent lead in ratings in week 6 of 2020 of 1.141 million weekly impressions as compared to the 0.654 million weekly impressions in week 5. Also at its normal second rank was Times Now with 0.664 million weekly impressions in week 6 of 2020 which was 24.3 percent more than the 0.534 million weekly impressions in week 5. Continuing on at its previous week’s third rank was the India Today group’s India Today Television with 0.415 million weekly impressions in week 6 of 2020, a jump of 40 percent from the 0.303 million weekly impressions in the previous week.

    Climbing up to fourth rank in week 6 of 2020 from the previous week’s fifth rank was Network18’s CNN News18 with 0.263 million weekly impressions, which was 61.3 percent more than the 0.163 million weekly impressions in week 5. Entering BARC’s weekly lists of Top 5 English News channels for was NDTV 24×7 with 0.258 million weekly impressions. This was NDTV 24×7 second appearance in BARC’s top 5 English News channels list in 2020. The channel had appeared in the lists earlier in calendar year 2020 in week 1.

  • Times Network elevates Navika Kumar as group editor – politics

    Times Network elevates Navika Kumar as group editor – politics

    MUMBAI: Times Network has announced the elevation of Navika Kumar as group editor – politics. In her new role, Kumar will have additional charge of driving political reporting strategy for the Network’s news brands ET NOW, MIRROR NOW, and Timesnownews.com while continuing to play a pivotal role in the management of the Network’s legacy brand Times NOW. 

    Kumar will also direct the content for all political & policy led IPs of the network under Times Influence.

    She is a renowned news personality who has made an indelible mark across print and broadcast journalism. Known for her extensive knowledge on Indian politics and business, Kumar is credited for investigating and breaking high impact stories including Office for Profit story, CWG scam, Augusta chopper scam, Aircel-Maxis deal amongst others.

    Times Network MD & CEO MK Anand said, “Navika Kumar has played a key role in nurturing our flagship channel, Times Now since its inception. Her extensive knowledge and capabilities in the political space has immensely contributed to the channel’s leadership position. Navika is a valued member of the network's top management team and we are delighted that her attention and expertise will now be harnessed in areas beyond Times Now as well. I am confident she will enable us to generate greater goodwill and value for Times Network.”

    Kumar said, “My 15 years of association with TIMES NOW has truly been enriching. As I take on this new mantle, I look forward to working with the teams across the network to build strategies and add value to India’s fastest growing news network.”

  • TV news channels, exit polls & Delhi Assembly elections

    TV news channels, exit polls & Delhi Assembly elections

    MUMBAI: When predictions become a reality, it’s champagne popping time. Or breaking into a Gangnam Style jig on live television. This is exactly what happened with the majority of news channels’ exit polls, which were done in association with various research agencies that surveyed the mood of Delhiites during the state assembly elections.

    This time, a majority of the news channels were almost bang-on as far as the final tally for the various parties in the bitterly fought battle to rule New Delhi was concerned. In the process, they possibly gained a veneer of trust from viewers, who have otherwise been possibly put off by the state of news TV and reportage recently. Indeed it should help them get more eyeballs going forward as it most likely did during the vote count and announcement of the results of the hustings on 11 June.

    Says India Today Group vice-chairperson Kalli Purie: “Every time we get a poll right the stakes get higher. This was our fifth poll bang on. The trust put in us by our viewers is a big responsibility and makes us work harder. We wear glasses with no colour when we look at data. Data is always neutral. The partnership of the best data input from Axis and serious ground reporting from our team before every election has made this incredible feat possible.”

    It was her network which predicted the most accurate outcome in partnership with pollster  Pradeep Gupta’s Axis My India. Their forecast: the Aam Aadmi Party would sweep the elections giving it between 59 and 68 seats in the 70-member Assembly, while BJP and its allies,  would get two to eleven seats and the Congress none.

    "We follow international best practices,” says Axis My India chairman & managing director Pradeep Gupta. “Our methodology is highly refined that helps us eliminate margins of error. Our sampling is the most demographically and politically representative in any given election. There's zero tolerance for any compromise on the quality. That's perhaps the reason why the Harvard Business School is doing a case study on Axis My India for the GE 2019 predictions."

    India Today Group-Axis My India exit polls have accurately predicted 33 out of the 35 elections over the past four years. And, the trend of being near to correct has been going on since last year’s general election followed by Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand Assembly elections.

    APB News Network chief executive officer Avinash Pandey concurs with Purie’s view that accuracy in exit polls helps build up perceptions toward news television. Says he: “The exit polls raise the stickiness and strengthen the loyalty towards a channel; they are a significant element as they predict the outcome of the final result. The data points help news channels establish faith in the eyes of the viewers and emerge as a credible entity.”

    He adds that elections being of national importance, “there have been times when news channels have surpassed GEC viewership numbers by comfortable margins during both exit poll and counting days, especially on counting days as the numbers keep changing by the minute.”

    ABP News Network in association with Centre for Voting Opinion & Trends in Election Research (CVoter), was the second most accurate with its poll prediction. It projected Aam Aadmi Party to win 51 to 65 seats, followed by BJP with three to 17 seats, and zero to three seats for the Congress, which was quite close to the actual results.

    Cvoter sampled 11,839 voters in New Delhi after they cast their ballot on the EVMs.

    Times Now editor-in-chief Rahul Shivshankar points out that exit polls are based on actual field survey and mathematical extrapolation, and “a lot of times predictably algorithms and good fieldwork can give results in line with actual results data. Since exit polls are conducted prior to the actual results and sometimes at least two to three days prior they do help shore up eyeballs on the main day that see a spike in viewership. The maximum traction that news channels generally receive is observed when data is live and counting of votes is on. The second spike comes for the evening debates on the election day.”

    Times Now, in association with research agency Ipsos, was relatively optimistic about the BJP’s performance in its exit poll. Ipsos predicted that the BJP would snare 23 seats and AAP would pocket 47, which was quite off the mark.

    ABP News’ Pandey says the network’s flagship program Kaun Banega Mukhyamantri attracted sponsors such as Signature Pan Masala, Rakesh Masale, and Tata Altroz. “The property has had a tremendous lineage of viewers for the past 17 years and with every election, it has grown bigger and more popular amongst the viewers,” he reveals.

    “A  property such as elections turn eyeballs of viewers and advertisers to the news channels,” says media veteran Anita Nayyar.  “Exit polls set the mood and opinion of the viewers and have an important role to play as it tells in which direction the wave is going. Since viewers are glued to the events such as exit polls and counting days, the advertisers want to take the leverage this opportunity and it becomes important for them.”

    Dentsu Aegis Network India chief executive officer Anand Bhadkamkar opines that he would like news channels to be consistently on the button, not just during exit polls. Says he: “Exit polls are definitely one of the factors to increase the credibility of news channels but consistent and impartial performance helps the news broadcaster maximum to generate credibility of the channel. Election is one of the important events where spends do work. Brands and advertisers do want to leverage on the space where there are major eyeballs being glued.”

    A view echoed by Madison Media senior general manager Chirag Shah. Says he: “Exit polls’ accuracy in line with actual results does give a short term benefit of consumer buzz related to credibility. But news channel loyalty depends on overall content on the channel. News viewing and relatability is a habit that is formed over a longer period of time. Advertiser support is also a longer-term partnership.”

    In the battle for Delhi that concluded on Tuesday, the Aam Aadmi Party for the third straight time emerged victorious, gaining 62 seats in the 70-member Assembly of the national capital; it received over 50 per cent of the vote share. Delhi’s denizens rejected the Congress this election too, like in the last one. Trailing behind AAP, the Bharatiya Janata Party bagged eight seats, improving its performance compared to the 2015 elections when it won just three seats.

    But the biggest gainers of this election were the news channels and their research agencies, which predicted the results right.

  • News channels go all out to cover upcoming Delhi election

    News channels go all out to cover upcoming Delhi election

    MUMBAI: Election days belong to news channels. Right from guessing the outcome to getting audience views to covering the result day, news channels cash in on every opportunity. With 2020’s first election – the Delhi battleground – approaching, channels have lined up insightful content with innovative approaches.

    The ABP News Network has assigned one reporter in every constituency of Delhi, to highlight the realities of the ground. The Hindi news channel believes having 70 on-ground reporters for the elections will ensure accurate and real-time updates. On the other hand, both Times Now and Mirror Now will cover the polls with over 20 reporters assigned respectively.  

    With respect to programming and content line-up, ABP News has scheduled a different bouquet of programmes for weekdays and weekends, under the umbrella of Kaun Banega Mukhyamantri. There are eight shows: Seedha Sawal, Siyasat ka Sensex, Vijay Factors, Delhi Darshan, School Chalen Hum, and Big Interviews with Big Faces.

    At the end of the polling day, Times Now in association with IPSOS, a global leader in market research will broadcast the exit poll. Similarly, the English news broadcaster will also bring the result day live with a new-age look for election result analysis, featuring some of the country's top election experts.

    Mirror Now will have non-stop coverage on counting day, 11 February, from 6 am onwards. The channel will also air election updates and press conferences (if any) will be interspersed with other news bulletin.

    ABP News Network has onboard Sugarlite, Rakesh Masale, Tata Altroz and Signature Pan Masala as official sponsors for the Delhi election shows all day long. “We not only want to grab eyeballs but also create a profound impact on our viewers by incentivising voting, improving civic engagement and bringing a positive impact on the democratic process,” said a channel representative. 

    The Delhi Legislative Assembly election, scheduled on 8 February, is hotly contested between two key political parties –the Bharatiya Janata Party which holds the centre and the Aam Aadmi Party, which is the incumbent in the national capital.

  • R-Day, pre-Budget prep, Delhi election help news channels gain viewership

    R-Day, pre-Budget prep, Delhi election help news channels gain viewership

    MUMBAI: The 71st Republic Day, Budget 2020 preparation and Delhi election campaigns have kept news channels across genres busy, Broadcasting Audience Research Council India portrays in its week 4 data between 25 January and 31 January.

    The TV Today Group’s Aaj Tak has topped the Hindi news segment with 133942 weekly impressions, of which the channel received 54244 weekly impressions in rural and 79699 weekly impressions in urban.

    Gaining at least 106097 weekly impressions, Zee News bagged the second spot in the Hindi news genre in the week 4 report of BARC. The channel achieved 41453 weekly impressions in the rural segment and 64644 in urban.

    Network 18’s News18 India was ranked third with 100395 weekly impressions, followed by India TV at fourth position and Republic Bharat at fifth, both channels received 91481 and 90594 impressions respectively.

    In English genre, Republic TV clinched the top position with 749 weekly impressions, followed by DD India which garnered 713 weekly impressions in Week 4 of BARC. DD India had exclusive rights to telecast the Republic day event, which perhaps helped the channel to gain more eyeballs.

    Times Now being settled at the third position has garnered 515 weekly impressions in Week 4 of BARC. Whereas, India Today Television at fourth position and CNN News18 at fifth spot with 368 and 237 weekly impressions respectively.

    As the budget preparation being the major focus, the business news channel CNBC TV18 of Network18 has gained 275 weekly impressions, followed by Times group’s ET NOW with 123 weekly impressions.