The Legislative Assembly elections 2016 have not only seen a massive voter turnout, but have also made a huge impact on the viewership of regional TV news channels.
Regional TV news consumption skyrocketed during the announcement of the election results on May 19th. With Amma’s campaigns winning a clear mandate in the Tamil Nadu elections, Tamil news channels experienced 71 million viewers on the day of election results. The polling day on May 16th garnered 58 million TV viewers.
Puthiya Thalaimurai received the highest TV news viewership among Tamil news channels, while the Tamil news viewership in general experienced a9.7% rise in comparison with the week prior to the elections.
Malayalam news channels witnessed 36 million viewers on the day of election results and 24 million viewers on the polling day. Asianet News experienced the highest viewership among Malayalam news channels on the day of election results. Looking at the weekly analysis, Malayalam news viewership experienced a 6.1% rise compared with the week prior to the elections.
Bengali News channels had 35.2 million viewers on the day of election results with ABP Ananda having the highest viewership for the day. Conducted in five phases, the polling days saw the highest TV news consumption of 29 million viewers during the 1st election phase on 17th April 2016.
With 5th May 2016 being the last phase of election polls in West Bengal, Bengali news channels experienced the highest viewership during the first week of May. The Bengali TV news viewership experienced a 5.3% risecompared with the week prior to the elections.
Assamese news channels saw 9 million TV viewers during the announcement of election results, and 6 million viewers on polling days.
With a tussle for maximum votes and viewership alike, the Assembly Elections 2016 have ushered in massive audiences for regional TV news channels.
*Tamil News Channels – Polimer News, Sun News, Jaya Plus, News 7 Tamil, Seithigal 24×7, Puthiya Thalaimura
Malayalam News – Manorama News, Asianet News, Mathrubhumi News
Bengali News Channels – Zee 24 Ghanta, ABP Ananda, ETV News Bangla, Kolkata TV
Assamese News Channels – News Live
