BARC India Launches the Third Edition of its YEARBOOK “The Year After Two Thousand & Nineteen”

Total TV Viewership grew by 9% ~

~ Average time spent increased to 4 hours 2 minutes daily in 2020 from 3 hours 42 minutes in 2019 ~
~ Non-Prime Time Viewership for GEC, News and Kids grew by 16%, 26% and 31% respectively in 2020 compared to 2019 ~
~ Ad Volumes grew by 34% in the 2nd half of 2020 compared to the 1st half of 2020 ~
~ Top 10 Advertising sectors contributed 80% to Total Ad Volumes in 2020 ~

India’s trusted television measurement company and the world’s largest, Broadcast Audience Research Council, (BARC) India, launches the third edition of its YEARBOOK titled The Year After Two Thousand & Nineteen.

The YEARBOOK offers exclusive insights and extensive data on “What India Watched” in 2020 along with trends across the pandemic struck months with a special focus on four distinct phases, viz., Pre-COVID, COVID: During Lockdown, COVID: Unlock, and Year Ender.

COVID-19 forced people to stay confined to their homes starting March 25, 2020. The lockdown made viewers turn to their favourite mode of entertainment and news – Television.

TV played a significant role in keeping people connected with the outside world during the lockdown. Consequently, TV Viewership witnessed a growth of 23% during Mid-March to June (Week 11-26) as compared to the January to early March period (Week 1-10).

Commenting on the launch of the YEARBOOK, Sunil Lulla, Chief Executive Officer, BARC India, says, “The year was a consolidation and reaffirmation year for television in India. It was marked by a substantial increase in TV viewership with total TV growing by 9% and Ad Volumes experiencing a staggering growth of 34% in the second half. 2020 reaffirmed the strength of television as a medium in India amongst both viewers and advertisers, proving TV is indeed the screen of choice for the household. TV continues to grow with regional markets gaining prominence. BARC India will continue to work towards our vision, to always be the trusted source of authentic measurement and reporting of “What India Watches’”.

“The Year After Two Thousand & Nineteen”:

• Non-Prime Time (NPT) Viewership for General Entertainment Channels (GEC), News and Kids, grew by 16%, 26% and 31% respectively in 2020 compared to 2019.
• Ad Volumes grew by 34% in 2nd half of 2020 compared to 1st half of 2020.
• Top 10 Advertising sectors contributed 80% to Total Ad Volumes in 2020
• Communication by the Government was on an upsurge during lockdown. Ad Volumes for Govt. messaging grew by 184% (2.7 times) during Apr-June 2020 compared to same period in 2019.
• Mythological Classics like Ramayan & Mahabharat made a comeback on our TV screens, Week 13, 2020 onwards. Ramayana now holds the record of the most watched TV program in the world!
• Driven by the classics, advertisers placed their bets on DD’s GECs during lockdown. Ad Volumes for DD’s GECs grew by 62% in Apr-June quarter of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019.
• IPL-13 viewership grew by 23% compared to IPL-12 with 400 Bn Total Viewing Minutes.
• The Opening match between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings at Abu Dhabi, was the most viewed with 11.2 Billion Viewing Minutes.

ABOUT BARC India
BARC India is a statistical and measurement science company which is ‘Of the Industry, By the Industry and For the Industry’.

The company is registered with the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) as a self-regulated, not-for-profit Joint Industry Body that provides the most authentic audience estimates of What India Watches, to Broadcasters, Advertisers and Advertising Agencies. The Big Data driven insights generated by BARC India, is built upon a robust and future-ready technology backbone which powers efficient media spends and content decisions in a highly dynamic and growing broadcasting sector.
Commencing operations in 2015, today BARC India manages the world’s largest and most diverse TV measurement system covering approximately187000 individuals in 44,000 households, in 513 districts covering over 600 towns and 1300 villages, across India.