Clearly establishing the dominance of South India in viewing television, a survey by BARC India has found that 95% of homes in the five States have a TV. As per the Broadcast India (BI) 2018 Survey, the number of individuals owning television sets in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Kerala is 259 million, an increase of 8% from 2016.
The number of individuals owning TV in the North is 209 million, 221 million in the West and 146 million in the East.
The survey was conducted covering 3,00,000 households, approximately 4,300 towns/villages and 68% of the urban market, BARC India said.
“The survey has thrown some interesting facts about South India’s TV viewing habits. While the total TV penetration in India currently stands at 66%, in South India it is as high as 95%,” said Partho Dasgupta, CEO, BARC India. “This can also be attributed to the fact that electrification in the South is about 99.9% and TV is one of the first durables which people having electricity buy,” he added. With 8 out 10 people watching TV daily for 4 hours 10 minutes per day, South India has been witnessing year-on-year growth in the average time spent on TV.