General entertainment channels (GEC) – which air TV serials and reality shows – always receive more viewership compared to news channels. But thanks to Dileep’s arrest, Malayalam news channels are seeing a massive spike in viewership, helping them enough to rub shoulders with their peers in GEC, at least temporarily.
Latest television viewership data from the Broadcast Audience Research Council India (BARC), for the week between July 8 to July 14, shows that a large share of viewers of entertainment channels switched to news channels. Dileep was arrested on July 10.
In a rare occurrence, Asianet News saw itself in the third position in the Top-5 list across genres in Kerala.
From June 17 to June 23 the impressions (number of target audience in thousands) for Asianet News was 34,991. In the week, from July 8 to July 14, the number rose to 75,726, with a growth of over 200% as TOI points out.
Times of India reports that it wasn’t just Asianet News, but all news channels that gained considerably, thanks to Dileep’s popularity and his arrest.
Manorama News, television run by media giant Malayala Manorama, which is in the seventh position registered a growth of 219%. The viewership of Manoram rose from 20,140 in week 25 to 44,177 in week 28. The viewership of Mathrubhumi News has shown a growth of 217 per cent. The impressions of Mathrubhumi, which is in the 9th position, grew from 18,453 in the week 25 to 40,109 by week 28.
General entertainment channels (GEC) in Malayalam also showed a proportionate dip in viewership, TOI says. Read the full report here.