The India Today Group has claimed absolute leadership by dominating the viewership charts during the recently concluded Maharashtra and Haryana State Assembly Elections, 2019.
Referring the data released by BARC, the India Today Group asserted how the viewers continue to prefer AajTak and India Today TV when it comes to 360-degree election coverage as they were the undisputed choice by the viewers for election coverage.
On the counting day, AajTak’s share was 19% of all 14 Hindi news channels, placing it on the topmost rung of the ladder when it comes to viewership. India’s most-watched Hindi news channel, AajTak, was 27million gross impressions ahead of ABP News that held the No.2 position. During the hours when the votes were being counted, AajTak’s viewership surpassed that of other TV channels like Sony TV, Zee TV and Colors.(Source – BARC, TG- 15+, Market – HSM, Time Band – 8:00 to 18:00 hrs).In the 15+ M AB TG, AajTak was the No.1 TV Channel in HSM Market(Source – BARC, Market – HSM, Time Band – 8:00 to 18:00 hrs)
| Channel | WK43’19 |
| AajTak | 126137 |
| ABP News | 98751 |
| India TV | 95809 |
| News18 India | 95468 |
| Zee News | 89434 |
| Republic Bharat | 84704 |
| News Nation | 53842 |
| News 24 | 41856 |
| TV9 Bharatvarsh | 41572 |
| Tez | 36388 |
| India News | 26974 |
| NDTV India | 19771 |
| Zee Hindustan | 19629 |
| DD News | 8552 |
*Source – BARC, 15+, HSM, G Imp’000
| Channel | Shr% |
| AajTak | 19.0 |
| ABP News | 16.0 |
| NDTV India | 2.0 |
| News 24 | 6.0 |
| News Nation | 5.0 |
| Zee News | 10.0 |
| India TV | 11.0 |
| India News | 3.0 |
| DD News | 1.0 |
| Tez | 3.0 |
| News18 India | 10.0 |
| Zee Hindustan | 3.0 |
| Republic Bharat | 9.0 |
| TV9 Bharatvarsh | 4.0 |
*Source: BARC, TG: 15+ NCCS ALL, Mkt: HSM, Period: 24th Oct’19, TB:0800-2400Hrs, Market shr% based on 14 Hindi News Channels.
India Today TV was also on the No.1 position in the English news genre, surpassing channels like Times Now, Republic TV, NDTV 24×7 among others. On the polling day and the counting day combined, it recorded the highest number of gross impressions in all the megacities of India.
| Channel | Gross Imp’000s |
| India Today Television | 109 |
| Times Now | 101 |
| Republic | 90 |
| NDTV 24×7 | 34 |
| CNN News 18 | 25 |
| Mirror Now | 15 |
| Wion | 4 |
| India Ahead | 1 |
| News X | 0 |
*Source : BARC, Market: Megacities, TG: Males 22+AB,Dates: 21st Oct’19 & 24th Oct’19,Gross imp’000s.
India Today TV increased its viewership by 149.6 % compare to the previous week
| Channel | WK42’19 | WK43’19 | Growth Compare to last week |
| India Today Television | 87 | 218 | 149.6% |
| Times Now | 152 | 219 | 44.5% |
| Republic TV | 158 | 227 | 43.9% |
| CNN News18 | 43 | 60 | 40.0% |
| NDTV 24×7 | 45 | 58 | 29.5% |
| Mirror Now | 50 | 47 | -5.8% |
| Wion | 38 | 22 | -42.6% |
| India Ahead | 4 | 10 | 133.7% |
| News X | 8 | 2 | -74.5% |
*Source – BARC, 22+ M AB, Period as per below table, Gimp’000)
It may be recalled that during the General Elections in May 2019, the picture was not very different. AajTak and the India Today TV ruled the poll viewership, with 13 crore viewers tuning into AajTak on the counting day alone (Universe, All India, Counting Day) and being the most watched channel across genres. India Today TV had not only beaten the other English news channels but also recorded a viewership that was higher than other English infotainment and entertainment channels (NCCS A, Megacities, Counting Day).
Company releases stated that the India Today Group’s Axis My India exit poll, accurately predicted the outcome of the State Assembly Elections in Maharashtra and Haryana, while most other media outlets faltered. On-the-ground reporting, accurate exit polls prediction and the use of state-of-the-art tools for election coverage on a large scale led the group to the No.1 position.
