MUMBAI: According to BARC data, this year festive season has brought 22 per cent viewership growth on Hindi news channels. The genre has recorded 988.5 million average impressions from week 33 to 39 2019 whereas the average impressions in 2018 were 811.7 million in the respective week of 2018. Ad insertions also grew by 4 per cent this year on the genre. Last year from week 33 to 39 there were 551,535 ad insertions and this year the number has jumped to 571,649.

This year, due to the general election, Pulwama attack and few other events, news channels have grabbed the interest of various brands and festive season also added to the growth of viewership. ABP News CEO Avinash Pandey said, “News as a genre is very dynamic. There is never a dull period. If you look at this year, it kick-started with major events – like Pulwama, Balakot strike, General election, Article 370 and now three state elections. Needless to say, it will be an action-packed time.”

He also said, “Festive season is a fantastic time for news genre since there are several categories that are super active especially categories like automobile, retail, services and e-commerce. These categories advertise heavily on news genre to maximise their reach and take full advantage of this celebratory period when people spend more.”

“Festive season always brings cheers and enthusiasm as far as ads are concerned. The industry witnesses about 25 to 30 per cent growth in the festive quarter. Channels plan specific launches and revise programming line-up to get better viewership during this period because advertising happens on the boom in viewership,” said Times Network English entertainment cluster president - strategy and business head Vivek Srivastava.

TG for Hindi News Genre: HSM 15+
Data Period – W33-39 2018 and 2019

However, newscasters are noticing a dip in the post-festive season from the last 2-3 years. Pandey also added that ad rates have not been in sync with the festive trend. “Television ad volumes have been a bit stagnant in the last few months as against a decline in print and radio volumes. However, TV advertising volumes are beginning to see an upward trend with the approaching festive season,” Network18 English & business cluster CEO Basant Dhawan opined.

“In FY19, the English news genre saw around 6 per cent increase over the previous year but CNN-News18 saw a humongous jump of 32 per cent over the last year in viewership terms. We are hoping the same trend to continue given the new programming impetus we are providing,” said Dhawan.

However, if we look at the BARC data, the beginning of the festival quarter recorded negative growth in the English news genre’s viewership and ad insertions. Week 33 to 39, 2019 had few regional festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi, Onam, Parsi New Year and Raksha Bandhan. The genre had witnessed -29 per cent growth in that respective week. Last year the average impressions on English news channels were 4 million and this year the average impression fell to 2.8 million. Similarly in those weeks, the ad insertions also recorded negative growth by 27 per cent. Last year on the genre there were 169,456 ad insertions from week 33 to 39, this year Ad insertions also fell to 123,290.

TG for English News Genre: India/AB Male 22+
Data Period – W33-39 2018 and 2019

But Dhawan remained positive as the rest of the festive week might see huge interest from brands. He said, “Post the General Elections period there was an anticipated marginal decline in the television news advertising volumes especially so in English news genre. As I mentioned earlier we are now at the cusp of the festive season where the demand is going up. We are seeing interest from various brands on our new programming initiatives on both CNN-News18 and CNBC TV18. In fact, the new programming is being offered to brands at a premium pricing.”

Srivastava also commented on the impact of economic slowdown on the channels, he said, “There is some slowdown in the market but the good part is that the brands are doing well. Our brands are in a strong place and geared up to turn around the economy slow down. We are having a positive conversation happening with the advertisers. We have number 1 and Number 2 brands in the portfolio and the slowdown will impact smaller brands rather than the bigger one because bigger brands have stable viewership.”

News Channels Programming strategies for festive season:

To attract advertisers’ attention news broadcasters have developed programming strategies during the festive seasons. ABP News’ regional channels came up with special shows focussing on regional festivals. “We have structured our programming aptly to give viewers a taste of this festive period. Sharad Ananda is the biggest Flagship Programme of ABP Ananda that captures the true spirit of the Durga Puja festival in Bengal and grabs a million eyeballs. It is the most comprehensive coverage of Durga Puja from across the globe. For ABP Asmita, we have Garba Samman which brings to viewers Navratri celebrations across Surat, Rajkot, Baroda and Ahmedabad,” said Pandey.

Whereas, Network18’s Hindi news channels and English channels focused on the market trends. Speaking on its revamped programme line-up Dhawan said, “A lot of new programming has been developed. For instance on CNBC TV-18, we have launched a brand new show ‘Startup Street’, where one will get to see stories of entrepreneurial successes, expert advice for business challenges and insights from the leaders of India Inc., leveraging on the new drivers of the new economy - the startups. The same show concept in Hindi ‘Startup Nation’ reaching out to the Hindi speaking belt of India will be launched on CNBC Awaaz on 23 September. Looking at the consumer interest and current volatility in the markets, and the insatiable appetite that Indians have for the yellow metal, we have launched a show called Gold Spot on CNBC Awaaz. It will be a one-stop guide for everything one needs to know about gold - from industry issues, latest jewellery trends to gold funds.”

He also informed, “Also on CNN-News 18 we are trying to break the norms of the standard programming in the English news genre; on 16 September, we had revamped our prime time lineup. Viewpoint in a new format launched at 5.57 pm where seasoned journalist Bhupendra Chaubey brings the citizens’ voice to centre stage from across the length and breadth of India. The Right Stand which has been reconceived as a 90-minute hardcore debate show with a nation-first philosophy at its core to be hosted by Anand Narasimhan. This show also had live viewers’ participation. We have moved News Epicentre to 10.26 pm where Marya Shakil presented burning political stories of the day with the biggest political voices and newsmakers present. Overall the new primetime lineup will bring all key stories in various formats such as discussions, debate & explainers which we think will help our viewers get to details of the stories in a unique, informative and engaging manner.”