Lok Sabha Election results was the biggest political TV News event: BARC data
New Delhi: The much-awaited Parliament election results were declared on 23 rd May and the media platforms have seen one of their highest peaks in recent times. While all eyes were on TV/Digital media, the curiosity of the audience clearly built viewership across platforms.
Out of a total of 258.5mn TV viewing individuals between the 4 states in the south, 65% (167.3mn) audience have watched any news channel on 23rd May, an increase of 67% compared to a regular day. The total news viewership during the day increased by 416 % to 721 Mn Impressions, compared to the previous 8 weeks, according to the data released by Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), one of the largest television measurement companies of the world.
Out of the total walk ins to the news genre on Thursday, close to 30% were non-regular viewers who haven’t tuned into news in the previous four weeks. The viewership for each state includes all the regional and English News channels.
According to the data the average time spent on News Channels on May 23 at the Hindi Speaking Market (HSM) level was 1 hr 22 mins 36 seconds, while in south, the average time spent on TV News was as high as 2 hours 5 mins 34 seconds.
Even though the counting started at 8.00 am, the news genre had started picking up from 6.30 am in the morning. All four markets saw the highest viewership for the day from 8.00 am to 12.00 pm, following which the viewership dropped across markets but continued to remain throughout the day compared to previous 8 weeks average.
Though growth can be seen across all age groups, the Youth (15-21 Years) have grown the most with 451% increase compared to the previous 8 weeks, recording 101 Mn impressions. The highest contributors to viewership were the age groups 41-50 and 31-40 with 125Mn and 124 Mn impressions respectively. While NCCS CDE saw a 70% growth in the number of news viewers, NCCS A saw a 201% increase in the average time spent on TV.
The highest polling percentage of 80% was noted in the state of Andhra Pradesh. TV viewership similarly reflects the highest coverage across the south states for AP/Telangana at 73%.
Hence, the audience behaviour suggests that the election results was clearly one of the biggest news events across markets, and the biggest political news event till date.
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Telangana CM urges Amit Shah to increase sanctioned strength of IPS officers in state
Hyderabad (PTI): Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Wednesday night and urged him to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state in view of its growing administrative and security needs.
The two leaders also discussed the recent surrender of several senior Maoist leaders before the Telangana Police and other issues.
"During the meeting, the two leaders discussed the issue of Maoist surrenders and their rehabilitation. The chief minister informed Shah that significant improvements in policing have taken place in Telangana over the past two years," an official release here said.
Highlighting that 591 Maoists have laid down their arms and joined the mainstream of society during this period, the chief minister said the state government was providing them compensation and rehabilitation assistance as per the rules.
He requested the Union home minister to extend financial support from the central government for development works in the backward regions of the state.
Reddy also urged Shah to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state from 83 to 105 in line with the state's growing administrative and security needs, the statement said.
The first cadre review after the formation of Telangana was conducted in 2016, while the next review, due in 2021, was delayed and finally carried out in 2025. Even then, only seven additional IPS officers were allocated to the state, the chief minister informed Shah and requested that the third cadre review be conducted in 2026 as per the schedule.
Reddy explained that Telangana, like the rest of the country, is facing several modern challenges, including cybercrime, drug trafficking, white-collar crimes, and other emerging security threats.
He highlighted the reorganisation of the Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Malkajgiri Police Commissionerates, the proposed formation of the Future City Commissionerate and the rapidly growing population in Hyderabad to underline the increasing administrative requirements of the state.
