Comments
TV news channels in Tamil Nadu have been giving mega serials a run for their money in recent months as the gripping political saga has upstaged the masala tearjerkers.
Earlier, nothing could nudge Neela Mohan, a mother of two, away from the TV set when she was watching her favourite Tamil soaps between 8 and 10 pm. She would cook dinner only during commercial breaks.
But since September last, things have changed as she and her family switch between news and entertainment channels.
“Since Jayalalithaa was admitted in the hospital in September, I began to skip watching serials. Now it has become a habit as my husband and children began to watch news regularly,” Neela said.
Between 7.30 and 10.30 pm is the prime time when both news and non-news channels get maximum viewership.
Sequence of eventsSince Jayalalithaa’s hospitalisation and her death in December, followed by change of guard in AIADMK leadership, Cyclone Vardah, Jallikattu protests, VK Sasikala’s manoeuvre to take over as Chief Minister, O Panneerselvam’s rebellion, Sasikala’s imprisonment in the disproportionate assets case and Edappadi Palaniswamy taking over as chief minister, the motion of confidence in the Assembly and the pandemonium that followed in the House have all boosted the news channels’ TRP rating.
According to an executive with a prominent Tamil news channel, viewership has increased for most news channels in Tamil Nadu.
“Though viewership has been consistent, the shift towards watching more news began when Jayalalithaa was hospitalised. We had maximum hits during her funeral,” the executive added.
New audienceAnother source, however, said the rise in TRP rating for news channels was not significant as they constitute only 5 per cent of the total viewership.
“But we are seeing a shift in viewership from general entertainment or non-news to news. Now people want to be more aware of what is happening and this interest has translated into increased viewership. We are getting many new audience,” the source added.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.