82% of population watches TV together, impacting choice of content: BARC India

Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India’s latest Broadcast India survey digs deep into the co-viewing habits of 836 million TV-owning individuals across the nation. 82% of people watch TV together, impacting the choice of content of the viewers, the survey says and points out that the single TV home phenomenon is as strong in urban India as it is in rural.

This data helps advertisers and content creators understand the target audience and group dynamics. The average family size of the TV-owning households in India currently stands at 4.25 individuals.

Of this, on an average, 3.46 individuals per household prefer watching TV together. For Indians, entertainment has always meant time with family and friends and this reflects in the TV-viewing habits and choice of content as well.

Such social dynamics and synergistic experiences affect the choice of the content on TV. The number of people with whom the TV screen is shared impacts the genre of the content. Such genres are being tapped and understood by the content creators to showcase programmes according to the preferences of the audience.

Co-viewing consumption across genres

As 98% of homes in India have a single TV, the viewership garnered by different genres due to co-viewing is very high. GECs grab the biggest share with 52% co-viewership, offering the slot for advertisements to tap the highest mass. Movies and news closely follow with 22% and 8% viewership, respectively. GECs and movies grab the highest share of eyeballs as they cater to larger group of audiences.

Data shows that 82% of TV-owning individuals in the country spend 57% of their time watching TV together; this reflects in the TV viewership data as well. Take for instance children (2-14 years old), who contribute to 23% viewership of Hindi GECs. Many would believe that kids watch channels that cater to their content need. But with 98% of TV homes having a single set, the instance of co-viewing increases and impacts the choice of content as well.

Co-viewing increases during prime time and it remains the same through the week. Evenings in India are preferably family time to watch TV together. This reflects in the data as well, which shows high instance of co-viewing in the prime time band (6-11pm). Interestingly, the morning (6:30-8:30am) time band also sees a spike in co-viewing. This is primarily led by news channels, which in the morning band air news stories, astrology and health shows.

Solus TV viewer in the country is significant

Only 2% out of 197 million TV homes in the country have multi-TVs. Even urban India has only 3% of the TV homes with multi-TVs. This translates into 18% of the TV-owning population watching TV alone. However, of the total time spent on watching TV, the contribution of Solus viewing is a healthy 43%. This is significant for both content creators and advertisers for better targeting.

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