Mumbai: The viewership trends have changed significantly in the post-COVID-19 lockdown phase. Consequently, ZEE5, India’s entertainment Super-app, has also witnessed a tremendous spike in its popularity. ZEE5’s tailored News coverage for COVID-19 saw a massive 12.4 mn viewers tuning in to catch the accurate and real-time update on the pandemic situation in India. For the same period, the ZEE5 platform witnessed a viewership of 437.4 mn and 66.3 mn users. A comparison between the Pre-Lockdown (March 1st-17th) vs the Post-Lockdown (March 18th – April 5th) phase shows a remarkable jump in terms of news consumption. The average consumption of news (video view) increased by 178% compared to the pre-lockdown numbers and the average watch time increased by 16% for Live News and 29% for VOD News. News consumption on connected devices has also seen exponential growth by 166% in terms of video views for the same period.
The increase in numbers is attributed to the tailored offerings launched by ZEE5 to bring the best for its viewers. As part of the #BeCalmStayInformed initiative, ZEE5 launched two exclusive channels – Dish Positive and Corona Coverage – to deliver authentic COVID-19 related information in these uncertain times. Dish Positive brings you myth busters (fact vs fiction), precautionary measures, symptoms, FAQs, Doctor’s Take, state helpline numbers, etc. While Corona Coverage is an information-led channel with all the information viewers need to know about the virus.
The impetus in viewership is also a consequence of the region. Language-specific COVID-19 related notifications that are being shared with the users since the past 4 weeks have further helped in circulating relevant information on a large scale. The push notifications are consigned twice a day, which include vital local information like health advisories, new government notifications, new cases in that area, essential supplies and treatment, etc.
Going a step further, ZEE5 has even created a special landing page for COVID-19 with collections (rails) about news items regarding government advisories, state-wise reports, lockdown updates, India cases, international cases, impact on the stock market, impact on the international economy, etc.
With the role of OTT becoming more prominent in the sphere of presenting real-time news during the pandemic, ZEE5 is incessantly working towards taking various steps to bring even more trustworthy information with each passing day.
