Times Now has claimed that it registered a 30.7% share among English TV news channels for more than a year (Week 16 2022-Week 33 2023) as per BARC ratings data. This is in the most relevant target group for English News, which is 10L+ markets amongst NCCS AB 22+ age group among males.
*Source: BARC| 10L+| NCCS AB 22+ Males| Wk.16'22 - 33'23, share amongst 6 channels
Moreover, the viewership data of the last 8 weeks, which will be the correct representation of the current scenario, establishes Times Now's dominace across multiple TGs (both NCCS AB 22+ as well as NCCS AB 22+ Males) in 10L+ markets (see chart).
*Source: BARC| 10L+| Wk.26-33'23|share amongst 6 channels
With elections just months away, an advertising blitz is par for the course around this time. However, industry sources said that the claims being cited in recent advertising campaigns do not show the correct picture, and in some cases are deeply suspect and misleading.
“News is serious business, an honest one at that. Seasoned professionals know that numbers mean nothing without relevance”, said an industry source who pointed out that for every category there is a natural viewership base and data cuts which do not stay true to that are misleading the consumer. “Otherwise, its staking claim to a standing means claiming status with zero relevance”, he added.
“With elections round the corner, some desperation for visibility is understandable --but twisting the truth and presenting it in the public domain is not the right way to play the challenger game”, pointed out an industry veteran.