http://blogs.economictimes.indiatimes.com/et-commentary/media-penetration-a-sneak-into-households/
Partho Das Gupta
The fast changing world of technology reflects in the changing patterns of media consumption. Yet, in a country of 1.25 billion, it is not surprising that change is slow and takes place at a varying pace with metros ‘enveloping’ technology faster.
So, what is India watching, reading and listening to? And what is the best way to reach one’s audience, be it an advertiser launching a new product, or some new entertainment content, or an opinion piece like this one? Indians are consuming information and entertainment across media. But which medium is the one with the widest reach today?
Television still has the deepest penetration throughout India. Of the total TV universe of 674.5 million people (over 50% of India’s population), television reaches approximately 475 million people every day across the country. Compared to traditional media like print that reaches 282 million individuals, or radio that reaches 110 million, TV definitely has a deeper reach.
But in a country as large as India’s, with an equally wide demographic, there is a space for all media. As literacy takes root across the country, print will retain its space even as regional print grows. Radio, though small in numbers, has a very loyal audience, especially in its FM phase with various radio jockeys commanding a huge fan following.
As for those whose strategy is to go with deep penetration, the reach of TV has some advantages. One, it is almost equally divided between urban and rural viewerships. In fact, in absolute numbers, rural viewership is slightly higher at 343 million, while there are 331million urban viewers. One has to keep in mind, though, the average per TV household — more people watch one TV set in rural India as compared to urban India where there could be more than one TV set in a single house.
Second, television also attracts an equal viewership between men and women with 348 million male viewers as compared to 327 million female viewers. Delhi leads the TV viewership figures at 20.9 million. But those tapping television for its reach must keep in mind that this number includes the whole of the National Capital Region (NCR) while Mumbai, at 19.3 million, is just the commercial capital alone.
The medium to watch out for, though, is the new kid in the block: digital. There are around 375 million internet subscribers and 277 million of them have access to internet on their mobile phone. This number has been reached in just 15 years. In fact, deeper penetration has been hampered because the average internet speed in India is lower than all other BRICS countries – Brazil, Russia, China, South Africa — and lower than most other emerging economies.
Digital India currently resides more in urban India with 246 million users, with nearly half of that number in rural India at 129 million. Unlike television where both male and female viewers are nearly equal, male internet users at 266 million are more than double of the 109 million female users. Within urban India, Mumbai and Delhi, with 15.9 million and 12.2 million active users, lead other metros such as Kolkata, Hyderabad and Chennai.
In urban India, the reach of TV at 331million viewers is wider than digital at 246 million users. The rural equivalent is 343 million and 129 million respectively. For those specifically targeting woman consumers, TV reaches 167 million women in rural India, while current digital rural penetration stands at a mere 15 million women. But women in rural India are the ones perceived to be making decisions for daily groceries, FMCG products and householdrelated items. So television remains by far the best medium to reach them and connect with them.
But this is not to say that digital is lagging behind. With smartphones expected to grow from today’s 180 million users to 690 million by 2020, the entire scenario may change. With better phone features, 3G and 4G penetration, reduced rates of data packs, the digital reach will increase in rural India as well. Who knows? It may well match, or even cross, television penetration one day.
(The writer is CEO, Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India)
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