For news channels, a pre-election blessing in Ram temple consecration

livemint.com:

NEW DELHI : The Ayodhya Ram temple consecration ceremony on 22 January brought substantial advertising and viewership gains for news channels, particularly those focused on the Hindi heartland. The spike was comparable to a general election counting day, media industry experts said. While viewership, split with digital platforms (mainly YouTube), is estimated to have witnessed a spike of 10-15% on linear TV alone, advertising rates were three to four times higher, especially for mass-market brands, most of which found space on L-bands operating during the coverage of the ceremony, with news channels taking fewer ad breaks.

L-band TV advertising refers to L-shaped ads played on TV screens along with the content or programme for a duration of 10 seconds. Interestingly, news channels reduced their ad volumes in order to increase stickiness, but the increase in ad rates more than made up for the loss. According to data from AdEx India, a division of TAM Media Research, advertising volumes on news channels fell 14% on the temple inauguration day from 21 January, meaning fewer ad breaks were taken.

In comparison, during state election results in December, a decline of only 9% in ad volumes was observed versus the previous day. Needless to say, national election results attract far greater eyeballs and advertising revenue. At 15%, food and beverages led advertising volumes, followed by services (14%) and building, industrial and land materials or equipment (13%).

Television monitoring agency Broadcast Audience Research Council did not respond to queries on viewership. “The consecration of the Ram mandir in Ayodhya saw unprecedented levels of interest from across the country. For news channels, therefore, the entire pran