Although Prime Minister Narendra Modi has secured a third term, the surprise result of India’s Lok Sabha election meltdown has everyone glued to the television sets— at least for another week or two. In contrast to exit polls and other estimates, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) failed to achieve an outright parliamentary majority, which now has led to discussions on coalition possibilities, speculations about the formation of the new government, and policy directions.
This is keeping viewers engaged and hence, bears good news for the news channels in the country. The political drama gives them a chance to continue to charge premiums from advertisers. In fact, in many cases, advertising monies are shifting from the World Cup to the news channels.
Given the unexpected exit poll and final results of the Lok Sabha 2024, the surge in viewership was higher by 50% than the normal daily viewership each channel received, pointed out Yasin Hamidani, Director, Media Care Brand Solutions. On election results day and the immediate aftermath, viewership spiked by 55-60%, as audiences tuned in for the latest updates.
This significant increase in viewership for TV news channels, in turn, has driven up advertising rates. Advertisers are willing to pay a premium to reach the larger and highly engaged audience that tunes in during such major political events. Ad rates during election coverage and polling days saw a rise by 40-50% on both TV and Digital platforms due to high demand. Some TV channels hiked it additionally on counting day and ad inventory was sold at premium rates. Media houses like Zee had hiked their rates by 15-20% during the election period whereas NDTV had hiked rates by 3-4x during polling and exit poll content and later it was hiked by 20-25x on the counting day, he highlighted.
“This general election has quite a few factors in the mix. The third-term for the incumbents is a record in itself, the incumbents’ ability to forge success in newer geographies, and the ability of the opposition to put up a strong fight. Ad rates for events like elections are always differential and so is the case with this year. Our sense is the per 10 seconds rates for key days have seen unprecedented hikes in all languages,” said Trishul Bhumkar, Managing Partner, Zenith India.
Maruti Suzuki India’s former marketing executive, Shashank Srivastava, noted that elections itself is viewed with great interest by the audience, and TV news benefits from this. “The unexpected twist in the results fuels the interest of all from different perspectives be it the common citizen or the investors or the business community or for that matter people from any walk of life and this is great news for the News genre,” he said.
With the twist in the election result, there’s some increased momentum, but not in a big manner, noted Karan Taurani, SVP, Elara Capital.
“We generally see that election leads to about 4% to 5% positive impact in terms of ad revenue for TV news channels… The premium pricing right now has gone up and this would last longer post-elections by a few days/weeks,” he said.
A swift shift from cricket to news
A few media planners have reported a 35% increase in ad rates for prime-time slots on leading news channels during the election results period. This increase in rates reflects advertisers’ readiness to invest more to capitalise on the larger and more engaged audience.
According to BARC India, viewership for major news channels spiked by 28% during the election results coverage compared to the previous month— attributed to the public’s heightened interest in the unfolding political drama and the implications of the new government formation.
Additionally, a survey conducted by the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) revealed that 25% of brands have reallocated their advertising budgets from the World Cup to news channels.
Ramya Ramachandran, Founder & CEO, Whoppl, said that the World Cup, which usually attracts substantial viewership, has failed to generate the expected interest this year. As a result, advertisers are shifting their focus to news channels, anticipating higher engagement due to the election results.
“This strategic move indicates that advertisers are keen on leveraging the increased attention on news channels to maximise their returns on investment,” she said. The shift in advertising spend underscores the importance of timely and relevant content in driving audience engagement as news channels provide continuous coverage, expert analysis, and real-time updates, making them a prime choice for advertisers aiming to connect with an informed and engaged audience. Hence, offering them a unique opportunity to optimise their media spend.
“The convergence of increased viewership, higher ad rates, and strategic shifts in advertising budgets highlights the significant impact of election results on media consumption and advertising strategies,” she added.
For advertisers like UltraTech Cement, News is one of the most preferred choices. Ajay Dang, President & Head, Marketing, UltraTech Cement, said, “News has the capability and credibility to drive conversations that are about both the development and future of India and therefore has always been a part of our media plans. The current events are another episode of this ongoing discussion, we will continue to work with news channels on TV and digital platforms.”