Advertising on television channels peaked to a five-year high in the week to October 30, the Broadcast Audience Research Council of India (BARC) said on Thursday, as brands and advertisers increased their visibility during the festive season.
The release of data spells good news for the domestic advertising and media industry that was hit hard by the lockdown in the April-June quarter.
The path to recovery for the sector has been slow but steady, media analysts said, as companies increase ad spends amid an unlock programme unleashed by the government.
Recovery rates on television, digital and even print have been high from a volume perspective. Value-wise, discounting has been high, impacting advertising rates.
BARC has attributed the surge in advertising to the ongoing festive season and big-ticket properties like the Indian Premier League (IPL), Bigg Boss and Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC).
It said that 38.7 million of advertising seconds were telecast on TV channels during the week under review, surpassing the previous high attained in 2015.
In the previous week, the number stood at 37.9 million seconds, which is a weekly growth of 2.1 per cent, BARC said.
American e-commerce giant Amazon was the biggest brand that advertised during the week under review, followed by Dettol and Surf Excel, the body said.
Among advertisers, FMCG major Hindustan Unilever led the pack, followed by Reckitt Benckiser and ITC, BARC said.
The body expects the trend of high advertising volumes to continue into the future as the central and state governments unlocks all activities.
On Thursday, movie halls were reopened in Maharashtra, paving the way for one of the large domestic movie markets to begin their activities.
Restaurants, malls, shopping centres and standalone shops have already been allowed to reopen, with serious buyers stepping out to shop.
Retail, restaurants, media and entertainment besides FMCG, telecom and auto are key advertisers. Though this year has seen the emergence of digital companies including gaming apps, edtech and coding firms on the advertising front.
Ecommerce remains a key advertiser too, with companies in the category investing significantly on brand-building, BARC said.
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